Student Engagement: Comparing Community College Students in the US and Canada

Maureen Pettitt, Ph.D.Skagit Valley College, WA

Karen GrigoleitDouglas College, BC

Presentation Topics Overview of Survey Administration Institutional “Sketches” CCSSE Results: Similarities &

Differences Student CharacteristicsStudent Characteristics Use of ServicesUse of Services Student Engagement/EffortStudent Engagement/Effort College Contribution to Learning & College Contribution to Learning &

DevelopmentDevelopment Other Interesting StuffOther Interesting Stuff

How are we doing??

CCSSE Overview

Emphasis on student engagement and student learning (e.g., Astin, Tinto, Pace)

Adapted from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

Funding from Lumina Foundation for Education and Pew Charitable Trusts

Administered by Community College Leadership Program at UTA

Pilot test in 2001; field test in 2002

2003 Survey Administration

Nationally, 93 colleges participated

Northwest Consortium Douglas College in BC and five WA

community colleges 3,480 usable surveys for Consortium

Douglas College N=789 Skagit Valley College N=782

Skagit Valley College Established 1926 Predominantly rural, tri-county district

covering 2,118 square miles Mount Vernon & Whidbey Island Campuses;

Centers in So Whidbey & San Juan Island Closest metro areas ~ 60 miles (Seattle &

Vancouver, BC) Spring 2003 enrollment = 6,453 Academic/transfer & 30 prof/tech programs

Douglas College Established 1970 Two campuses—New Westminster and

Coquitlam—close enough so that students can commute between the two

Suburban location (500,000 area pop) Large immigrant population in last 10-20

years Winter 2003 enrollment = 9,847 Majority academic transfer & mix of

career/technical programs

“Above Benchmark” Performance Both Douglas College and Skagit

Valley College scored above the national benchmarks in the following areas:

Active & Collaborative Learning Student Effort Academic Challenge SVC also scored above the benchmark

in Student-Faculty Interaction

Similarities & Differences:

Student Student CharacteristicCharacteristicss

Reason for Attending

010203040506070

SVC Douglas

Transfer to 4-Yr

Obtain Job Skills

Note: Students could indicate “primary reason” in more than one category

First Generation Definition: student has no college

experience, and neither parent has earned a degree beyond a high school diploma National = 32% Northwest Consortium = 25% Douglas = 26% SVC = 27%

Non-Native English Speakers

0

10

20

30

40

SVC Douglas

Non-NativeEnglishSpeakers

First Generation

Gender

0

20

40

60

80

SVC Douglas

Female

Male

Age

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

18 19-22 23-25 26 +

SVC

Douglas

Similarities & Differences

Use of Use of Student Student Support Support ServicesServices

Similarities in Use of Services

0% 50% 100% 150%

Use ofComputer Lab

StudentOrganizations

Transfer CreditAssist

SVC

Douglas

Differences in Use of Services

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

AcademicAdvising

CareerCounseling

Skills Labs

SVC

Douglas

Similarities & Differences Student Student

Engagement/ Engagement/ Effort—Effort— Active &

Collaborative Learning

Student-Faculty Interaction

Student-Student Interaction

Active & Collaborative Learning

The percentage of SVC students responding “often” or “very often” was significantly higher for the following items: Asked questions in class or contributed to class

discussions – 68% vs. 49% Prepared two or more drafts of a paper or

assignment before turning it in – 65% vs. 52% Worked with other students on projects during

class – 66% vs. 55% Differences may be due to SVC’s required

learning communities and English writing links

Student-Faculty Interaction SVC students indicated better

relationships with faculty and staff, and were more likely than Douglas students to: Discuss grades or assignment with an

instructor Talk about career plans with an

instructor or advisor Get feedback from an instructor about

his/her performance

Student-Student Interaction There were no differences between

the colleges on the quality of relationships with other students

However, Douglas respondents were more likely to have “Had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity” than SVC respondents: 55% vs. 47% Probably due to the higher ethnic mix

at Douglas

Similarities & Differences

College College ContributioContribution to n to Student Student DevelopmeDevelopmentnt

Knowledge, Skills & Personal Development

No significant differences in these areas: acquiring a broad general education acquiring job or work-related skills critical thinking using computing & information

technology working effectively with others learning effectively on one’s own

Math & Numerical Skills Students who have taken a

remedial math course reported higher numerical skills development SVC = 76%, Douglas = 69%

Overall, SVC students reported greater gains in ability to solve numerical problems 56% vs. 33%

Possibly due to program mix or gender

Numerical Problem Solving

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

Scienc

eBus

ines

sLi

bera

l Arts

Health

Child

& Fam

ily

Oth

er/U

nkno

wn

SVC

Douglas

Other Interesting Findings

Issues Likely Issues Likely to Cause to Cause WithdrawalWithdrawal

Distribution of Distribution of Grade Point Grade Point Average Average (GPA)(GPA)

Potential Reasons for Withdrawal

0%10%20%30%40%50%

Aca

dem

ical

lyun

prep

ared

Cha

nge

in e

dgo

als

Cha

nge

inca

reer

pla

ns

Mov

ing/

relo

cati

on

SVC

Douglas

GPA – Transfer

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

C- orlower

C B- toC+

B A- toB+

A

SVC

Douglas

Primary Reason for Attending: Transfer

GPA – Job Skill ObtainmentPrimary Reason for Attending: Job-Related Skills

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

C- orlower

C B- toC+

B A- toB+

A

SVC

Douglas

Overall Satisfaction Items

“Would you recommend this college to a friend or family member?” National 95% said “Yes” they would SVC 94% Douglas 93%

“How would you evaluate your entire educational experience at this college?” National 86% rated their experience

“Excellent” or “Good” SVC 84% Douglas 80%

Just the tip of the iceberg! The data gives us

some insight into student perceptions and behaviors…How can the college use this data to improve programs and services?

Thanks for your attention …