Gallaudet Institutional Research Report:

Annual Campus Climate Survey: 2010

Pat Hulsebosch: Executive Director – Office of Academic Quality

Faculty Senate December 13, 2010

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Campus Climate Survey - 2010

• Faculty, Staff, Administrators• Annually for 3 years• Questions developed in

response to GU concerns/consultants/MSCHE

• Six subscales:1. Academic culture2. Respect and trust3. Communication/Info Sharing4. Management Style 5. Bilingualism

National Survey of Student Engagement - 2010

• Students: First year/Seniors• Biannually since 2005• Questions used nationally• Five subscales :

1. Level of academic challenge

2. Student-Faculty interaction3. Supportive campus

environment4. Enriching educational

Experiences5. Active and collaborative

learning

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GU Campus Climate Survey• 40 items : each describing a climate characteristic• Likert-like responses: 1 ---------- 5 – 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree)

• Distributed in Spring, 2010– during the week of layoffs

• Response rate was 37% of GU employees– faculty and professional - 50% each– staff and administrator - 20% and 27%

• Analyzed subscale means and individual item responses

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Climate Survey Subscale Mean Analysis – Some increase in all subscales – 2009-2010

2008 2009 2010Academic Culture 3.26 2.87 3.37 *Respect and Trust 3.03 2.70 3.06 * Institutional communication and information sharing

3.11 2.95 3.00

Freedom of Expression 2.82 2.75 2.80Management style 2.89 2.64 2.73Bilingualism 2.82 2.77 3.04*

* Subscale also showed an Increase from 2008

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GU Campus Climate Survey: Item Response Analysis

• “POSITIVE” = Agree or Strongly Agree on a positive climate characteristics– Focused on items with 50% or more people

responding POSITIVE• “NEGATIVE” = Disagree or Strongly Disagree on

a positive climate characteristic OR Agreed or Strongly Agreed on a negative statement (e.g., “Favoritism occurs in the operation of the university.” )– Focused on items with 50% or more people

responding NEGATIVE• Neutral = Neither agree nor Disagree

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GU Campus Climate Survey: Item Response Analysis

• In which areas of climate did 50% or more of the respondents have a POSITIVE response?

• In which areas of climate did 50% or more of the respondents have a NEGATIVE response?

• In which areas of climate did 50% or more of the respondents have a VARIED or DISTRIBUTED response?– A mix of Postive, Negative AND Neutral

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Climate Survey: Item Analysis Seeming contradictions/Subtle messages in patterns

• Respondents were positive about the means, frequency, and timing of communication from University Administration to the community BUT negative about the transparency and reciprocity of the communication and decision making (especially re resource allocation).

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Climate Survey: Item Analysis Seeming contradictions/Subtle messages in patterns

Agreement

1. Mutual, multiculturalism and social justice are encouraged.

2. Policies defining ethical behavior for the campus community

3. Academic departments are working together to establish consistent standards for academic performance

Disagreement

1. Respondents don’t feel there is freedom to express diverse perspectives.

2. Programs to inform and support ethical behavior at all levels of the university.

3. There is coordination across units to solve problems.

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GU Climate Survey 2010:Questions? Discussion?

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National Survey of Student Engagement

NSSE

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NSSE• Since inception more than 1,400 BA granting

colleges and universities have used• NSSE 2010– 589 institutions– Average response rate: 37%

• Practices associated with “deep learning”– Student behaviors and institutional practices

• Student reported impact• Items; Five subscales (“NSSE benchmarks”)

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Why Schools Use NSSE

• To participate in a national effort to improve undergraduate quality

• To use a research-based, psychometrically sound tool

• To compare performance against peer institutions• To examine patterns of strengths and weaknesses

within Gallaudet, across time, and across different student groups

• To guide and monitor institutional improvement• To incorporate student engagement results in

self-studies, accreditation, and accountability

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• USA Today Website is providing NSSE benchmark information on universities (voluntary)

• http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/nsse.htm

NSSE Data for Prospective Students and the Public

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National Survey of Student Engagement

BENCHMARKSLevel of Academic ChallengeActive and Collaborative

LearningStudent-Faculty Interaction

Enriching Educational Experiences

Supportive Campus Environment

EXAMPLE NSSE ITEMS • Number of papers written• Made a class presentation• Discussed assignments with

instructor• Discussed career plans with a

faculty member /advisor• Talking with students of a

different race or ethnicity• Quality of relationships with

administrative personnel and offices

How does this relate to campus climate? 18

• BENCHMARKS (%) – Comparisons to designated peers

– Comparisons to NSSE average• See Executive Summary, page 4

– Comparisons to “highly engaged” IHE’s (Top 50%, Top 10%)

– Comparisons to our past % (2004, 2005 - 2007)

Reviewing and Reporting NSSE Data

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NSSE findings:Gallaudet first year students

1. Level of academic challenge– Lower than peers, but not significantly *

2. Active and collaborative learning – Significantly higher than average

3. Student-faculty interaction– Significantly higher than average

4. Enriching educational experience– Lower than peers, but not significantly lower than average *

5. Supportive campus environment– Lower than peers, but not significantly lower than average

ALL subscales have INCREASED for first year students since the last GU NSSE Survey in 2008

* In 2008 these were significantly lower than peers

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NSSE Subscales: Freshman2006 2008 2010

Level of Academic Challenge

49.3 51.8 55.6

Active and Collaborative Learning

41.5 46.8 49.6

Student Faculty Interaction

35.6 40.9 42.9

Enriching Educational Experiences

25.5 24.1 27.3

SupportiveCampusEnvironment

58.4 60.7 60.9

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NSSE Subscales: Seniors2006 2008 2010

Level of Academic Challenge

56.2 56.5 56.4

Active and Collaborative Learning

52.0 52.4 52.7

Student Faculty Interaction

45.0 43.3 46.4

Enriching Educational Experiences

47.4 50.4 48.1

SupportiveCampusEnvironment

61.9 59.8 58.8

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NSSE findings: Educational and personal growth

• Understanding yourself– Significantly higherhigher than peers

• Understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds– Significantly higherhigher than peers

• Solving complex real-world problems– Significantly higherhigher than peers

• Developing a personal code of values and ethics– Significantly higherhigher than peers

• Developing a deepened sense of spirituality– Significantly higherhigher than peers

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Higher Than Peers

Academic and Intellectual Experiences

• Came to class w/o having completed readings or assignments

(S)• Discussed ideas from readings or classes with faculty members

outside of class (S)• Memorized (S) • Number of problem sets that take you more than an hour to

complete (S) • Number of problem sets that take you less than an hour to

complete (S) • Participate in a learning community (2+ classes together) (S) • Foreign language coursework (S)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Higher Than Peers

Academic and Intellectual Experiences • Asked Q’s or contributed to discussion (F)

• Made a class presentation (F)• Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments (F)• Tutored or taught (F, S) • Participated in a community-based project as part of a course (F, S)• Discussed grades or assignment with instructor (F)• Talked about career plans with a faculty member or advisor (F) • Worked with faculty members on activities other than coursework (F)• Number of books read on your own (F) • Number of written papers of 20 pages or more (F, S) • Community or volunteer work (F) • Study abroad (F)• Independent study or self designed major (F) • Culminating senior experience (done or planned) (F)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Lower Than Peers

Academic and Intellectual Experiences

• Worked on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources (F, S)

• Had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity than your own (F, S)

• Had serious conversations with students of a different religious, political or person values (F)

• Memorized .. (F)• Extent to which your exams have challenged you (F, S)• Community or volunteer work (F) • Quality of relationships with faculty members (F, S)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Lower Than Peers

Academic and Intellectual Experiences

• Worked with students on projects during class (S)• Put together ideas or concepts from different

courses (S)• Received prompt written or oral feedback from

faculty on your academic performance (S)• Analyzed (S) • Applied (S) • Practicum, internship ,field experience.. (S) • Foreign language coursework (S) • Culminating senior experience (done or planned) (S)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Higher Than Peers

Institutional Environment

To what extent does your institution emphasize:

• Encouraging contact among students from different …backgrounds (S)

• Using computers in academic work (F)

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Notable NSSE Items: Lower- Institutional Environment

To what extent does your institution emphasize:

• Spending significant amounts of time studying or doing academic work (F, S)

• Providing the support you need to succeed academically (F, S)

Quality of academic advising (F, S)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Higher Than Peers

Contribution of GU experience to the following areas:

• Understanding yourself (F, S)• Understanding people of other racial and ethnic

backgrounds (F, S)• Solving complex real-work problems (F) • Developing a personal code of values and ethics

(F, S) • Developing a deepened sense of spirituality (F, S)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Lower Than Peers

Contribution of experience to the following areas:

• Broad general education (F, S) • Writing clearly and effectively (S)• Speaking clearly and effectively (S) • Thinking critically and analytically (S)

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Notable NSSE Items: Significantly Lower Than Peers

How would you evaluate your entire educational experience at this institution? (F, S)

If you could start over, would you go to the same institution you are now attending? (F, S)

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Implications??

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