New Research on Student Experiences with High-Impact Practices:

Effective and Efficient Ways to Implement, Connect, and Scale

Facilitated by Peter Felten and Jessie L. Moore

Center for Engaged Learning (@CEL_Elon)Elon University

Questions of Quality, Access, and Success

“The research universities have too often failed, and continue to fail, their undergraduate populations…. Thousands of students graduate without ever seeing the world-famous professors or tasting genuine research…. All too often they graduate without knowing how to think logically, write clearly, or speak coherently” (pp. 5-6). (1998)

“Stakeholders in the higher education system have increasingly come to raise questions about the state of collegiate learning… Legislators… increasingly have expressed worry over the value and returns to their investments in higher education. Business leaders have begun to ask whether graduates have acquired the necessary skills to ensure economic competitiveness” (p. 1). (2011)

We also suffer from a college attainment gap, as high school graduates from the wealthiest families in our nation are almost certain to continue on to higher education, while just over half of our high school graduates in the poorest quarter of families attend college. And while more than half of college students graduate within six years, the completion rate for low-income students is around 25 percent.

“Whatever the world may think about the quality of American colleges and universities, the public here at home is far from satisfied” (p. 2).

(2013)

High-Impact Practices: Filling the Gaps“The two main challenges are to:

• Make… faculty commitments to innovation to improve student learning normative, and

• Enhance the yield from disparate efforts through coordination of initiatives and integration of findings.

Scaling up these developments requires a change in institutional and faculty culture so that these efforts at innovation and improvement are both systematic and systemic within and across institutions” (p. 4).

Filling the Gaps: Evidence-Based Learning Practices

• Evidence 1: Published Scholarship

• Evidence 2: Assessment & Ongoing Data Collection

• Evidence 3: Heuristic for Moving from Evidence to Practical Argumentswww.youtube.com/CELatElon

Research Panelists

• Michael Reder, Connecticut College• Luke Millard, Birmingham City University• Jeffrey Coker and Desiree Porter,

Elon University

MICHAEL REDER, CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

LUKE MILLARD, BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY

Creating the Learning Community through Students as Partners

Luke MillardHead of Learning Partnerships

Birmingham City University

Luke.millard@bcu.ac.uk

In the 10 minutes (no more)

• Why Students as Partners? • Creating the principles• Outside influences and a new paradigm• Delivery of students as partners• Impact – sectoral and internal

Birmingham City University

• 24,000 students (18k full time; 6k part time)

• Six faculties with an emphasis on professional and creative practice

• Strong WP and regional agenda• Multi-campus: 8 sites consolidating to

two

Why Students as Partners?

• 2007/8 NSS and SES told us a story• Disparate campuses and professions• Create a Learning Community approach• Partnership with Students’ Union• Student and staff partnerships to deliver

change• Student Academic Partners

A state of mind….principles

• Student engagement as mainstream activity• Students at the centre of design and delivery• Students, where applicable, to be paid • Meaningful partnership, not necessarily equal• Joint investment

‘Student engagement is concerned with the interaction between the time, effort and other relevant resources invested by both students and their institutions intended to optimise the student experience and enhance the learning outcomes and development of students and the performance, and reputation of the institution’ Trowler (2010)

100 hours student work per project, ≈ 50 projects a year (219 total)……Main areas of development:

• Development of new content: curriculum focus– Learning / resources / assessment approaches /

• Consultation: student engagement focus– Survey / networking projects / community building

• Employability:– professional practice and placement experience

• Thematic: institutional imperatives– progression / retention / social media / internationalisation

Moving forward 2013/14

StAMP; 37

SAP; 57

Co-Lab; 36

Student Engagement Initiative Applications Total 130

BCBS; 4

BIAD; 25

Central Services; 20

ELSS; 20

Health; 9

PME; 15

TEE; 37

Applications per Faculty

BCBS; 1

BIAD; 2

Central Services; 2

ELSS; 3

Health; 2

PME; 3

TEE; 3

StAMPFunded per Faculty

BCBS; 1

BIAD; 3

Central Services; 5

ELSS; 3

Health; 1

PME; 1

TEE; 8

SAPFunded per Faculty

16

22

13

Applications Funded

StAMP SAP Co-Lab

BIAD; 3

Central Services; 4ELSS; 2

Health; 1

PME; 3

Collab Funded per Faculty

National impact

• HEA Students as Partners change programme- 10 Universities - incl Oxford, Ulster, Glamorgan• Bath, Exeter, Lincoln……• NUS Manifesto for Partnership • QAA Quality Code - B5

• New paradigm – consumerism vs partnership

Scraping the surface or cultural change?

• 24,000 students at BCU• 2,000? working in student engagement activities• Institutional imperative through mission ‘to be an

examplar for student engagement’

“There will be others that aren’t interested in getting engaged…The challenge is how we best support those that want to get involved”Alex Bols, NUS, 2012

NSS: Part of an academic community

B11.5 I feel part of an academic community in my college or university.58

60

62

64

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

2009201020112012

Items of interest• NUS (2012) Manifesto for Partnership

http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/news/article/highereducation/Rachel-Wenstone-launches-a-Manifesto-for-Partnership/ (last accessed 23.1.14)

• Nygaard, C et al (eds) Student Engagement: Identity, Motivation and Community. Faringdon, Libri publishing

• QAA (2012), UK Quality Code for Higher Education - Chapter B5: Student engagement http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/quality-code-B5.aspx (last accessed 23.1.14)

• Thomas, L (2012) Building Student Engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention and Success programme. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/what-works-student-retention/What_Works_Summary_Report

• Trowler, V (2010) Student Engagement Literature Review http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/studentengagement/StudentEngagementLiteratureReview.pdf ( accessed 23.1.14)

• For further information on the work at Birmingham City University http://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/celt/student-engagement or contact luke.millard@bcu.ac.uk

JEFFREY COKER AND DESIREE PORTER, ELON UNIVERSITY

A Comparative Study of Motivations, Participation, and Outcomes Across Five Forms of Experiential Learning

Jeffrey S. Coker Director of the Elon Core Curriculum, Elon University

Desiree PorterStudent Researcher, Elon University Class of 2015

Elon Experiences & ELR

• Students are required to complete experiential learning as part of the core curriculum.

Research Questions

• What motivates students to choose certain experiential learning opportunities?

• How do demographic variables influence student experiences?

• What are the comparative outcomes of completing various experiential learning opportunities?

Methodology

• Paper Surveys: 62 seniors within a month of their graduation.

• Student Records: Elon Experiences Transcript• Video Interviews: 24 seniors

Key Findings: Diverse Motivations

It is clear that students are influenced by a myriad of factors. On average, career goals and majors were among the most influential factors, followed by learning goals. Peers were the most influential group of people among the factors listed.

Key Findings: Diverse Motivations

• Of the students who participated in a given experience in high school, 80% went on to complete a similar college experience. On the other hand, 60% of students who did not complete a given high school experience went on to complete it at Elon.

• Of the students who rated cost as being “highly influential” in their experiential learning choices, only 38% studied abroad. Among all others, 90% studied abroad.

• Few students (14%) were aware of gender influences. Nonetheless, females were more influenced by parents, career, and major, while males were more influenced by cost.

Key Findings: Diverse motivations

Each of the five experiences was thought to be the most valuable by at least a few students. Undergraduate research was most frequently rated lowest amongst students and study abroad was most frequently rated highest. (Note: Students who actually completed research rarely ranked it lowest.)

Key Findings: Positive Benefits• The majority of students reported that they benefitted from the

Elon Experiences in terms of worldview (93%), career development (87%), and academic learning (84%).

• When asked how much they learned from each experience, students rated each experience highly, ranging from 3.93 for service learning to 4.73 for study abroad on a 1 to 5 Likert scale.

Benefitted career development Altered future plans

Take-Home Messages

• See handout.

THEMES

Students are agents in HIPs

Relationships and networks are essential in HIPs

Student-faculty partnerships act as multipliers

Context matters for research and practice

New Research on Student Experiences with High-Impact Practices

http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/cel/aacu2014.xhtml

Peter Felten and Jessie L. MooreMichael RederLuke Millard

Desiree Porter and Jeffrey Coker