Thinking DEEPly about Academic Advising and Student Engagement

Thinking DEEPly about Academic Advising and Student Engagement George D. Kuh NACADA National Conference October 18, 2006

We all want the same thing—an undergraduate experience that results in high levels of learning and personal development for all students.

Overview Ø What matters to student success Ø The role of engagement Ø What students say about advising Ø Lessons for advisors from high-performing institutions

Advance Organizers v. To what extent do your students engage in productive learning activities, inside and outside the classroom? v. How do you know? v. What mighty you do differently -or better -- to foster student success?

Student Success in College Academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of educational objectives, and post-college performance

Pre-college Characteristics Associated with Student Success ØAcademic preparation ØAbility and college-level skills ØFamily education and support ØFinancial wherewithal

Early College Indicators of Persistence and Success Ø Goal realization Ø Psycho-social fit Ø Credit hours completed Ø Academic and social support Ø Involvement in the “right” kinds of activities

What Really Matters in College: Student Engagement Because individual effort and involvement are the critical determinants of impact, institutions should focus on the ways they can shape their academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement. Pascarella & Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 2005, p. 602

Student Engagement Trinity Ø What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities Ø What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things Ø Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities

Good Practices in Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) ü ü ü ü Student-faculty contact Active learning Prompt feedback Time on task High expectations Respect for diverse learning styles Cooperation among students

National Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “nessie”) Community College Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “cessie”) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

NSSE Survey Student Behaviors Institutional Actions & Requirements Reactions to People & Environment Student Background Information Student Learning & Development

In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you done each of the following? 1

Effective Educational Practices Level of Academic Challenge Student. Faculty Interaction Enriching Educational Experiences Active & Collaborative Learning Supportive Campus Environment

Grades, persistence, student satisfaction, and engagement go hand in hand

Behold the compensatory effects of engagement

Student Success Quiz What is the best predictor of satisfaction with the campus climate for learning? (a) high school rank (b) college gpa (c) credit hours completed (d) quality of academic advising (e) none of the above d. academic advising

Accurate and current information from advisors

Primary source of academic advising

First-Year Student Use of Campus Services

What do “engaging” colleges look like? And what do advisors there do? !?

What We Learned from Project DEEP Jossey-Bass 2005

DEEP Guiding Questions ØWhat do strong-performing institutions do to promote student success? ØWhat campus features -- policies, programs, and practices – are related to higher-than-predicted graduation rates and student engagement?

DEEP Selection Criteria Controlling for student and institutional characteristics (i. e. , selectivity, diversity, institutional type), DEEP schools have: Ø Higher-than-predicted graduation rates Ø Higher-than-predicted NSSE scores Ø Region, institutional type, special mission

Research Approach Case study method üTeam of 24 researchers review institutional documents and conduct multiple-day site visits üObserve individuals, classes, group meetings, activities, events 2, 700+ people, 60 classes, 30 events üDiscover and describe effective practices and programs, campus culture

Project DEEP Schools Doctoral Extensives University of Kansas University of Michigan Doctoral Intensives George Mason University Miami University (Ohio) University of Texas El Paso Liberal Arts California State, Monterey Bay Macalester College Sweet Briar College The Evergreen State College Sewanee: University of the South Ursinus College Wabash College Wheaton College (MA) Wofford College Baccalaureate General Alverno College Fayetteville State University of Maine at Farmington Gonzaga University Winston-Salem State University Longwood University Master’s Granting

Six Common Conditions v “Living” Mission and “Lived” Educational Philosophy v Unshakeable Focus on Student Learning v Environments Adapted for Educational Enrichment v Clearly Marked Pathways to Student Success v Improvement-Oriented Ethos v Shared Responsibility for Educational Quality

Five DEEP Lessons for Academic Advisors We can’t leave serendipity to chance

Points to Ponder ØTo what extent do these ideas characterize your work and your institution? ØWhat are the implications for: üYou? üFor faculty members? üFor academic administrators üFor student affairs staff? üFor others (e. g. , librarians, info tech personnel, etc. )?

1. Adopt a talent development approach to advising a. “Know” your students Ø Who are they? Ø What are they telling us?

Student Success Quiz What percent of high school seniors have college-level reading skills? (a) 51% (b) 59% (c) 68% (d) 77% (e) none of the above a. 51% (ACT, 2006) ACT

Student Success Quiz True or false: 25% of first-year first-time frosh at two-year colleges are required to take one or more remedial courses in college. False. 60%

Student Success Quiz What percent of students who take at least one remedial course in reading do not earn a certificate or degree within 8 years of first enrollment? (a) 18% (b) 33% (c) 43% (d) 61% (e) 70% e. 70%

Student Success Quiz About what percent of community college students return for the second year? (a) 29% (b) 33% (c) 50% (d) 61% (e) 77% c. 50% 15% do not complete one academic term

Students Today § An entitlementality

Trends in High School Grades

Students Today § An entitlementality § Cumulative deficit re: attitudes, study habits, academic skills

Students Today § More diverse than previous cohorts § Techno-savvy “Net. Gens”

Factors That Threaten Persistence and Graduation from College v academically underprepared for college-level work v gap between high school and college v part-time enrollment v single parent v financially independent v children at home v 30+ hours working per week v first-generation college student

1. Adopt a talent development approach to advising a. b. “Know” your students Meet students “where they are” – academically, socially, psychologically.

“Meet students where they are” Fayetteville State v. Faculty members “teach the students they have, not those they wish they had” v. Center for Teaching and Learning sponsors development activities on diverse learning needs Cal State Monterey Bay v“Assets” philosophy acknowledges students’ prior knowledge

1. Adopt a talent development approach to advising a. b. c. “Know” your students Meet students “where they are” – academically, socially, psychologically. Set high expectations – challenge, implore, cajole and support

Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement ØAnnual survey of entering first-year students Ø 2005 -2006 pilot test at 70 institutions ØAdministered prior to start of classes Ty M. Cruce Julie M. Williams John V. Moore Indiana University

It Takes a Whole Campus to Educate a Student

2. Make advising a tag team activity a. b. Share responsibility for student success Draw on multiple sources of expertise and perspectives on students

Redundant early warning systems: “Tag Teaming” ØWheaton first-year student advising team includes faculty, student preceptors, librarians and administrative staff. ØAt Ursinus, Miami, and Wheaton representatives from both academic affairs and student affairs serve as academic advisors.

3. Help students map out a path to success a. Draw a map for student success

3. Help students map out a path to success a. Draw a map for student success b. Teach newcomers about the campus culture

Socialization to academic expectations “Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve, ” Winston Salem’s motto, reflects an educational philosophy that emphasizes that students must repay a societal debt for the privileges of freedom and responsibility. Freshman Seminar and Nursing Strategies courses include service responsibilities for new students.

3. Help students map out a path to success a. Draw a map for student success b. Teach newcomers about the campus culture c. Emphasize student initiative d. Point students to programs, resources and activities that work!

Potential “High Impact” Activities Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø First-year seminars and experiences Common intellectual experiences Learning communities Writing-intensive courses Collaborative assignments “Science as science is done” Diversity/global learning Service learning/community service Internships Capstone experiences/projects

What to Do? !? Student success requires that we explain more things to today’s students that we once took for granted – “You must buy the book, you must read it and come to class, you must observe deadlines or make special arrangements when you miss one” Prof. Richard Turner (1998, p. 4)

Lessons from National Center for Academic Transformation ü If doing something is important, require it (first-year students don’t do ‘optional’) ü Assign course points to the activity ü Monitor and intervene when necessary http: //www. thencat. org/Newsletters/Apr 06. htm#1

Intrusive advising University of Kansas “Graduate in Four” advising notebook: ü Distributed at orientation ü Describes to students how to make the most of undergraduate study ü Students required to meet with advisor to review progress to degree ü Section for each of the four undergraduate years ü “Checklist” for students to weigh choices and monitor if they are making progress.

4. Make every interaction meaningful a. b. c. d. e. f. Participate and connect before college and during orientation Provide accurate information Push students to think! Develop peer mentoring programs Imbed advising into a first-year course Encourage students to experience diversity

Who Is Most Likely to Experience Diversity? More Students of color Less White students Traditional-age students Older students Women Men First-year students Upper-division students

Something Else That Really Matters in College The greatest impact appears to stem from students’ total level of campus engagement, particularly when academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular involvements are mutually reinforcing… Pascarella & Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 2005, p. 647

Linking campus and community California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) requires all students to complete both a lower and upper-level service learning experience as a means to apply knowledge and connect with the local community.

5. Focus on culture sooner than later Ultimately, it’s all about the culture… a. Identify cultural properties that impede advisor effectiveness and student success b. Expand the number of cultural practitioners on campus c. Instill an ethic of positive restlessness

Positive restlessness ü“We know who we are and what we aspire to. ” üConfident, responsive, but never quite satisfied… üSelf-correcting orientation üContinually question, “are we performing as well as we can? ”

Checking the Truth þ How well does our advising system work? How do we know? þ How many students do our efforts reach in meaningful ways and how do we know? þ To what degree are our efforts complementary? þWhat are we not doing that we should?

Last Word We cannot change the lineage of our students. Campus cultures do not change easily or willingly. But we can do far more to shape the way students approach college and what they do after they arrive. Do we have the will to more consistently use promising policies and practices to increase the odds that more students “get ready, ” “get in, ” and “get through? ”

Questions & Discussion