Central Michigan University

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What We Know About CMU Students Experience
Selected Highlights and Discussion
Central Michigan University Academic
Affairs Office of Institutional Research June 2009
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Welcome!

• CMU values data-driven decisions
• Valuable information is already posted on the
  Institutional Research website
• KPIs publically monitor progress
• Not all information is flattering

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OIRs Survey Research Websitehttp//www.ires2.cmi
ch.edu/survey/surveyresearch.shtml
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CMU 2010 Websitewww.planning.cmich.edu
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CMU Seniors Love CMU

• If you could choose again, would you still
  choose to attend CMU?

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Purpose

• Four initiatives
• Diversity
• Student-faculty Interaction
• Student Higher-Order Thinking Skills
• Student Retention

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Method

• For each initiative
• Identify opportunities for progress
• Provide major findings
• Facilitate discussion
• Share some action plans

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Diversity
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Diversity Opportunities

• Segregation in Michigan
• Ethnicity of CMU student population
• Incoming CMU first-year students exposure to
  diverse populations
• Six year graduation rates of CMU students by
  ethnicity

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Diversity Findings

• Incoming CMU first-year students rated the
  following life goals as more important than user
  norms
• Helping to promote racial understanding
• Improving my understanding of other countries
  and cultures
• CMU students reported less frequent class
  discussions and writing assignments on diverse
  perspectives than the user norms

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Diversity Discussion

• Its expensive for students to study abroad, so
  not all of them can afford experiencing a
  different culture firsthand. What can we do at
  CMU to provide multi-cultural opportunities for
  students locally? What type of experiences are
  most meaningful?
• How can we better prepare all students, including
  those who have had the opportunity to learn from
  individuals with diverse backgrounds, for work in
  international contexts?

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Diversity Action Plans

• Some current CMU diversity initiatives
• Implementing the Inter-group Dialogue program
• Recognition in Cultural Competency
• Decreasing the proportion of admitted,
  non-enrolling minority students
• Increasing the participation for cultural events
  and activities
• CMU/Flint Partnership
• FYEs focus on diversity (peer educators
  certified, strong relationship with Multicultural
  Center Institutional Diversity)
• Recruitment of diverse faculty and international
  students
• Cultural/Global ideas incorporated into each
  course
• Field hours in diverse areas for teachers

Refer to Office for Institutional Diversity for
further information http//www.diversity.cmich.ed
u/
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Student-Faculty Interaction
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Student-Faculty Interaction Opportunities

• Student-to-faculty ratio
• Improve students interaction with faculty inside
  the classroom
• Student comment
• Plain lecture courses are boring and probably a
  big reason why a lot of students do not show up
  to class.

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Student-Faculty Interaction Findings
The two reported reasons for a lower SFI has been
due to (1) The quality of relationships with
faculty members (2) Prompt feedback

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Student-Faculty Interaction Discussion

• What could we do to increase student
  participation in the classroom?
• Follow-up Is there anything we should be doing
  differently to encourage interaction in a large
  classroom setting?

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Student-Faculty Interaction Action Plans

• Some current CMU initiatives
• Decrease student-faculty ratio
• Increase engagement of students in large class
  sizes using FaCIT
• The University Teaching Excellence Award
• FYE 101 requires students to meet with a non-FYE
  faculty member as a class assignment
• Monitor surveys of students engagement with
  faculty
• Better technology tool which will help students
  to understand where they are in their curriculum
• Encourage more faculty to encourage support
  during office hours

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Student Higher-Order Thinking Skills
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Higher-Order Thinking Skills Opportunities

• Metacognition
• Academic Expectations
• Student Engagement

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Elevated Levels of Academic Expectations -
Findings -

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Students Time Usage - Findings -
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Higher-Order Thinking Skills Findings
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Higher-Order Thinking Skills

• Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA)
• Measures critical thinking, analytical reasoning,
  problem-solving, and written communication skills
• Students tested as first years, rising juniors,
  and seniors
• Accounts for entering GPA ACT
• Value-added measure

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Higher-Order Thinking Skills Findings
CMU
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Higher-Order Thinking Skills Findings
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Higher-Order Thinking Skills Discussion

• CMU seems to do very well on the CLA, which
  measures value-added. What practices have we
  been doing well to encourage intellectual
  development in our students?
• Why do you think a discrepancy exists between
  student perceptions of their learning and the CLA
  results?

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Higher-Order Thinking Skills Action Plans

• Some current CMU initiatives
• Service-learning projects
• Capstone projects
• Enforcing pre-requisites
• Reviewing master course syllabi
• FaCIT faculty development training
• Live.Learn.Connect Newsletter (teaching tidbits)
• Writing Center provides feedback for students
  related to the types of things measured by the
  CLA

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Student Retention
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Student Retention

• Related to
• Diversity
• All CMU students should have the experience of a
  warm, welcoming campus climate and sense of
  belonging
• Student-faculty interaction
• Available, helpful, sensitive
• Quality of relationships
• Students educational experience

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Student Retention Opportunities

• Two Considerations
• Financial Factors
• High School Graduates

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Financial Concerns
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Michigan High School Graduates
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Student Retention Findings

• Decision to Re-Enroll
• Academic advising
• The quality of students relationships with
  others

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Seven Preliminary Factors Related to Retention
NSSE Questions a Re-enroll
1. How would you evaluate your entire educational experience at this institution? .608
2. Overall, how would you evaluate the quality of academic advising you have received at your institution? .411
3. Quality Your relationships with other students .357
4. Institutional emphasis Providing the support you need to help you succeed academically .349
5. Quality Your relationships with administrative personnel and offices .340
6. Quality Your relationships with faculty members .327
7. Institutional emphasis Providing the support you need to thrive socially .302
Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level
(2-tailed).
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Student Retention Discussion

• What mechanisms do we have in place to assist
  at-risk students?
• Follow-up What mechanisms for students that are
  somewhere in the middle?

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Student Retention Discussion
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Student Retention Action Plans

• Some current CMU retention initiatives
• Student retention committee
• Educate the CMU community on student retention
• Help programs develop student retention goals
• Develop a student exit survey
• FYE 101 uses 8-10 categories to engage students
• Monitor progress through CMU 2010 OIRs survey
  research cycle
• Examine the issue of financing higher education
  in Michigan
• Strengthen graduate level programs to account for
  fewer high school graduates
• Recruit and offer programs aimed at unemployed
  adults (ProfEd?)
• Reviewing advisor-to-student ratio consider a
  reallocation of resources
• Spend more time helping students identify their
  interests, discover their major (with student
  services) which should be more than completing a
  checklist
• Connecting students through registered
  organizations, volunteer opportunities, etc.
• Automated Degree Audit System allowing students
  to help themselves graduate on time
• Consider how much support we want to offer (in
  terms of student services e.g., math center,
  writing center)

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Additional Information

• Dan Pijnappels, OIR Survey Research Coordinator
• Email pijna1dt_at_cmich.edu
• Phone [phone]
• http//www.ires2.cmich.edu/survey/surveyresearch.s
  html
• Becky Oosterhoff, Acad. Affairs Research Analyst
• Email ooste1b_at_cmich.edu
• Phone [phone]
• http//www.planning.cmich.edu/

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Conclusion
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• Thanks to the following individuals for their
  support with this presentation
• Catherine Riordan, Vice Provost of Academic
  Affairs
• Denise Green, Associate Vice President of the
  Office for Institutional Diversity
• Denise Webster, Director of Curriculum and
  Assessment
• Jason Bentley, Coordinator of the First-Year
  Experience Program
• Shawn Wilson, Director of Student Retention