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TRANSCRIPT
TEACHING AND LEARNING ADVISORY COUNCIL
March 10, 2020 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Draft Agenda Abbotsford A225
Acting Chair: Anna Wauthy
1. ITEMS FOR ADOPTION a. Agenda – March 10, 2020 b. Approval of Minutes – Feb 11, 2020
2. ROUNDTABLE
3. NSSE / FSSE SURVEY RESULTS (see pages 7 – 28)
4. TLC REPORT – Maureen Wideman
Next meeting April 7, 2020
Committee:
* David Fenske * Chantelle Marlor * Claire Hay * Anna Wauthy * Samarjit Dhillon * Elaine Newman * Diane Cruickshank * Sandra Smith * Renee Prasad * Helen Twentyman * JoAnne Nelmes * Martha Dow
* Heather McAlpine * Celeste-tina Hernandez * Russell Campbell Lorna Andrews Michelle Johnson Mary Saudelli Navneet Sidhu *voting member
TEACHING AND LEARNING ADVISORY COUNCIL Feb 11, 2020
2:30 pm – 4:30 pm Abbotsford, A225
Acting Chair: *Adrianna Bakos
Regrets: Claire Hay, Samarjit Dhillon, Elaine Newman, Chantelle Marlor, Michelle Johnson,
Joanna Sheppard
1. ITEMS FOR ADOPTION
a. Agenda for Feb 11, 2020 – Approved b. Minutes for Nov 5, 2019 – Approved as amended
-Add BB Ultra upgrade – Maureen Wideman -Add R Drive backups – Diane Cruickshank
2. ONLINE COURSE GUIDELINES (Rubric) continued discussion from the Nov 2019 meeting. (see pages 5 – 6) Maureen Wideman responded to following questions: Q: What generated these guidelines? A: The reasons for these guidelines are (1) there is a space crunch at UFV, (2) students are asking
for more online, weekends and evening classes, and (3) some online courses are good, but some are not.
Q: Is there a guiding principle of which courses go online? A: There is no guiding principle as it would be hard to create rules on what should go online. It’s
up to the faculty to decide this. Q: Who will measure online courses against this guideline? A: This guideline is self-administered and not required. It is a resource for faculty to help them in
designing their course. Q: Are all items listed supposed to fit in every course? A: Not all elements in the guideline will fit in every course so it’s up to the discretion of the faculty
designing the course.
Q: Can the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) help faculty design their first-year online courses? A: Yes, send an email to [email protected] and we can help you design it.
Comments from the committee
Present: *Anna Wauthy * Diane Cruickshanks * Helen Twentyman *David Fenske * Celeste-tina Hernandez * JoAnne Nelmes Dugg Steary Navneet Sidhu Mary Saudelli *voting member
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Training for teaching online should be a requirement.
The History Department has a committee that monitors their online courses for consistency.
The Stó:lō video https://video.ufv.ca/media/Territory+Acknowledgement/0_8aygzep5/35433 has been approved by Senate and is considered an act of reconciliation if used in your course. If you have questions about the Stó:lō welcome, email Lorna Andrews [email protected]
Getting a course release to design an online course is hard.
Nursing uses the hybrid course delivery method and is very successful.
A hybrid checklist showing how to incorporate face-to-face would be helpful.
To understand teaching online, faculty should be a student in an online class.
3. TLC REPORT – Maureen Wideman
Claire Hay will be joining the TLC April 14th as the new Specialist, Teaching and Learning. Claire has been at UFV since 2002 and brings 18 years of classroom experience to the role. Trained as a geographer, Claire has taught a suite of undergraduate geography courses here at UFV adding portfolio courses to her teaching practice over the past 3 years. In her new role, Claire hopes to engage faculty in the stories of their own teaching practice and help them become their best teaching selves to support UFV’s vision and mission. She says “my hope is to meet faculty where they are in their teaching craft and work with them to see what’s possible and continue to pursue innovation and excellence in the classroom.”
Dugg Steary has joined the TLC in the position of Learning Designer. Prior to joining UFV, Dugg was a faculty member and program coordinator at institutes in British Columbia and Ontario. See more here https://www.ufv.ca/teaching-and-learning/contact-us/steary-dugg.htm
Workshops in the TLC – Tell Us What You Want! TLC has changed its format for offering workshops. If you need anything, we will create it using your topic. It can be any length of time, date and place, and any format that works for you. Some examples of workshops that can be created are: myClass Full Grade Centre Universal Design for learning myClass ePorfolio Virtual Reality Designing Online Courses Email [email protected] to speak with a Learning Designer.
Blackboard Upgrade – Urgent!
This is an important upgrade and will be happening April 28 – May 1st. The old version of Blackboard will be replaced with a new easier-to-use version and will look very different. Teaching and Learning will be sending representatives to Faculty Council meetings to talk about the upgrade and how it will impact online courses. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
4. Indigenizing Workshops – Lorna Andrews
Educators Journey Towards Reconciliation – Feb 18 – 19, 2020 During our two days together, we will go through a journey to discover challenges and best practices in decolonizing the classroom and, our education practice. Indigenizing the Curriculum – Feb 20 – 21, 2020
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Now that you have set the foundation and have completed the Educators Journey to Reconciliation, it is time to apply your knowledge. This workshop will provide you with hands-on experience and resources that will bring together worldviews and Indigenous ways of knowing into the classroom
For more information on these two workshops and to register, please see this link http://events.ufv.ca/tlc/events/educators-journey-towards-reconciliation-3/
4. OER DISCUSSION – Open Education Is More Than Open Content by Jim Whitehurst (see link pages 93-99). A discussion ensued around the following points:
a. Do students understand critical literacy and can they be sufficiently critical of online content? It is important to teach students what is legitimate and what isn’t.
b. Buy-in is challenging as some faculty don’t want to share their curriculum in an open
source context but when using creative commons, you can pick the level of open you want.
c. Does OER devalue traditional teaching and what is the quality of the textbooks?
d. OER is very beneficial to students and helps them cut down on education debt.
e. BC Campus offers grants to develop OER or you can apply to be a textbook reviewer https://bccampus.ca/
Action Item: invite Anna Kuczynska to speak to the TLAC on the open textbook she produced.
5. R DRIVE BACKUPS – Diane Cruickshank Content that is saved in R drive can be restored for students within two months of it being deleted. This is important to know when working with students in ePorfolios. Students can also restore documents from seven years ago if they provide a date and a name of the document. Meeting adjourned at 4:21 pm.
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UFV Online Course Development /Review G u i d e l i n e s o r C h e c k l i s t DRAFT
Criteria Y/N Notes Course Information includes: Brief course overview Stó:lō Territory acknowledgement / video Explanation of online tools used in the course Syllabus including learning outcomes, assessments Grading scheme clearly outlined Communication expectations – email, discussions, netiquette Daily/weekly expectations/contributions Glossary of terms provided Instructor introduction/welcome Contact information A variety of office hour types – synchronous, in office, phone Link to pertinent policies – academic integrity, student conduct, etc. Link to Help sites – technology, ASC, Student Affairs, Counselling, ISC, etc.
Student diversity respected
Course Design / Materials Course is consistently and logically organized into smaller units Units use visual elements to support concepts – images, videos, learning objects A variety of learning materials are provided – videos, readings, discussion, etc. Each unit has introduction with goals clearly stated (why is this important) Unit objectives clearly stated (by the end of this unit, you will…) Guiding questions enable students to determine important aspects of unit Required elements and optional are clearly distinguished Materials include Indigenous worldviews eg. text, videos, etc. Local and global examples are used as appropriate If synchronous activities used, they are recorded and posted for later viewing
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Materials are current and links are working
Adhering to standards of creative commons Self-assessment / check-ins provided eg. quiz, journal, etc. Course supports UDL principles (see attached TBA)
Assessment Assessment activities support learning outcomes and objectives Instructor marking timelines clearly stated Academic integrity parameters clearly explained eg. how much consultation with others, use of Turnitin.com, etc.
Students provided early and frequent feedback on progress Student learning assessed using a variety of assessment techniques Clear instructions describe how assignments are to be submitted Well-developed rubrics guide students and evaluation Students have choice of types of assessments and deadlines as developed by the instructor Grades are posted in LMS grading system
Student Engagement Learning activities are aligned with learning outcomes Students provided opportunities to engage with content Students provided opportunities to engage with instructor Students provided opportunities to engage with each other Requirements for student interaction clearly stated Students post introduction in first week – eg. text, video, discussion Students are provided with an experiential learning opportunity eg. virtual tour, augmented reality, community project
Students have the opportunity to show their work if they chose to do so Indigenous ways of knowing and being infused into learning practices
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Prepared by the Office of Institutional Research and Integrated Planning
UNIVERSITY OF THE FRASER VALLEY
February, 2020
UFV NATIONAL SURVEY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT (NSSE)
AND FACULTY SURVEY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT (FSSE)
2019 SURVEY COMPARISON HIGHLIGHTS
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UFV National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and Faculty Survey
of Student Engagement (FSSE) 2019 Survey Comparison Highlights
Prepared by the Office of Institutional Research and Integrated Planning
February, 2020
Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. 2
About the Surveys .................................................................................................................................... 4
Academic Challenge ................................................................................................................................. 5
Learning with Peers .................................................................................................................................. 8
Experiences with Faculty ........................................................................................................................ 10
Campus Environment ............................................................................................................................. 12
Additional Engagement Items ............................................................................................................... 14
High-Impact Practices............................................................................................................................. 19
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Executive Summary Every three years, the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the complementary Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE). These surveys provide valuable information around student engagement that can be used to refine curriculum, pedagogy, strategic planning, administrative and service processes, and also can be used as a resource for prospective students. UFV most recently participated in these surveys in 2019. We provide a comparison of the NSSE and FSSE 2019 survey results, highlighting some of the similar and different findings from both of these most recent surveys. We focus our attention on results that identify topics with the greatest potential for improvement. A high percentage of both UFV faculty and student respondents agree that UFV contributes to students’ development of thinking critically and analytically; 91% of lower-division and 93% of upper-division faculty believe that they structure their course sections to develop these skills, while 77% of first-year and 87% of senior students believe that their experience at UFV has done the same. Faculty place a higher importance on student engagement activities than the frequency of the behaviour students reported in actual practice. As an example, 19% of first-year students and 25% of senior students reported that they often went to class without completing readings or assignments, activities that 91% of lower-division and 97% of upper-division faculty valued as important. Some 90% of UFV faculty believe that it is important for UFV to increase its emphasis on providing support to help students succeed academically; 69% of UFV first-year and senior students feel UFV emphasizes this type of support very much, or quite a bit. A higher percentage of UFV faculty believe that they provide prompt and detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments, compared to UFV students — 94% of lower-division faculty believe they do this at least quite a bit (84% for upper-division faculty) compared to 54% of first-year students and 57% of senior students that reported the same. This is a difference of 40 percentage points between lower-division faculty and first-year students’ perception, and 27 percentage points between upper-division faculty and senior students’ perception. The majority of UFV lower and upper-division faculty respondents (66% of lower-division and 61% of upper-division faculty) answered that they have (at least) often talked about academic performance with the undergraduate students that they have taught or advised during the 2018/19 school year. A much smaller proportion of UFV first-year and senior students responded to having these same interactions with faculty at least often (19% of first-year and 23% of senior students). Very few UFV faculty respondents, and in most cases, less than half of UFV student respondents gave a high rating for their perceived quality of interactions of students and other members at UFV. Only 16% of lower-division and 15% of upper-division UFV faculty gave a high rating for their perception of the quality of student interactions with other students, compared to 46% of first-year and 50% of senior UFV students that gave a high rating for the quality of their interactions with other students.
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Faculty are aware of the unique characteristics of UFV students, and how they spend their time in an average week. For example, 42% of UFV lower-division faculty respondents perceived that the typical UFV student worked for pay off campus for 16 or more hours in a week compared to 43% of first-year respondents who reported doing so (52% for upper-division faculty vs 47% of senior respondents). Faculty underestimate the amount of time students spend preparing for class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities) in an average week. Both UFV lower-division and upper-division faculty estimate only 5% of students spend 16 hours or more per week preparing for class, compared to 36% of UFV first-year and 38% of senior respondents that reported spending 16 or more hours per week preparing for class. Almost three quarters of UFV faculty (72%) believe that it is important for undergraduates at UFV to participate in a senior culminating experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, comprehensive exam, portfolio, etc.) before they graduate, compared to only one quarter (25%) of UFV senior and 2% of UFV first-year respondents that said that they had done so.
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About the Surveys UFV participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and complementary Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) every three years. UFV most recently participated in both surveys in 2019. The NSSE is an international survey that collects information at hundreds of universities about student participation in programs and activities and the results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending university. The Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) is designed to complement the related NSSE survey, and is conducted at the same time. The FSSE survey measures faculty perceptions of how often students engage in different activities, the importance faculty place on various areas of learning and development, the nature and frequency of faculty-student interactions, and how faculty members organize their time. The NSSE 2019 survey groups included first-year and senior (fourth-year) degree-seeking students (including undergraduate diploma, associate degrees, and degrees) enrolled in both the fall 2018 and winter 2019 terms. The FSSE 2019 survey queries undergraduate faculty; faculty are categorized based on their reported experience teaching a particular course, either lower or upper-division. Results from faculty who responded based on another type of course or who did not report a course level are not included in this report. Both surveys were conducted in the spring of 2019. UFV faculty participated at a higher rate (41%) compared to UFV first-year and senior students (27% and 30%, respectively), with the largest proportion of faculty (FSSE) respondents in the upper-division group (51%).
The NSSE and FSSE survey questions and responses are grouped into the following categories: Academic
Challenge, Learning with Peers, Experiences with Faculty, Campus Environment, Additional Engagement
Items, and High-Impact Practices. Within each of these categories are sub-sections that explore different
aspects of the main category.
There are (often) notable differences in how the questions have been presented to faculty (FSSE) as
opposed to students (NSSE). For example, faculty are asked to answer some of the survey questions
based on one particular undergraduate course section that they are teaching, or have taught during the
2018/19 school year, whereas students are asked to respond to survey questions based on their current
school year, which would include all courses that they were enrolled in.
There are also differences in the phrasing of questions to faculty (and students); they are often asked to
rank the importance (to them) that undergraduate students participate in a particular practice, or how
often they believe that students participate in a particular practice, whereas students are asked how
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frequently they have completed a particular practice (their actual experience). Similarly, in several of the
survey questions, faculty are asked if they believe that there should be more importance or emphasis
placed on a particular practice at UFV, whereas students are asked if they believe that UFV places
emphasis on a particular practice. Nevertheless, we can compare the perceptions and practices of UFV
faculty and students regarding student participation and engagement — gaining insight into the many
similarities and differences that exist.
Finally, the NSSE and FSSE results include data from both partial and fully completed surveys — as a
result, for some questions there are responses with missing values. When this situation arises, the
results for these questions are calculated based on the total number of respondents that provided an
answer (as opposed to the total number of respondents in the survey).
Academic Challenge The Academic Challenge category includes a number of sub-sections that query UFV faculty on classroom and academic practices that they believe to be important, and UFV first-year and senior students on the frequency that they have actually engaged in these practices. Overall, faculty place a higher emphasis on the importance of these practices compared to students’ actual experiences. In many of the sub-sections in this category, there is general agreement from UFV faculty and students; with slightly higher emphasis (percentages) from upper-division faculty and senior students than lower-division faculty and first-year students. We highlight some differences from three of the sub-categories in what follows (Learning Strategies, Quantitative Reasoning, and an Additional Academic Challenge item), along with a table of results for the remaining sub-categories (Higher-Order Learning and Reflective & Integrative Learning). There is strong agreement between UFV faculty and students regarding the encouragement of specific learning strategies in the classroom and actual student practice. When it comes to identifying key information from reading assignments, a slightly higher proportion of students do this often (75% of first-year, 79% of senior students) than faculty that have responded encouraging their students to do so (69% of lower-division, 72% of upper-division do so at least quite a bit). Similarly, for reviewing notes after class, 65% of first-year and 51% of senior UFV students report doing this often compared to 58% of lower-division and 56% of upper-division UFV faculty that encourage this practice quite a bit (Figure 1). Figure 1: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Learning Strategies
Lower-Division 69% First-year 75%
Upper-Division 72% Senior 79%
Lower-Division 58% First-year 65%
Upper-Division 56% Senior 51%
Lower-Division 63% First-year 62%
Upper-Division 62% Senior 53%
Identify key information from
reading assignments
Identified key information from
reading assignments
Review notes after class Reviewed your notes after class
Summarize what has been learned
from class or from course materials
Summarized what you learned in
class or from course materials
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In your selected course section, how much do you encourage
students to do the following?
During the current school year, about how often have you
done the following?
very much + quite a bit % very often + often %
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Some of the biggest differences between faculty importance and actual student experience in this category is regarding quantitative reasoning. Roughly two thirds of faculty responded that it was important to them that students reach conclusions based on their own analysis of numerical information, use numerical information to examine a real-world problem or issue, and evaluate what others have concluded from numerical information, compared to about one third of students that responded that they had often completed such activities (Figure 2). Figure 2: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Quantitative Reasoning
One other interesting finding is the discrepancy between the higher perception of faculty (particularly upper-division) that think students do their best work quite a bit (59% of lower-division, 68% of upper-division faculty) compared to the proportion of students that said their courses challenged them to do their best work (50% of first-year, 45% of senior students).
For the Higher-Order Learning sub-category, there is general agreement between the amount faculty emphasize certain types of practice in their classrooms, and the level of emphasis perceived by UFV
Lower-Division 66% First-year 39%
Upper-Division 61% Senior 43%
Lower-Division 58% First-year 30%
Upper-Division 63% Senior 34%
Lower-Division 55% First-year 28%
Upper-Division 64% Senior 38%
Evaluate what others have
concluded from numerical
information
Evaluated what others have
concluded from numerical
information
very important + important % very often + often %
Reach conclusions based on their
own analysis of numerical
information (numbers, graphs,
statistics, etc.)
Reached conclusions based on your
own analysis of numerical
information (numbers, graphs,
statistics, etc.)
Use numerical information to
examine a real-world problem or
issue (unemployment, climate
change, public health, etc.)
Used numerical information to
examine a real-wolrd problem or
issue (unemployment, climate
change, public health, etc.)
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In your selected course section, how important is it to you that
the typical students do the following?
During the current school year, about how often have you
done the following?
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students, but with slightly higher emphasis placed by faculty than is perceived by students. For the Reflective & Integrated Learning sub-category, a higher proportion of faculty have placed importance on this type of practice than students have reported completing at least often. Figure 3 below provides a comparison of responses from UFV upper and lower-division faculty and first-year and senior students regarding Higher-Order Learning, Reflective & Integrated Learning, and one Additional Academic Challenge Item. Figure 3: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Higher-Order Learning, Reflective & Integrated Learning, and one Additional Academic Challenge Item
Lower-Division 81% First-year 71%
Upper-Division 83% Senior 77%
Lower-Division 77% First-year 64%
Upper-Division 78% Senior 71%
Lower-Division 67% First-year 62%
Upper-Division 79% Senior 65%
Lower-Division 77% First-year 64%
Upper-Division 77% Senior 68%
Forming a new idea or understanding
from various pieces of information
Forming a new idea or understanding
from various pieces of information
Analyzing an idea, experience, or line
of reasoning in depth by examining
its parts
Analyzing an idea, experience, or line
of reasoning in depth by examining
its parts
Evaluating a point of view, decision,
or information source
Evaluating a point of view, decision,
or information source
In your selected course section, how much does the coursework
emphasize the following?
During the current school year, how much has your
coursework emphasized the following?
very much + quite a bit % very much + quite a bit %
Applying facts, theories, or methods
to practical problems or new
situations
Applying facts, theories, or methods
to practical problems or new
situations
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
Higher-Order Learning
Lower-Division 70% First-year 76%
Upper-Division 70% Senior 80%
Students spending significant
amounts of time studying and on
academic work
Spending significant amounts of time
studying and on academic work?
How important is it to you that your institution increase its
emphasis on each of the following?
How much does your institution emphasize the following?
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
very important + important % very much + quite a bit %
Additional Academic Challenge Items
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Learning with Peers UFV faculty, first-year and senior student survey participants provided their perspectives and experiences regarding learning with peers, included in the sub-categories of Collaborative Learning and Discussions with Diverse Others. Faculty responses were based on a (their) selected course section, while students were asked about the frequency of particular actions during the 2018/19 school year. Generally speaking, a smaller percentage of UFV first-year and senior students reported that they had often completed collaborative learning activities, in comparison to the percentage of faculty that said that they had encouraged students to complete the same. One of the biggest differences is observed between faculty and student responses regarding asking another student to help understand course material; while 67% of both lower and upper-division faculty encouraged students to do this quite a bit, only 47% of first year and 40% of senior students responded that they had done this at least often (Figure 4).
Lower-Division 67% First-year 52%
Upper-Division 82% Senior 71%
Lower-Division 77% First-year 50%
Upper-Division 85% Senior 60%
Lower-Division 65% First-year 44%
Upper-Division 80% Senior 51%
Lower-Division 78% First-year 65%
Upper-Division 89% Senior 64%
Lower-Division 76% First-year 72%
Upper-Division 84% Senior 73%
Lower-Division 91% First-year 69%
Upper-Division 90% Senior 74%
Lower-Division 95% First-year 80%
Upper-Division 95% Senior 84%
Examine the strengths and
weaknesses of their own views on a
topic or issue
Examined the strengths and
weaknesses of your own views on a
topic or issue
Try to better understand someone
else's views by imagining how an
issue looks from their perspective
Tried to better understand someone
else's views by imagining how an
issue looks from their perspective
Learn something that chagnes the
way they understand an issue or
concept
Learned something that changes the
way you understand an issue or
concept
Connect ideas from your course to
their prior experiences and
knowledge
Connected ideas from your courses
to your prior experiences and
knowledge
Connect their learning to societal
problems of issues
Connected your learning to societal
problems or issues
Include diverse perspectives
(political, religious, racial/ethnic,
gender, etc.) in course discussions or
assignments
Included diverse perspectives
(political, religious, racial/ethnic,
gender, etc.) in course discussions or
assignments
Reflective & Integrative Learning
In your selected course section, how important is it to you that
the typical student do the following?
During the current school year, about how often have you
done the following?
very important + important % very often + often %
Combine ideas from different
courses when completing
assignments
Combined ideas from different
courses when completing
assignments
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
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Figure 4: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Collaborative Learning
We also see that a higher proportion of UFV first-year and senior student respondents claim that they have had discussions with diverse others, at least often, compared to the proportion of faculty that reported that they have provided opportunities in their selected course sections for this to occur, at least quite a bit (Figure 5). This would likely indicate that students are (also) engaging in discussions with diverse others outside of UFV classrooms. Figure 5: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Discussion with Diverse Others
Lower-Division 67% First-year 47%
Upper-Division 67% Senior 40%
Lower-Division 60% First-year 56%
Upper-Division 58% Senior 60%
Lower-Division 66% First-year 42%
Upper-Division 53% Senior 46%
Lower-Division 67% First-year 53%
Upper-Division 72% Senior 77%
Work with other students on course
projects or assignments
Worked with other students on
course projects or assignments
Ask other students for help
understanding course material
Asked another student to help you
understand course material
Explain course material to other
students
Explained course material to one or
more students
Prepare for exams by discussing or
working through course material
with other students
Prepared for exams by discussing or
working through course material
with other students
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In your selected course section, how much do you encourage
students to do the following?
During the current school year, about how often have you
done the following?
very much + quite a bit % very often + often %
Lower-Division 66% First-year 73%
Upper-Division 57% Senior 78%
Lower-Division 54% First-year 68%
Upper-Division 50% Senior 68%
Lower-Division 58% First-year 68%
Upper-Division 47% Senior 76%
Lower-Division 56% First-year 60%
Upper-Division 33% Senior 57%
People with religious beliefs other
than their own
People with religious beliefs other
than your own
People with polictical views other
than their own
People with political views other
than your own
very much + quite a bit % very often + often %
People of race or ethnicity other
than their own
People of a race or ethnicity other
than your own
People from an economic
background other than their own
People from an economic
background other than your own
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In your selected course section, how much opportunity do
students have to engage in discussions with people from the
following groups?
During the current school year, about how often have you
had discussions with people from the following groups?
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Experiences with Faculty Both UFV faculty and student participants were questioned about the frequency of Student-Faculty Interactions and Effective Teaching Practices. A higher percentage of UFV faculty respondents believed that they had very often or often engaged in various types of discussions with the undergraduate students that they had taught or advised, compared to UFV student respondents’ experiences. We see similar results for effective teaching practices. A higher proportion of UFV faculty believed that they had practiced effective teaching methodologies very much or quite a bit, compared to the perceptions of UFV first-year and senior students. There is some challenge when comparing the survey responses regarding student-faculty interactions and effective teaching practices, given that the ratio of faculty to students is not a one-to-one relation. Nonetheless, we share a brief overview of the findings. The Student-Faculty Interaction sub-section includes questions regarding the frequency of discussions about career plans, course concepts outside of class, academic performance, as well as work on activities other than coursework. The majority of UFV lower and upper-division faculty respondents answered that they have (at least) often talked about career plans, discussed course concepts, as well as academic performance with the undergraduate students that they have taught or advised during the 2018/19 school year. A much smaller proportion of UFV first-year and senior students responded to having these same interactions with faculty (at least often). Figure 6 below provides a summary of the Student-Faculty Interaction survey questions and results. For example, 66% of lower-division and 61% of upper-division faculty responded that they had discussed academic performance with the students that they teach or advise, compared to 19% of first-year and 23% of senior students that reported doing so. Figure 6: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Student-Faculty Interaction
The Effective Teaching practices grouping includes questioning about the extent (very much + quite a bit) that faculty had clearly explained course goals and requirements, taught course sessions in an organized way, used examples or illustrations to explain difficult points, provided feedback to students
Lower-Division 59% First-year 24%
Upper-Division 52% Senior 38%
Lower-Division 34% First-year 9%
Upper-Division 37% Senior 25%
Lower-Division 57% First-year 19%
Upper-Division 58% Senior 32%
Lower-Division 66% First-year 19%
Upper-Division 61% Senior 23%
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
Discussed their academic
performance
Discussed your academic
performance with a faculty member
% very often + often% very often + often
During the current school year, about how often you have
done the following?During the current school year, about how often have you
done each of the following with the undergraduate students
you teach or advise?
Talked about their career plansTalked about career plans with a
faculty member
Worked on activities other than
coursework (committees, student
groups, etc.)
Worked with a faculty member on
activities other than coursework
(committees, students groups, etc.)
Discussed course topics, ideas, or
concepts outside of class
Discussed course topics, ideas, or
concepts with a faculty member
outside of class
17
11
on drafts or works in progress, and whether they provided prompt and detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments. Similarly, UFV students provided their perception on the extent that their instructors had enlisted these effective teaching practices in their courses (very much + quite a bit). While both groups report that effective teaching practices are used in their undergraduate courses at least quite a bit the majority of the time, a larger proportion of UFV faculty respondents report the use of effective teaching practices than what is perceived by UFV first-year and senior students. More than 97% of UFV lower and upper-division faculty believe that they clearly explain course goals and requirements, teach course sessions in an organized way, and use examples or illustrations to explain difficult points at least quite a bit in their undergraduate courses. First-year and senior UFV students’ perceptions on the frequency of these practices are some 13% to 28% less, as can be seen in Figure 7. When asked if they provide prompt and detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments, 94% of lower-division faculty believe they do this at least quite a bit (84% for upper-division faculty) compared to 54% of first-year students and 57% of senior students that reported the same (Figure 7). This is a difference of 40% between lower-division faculty and first-year students’ perception, and 27% between upper-division faculty and senior students’ perception. Where students and faculty most closely agree in this section, is regarding the frequency of providing feedback to students on drafts or works in progress; 65% of lower-division faculty believe they do this (at least) quite a bit (59% for upper-division faculty) compared to 55% of first-year and senior respondents responding the same. Figure 7 below provides a summary of the Effective Teaching Practices grouping of survey questions and results. Figure 7: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Effective Teaching Practices
Lower-Division 98% First-year 77%
Upper-Division 97% Senior 84%
Lower-Division 98% First-year 75%
Upper-Division 99% Senior 80%
Lower-Division 99% First-year 72%
Upper-Division 99% Senior 71%
Lower-Division 65% First-year 55%
Upper-Division 59% Senior 55%
Lower-Division 94% First-year 54%
Upper-Division 84% Senior 57%
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In your undergraduate courses, to what extent do you do the
following?
During the current school year, to what extent have your
instructors done the following?
% very much + quite a bit % very much + quite a bit
Provide feedback to students on
drafts or works in progress
Provided feedback on a draft or
work in progress
Provide prompt and detailed
feedback on tests or completed
assignments
Provided prompt and detailed
feedback on tests or completed
assignments
Clearly explain course goals and
requirements
Clearly explained course goals and
requirements
Teach course sessions in an
organized way
Taught course sessions in an
organized way
Use examples or illustrations to
explain difficult points
Used examples or illustrations to
explain difficult points
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12
Campus Environment In the FSSE 2019 survey, faculty are asked to indicate their perception of the quality of student interactions, on a scale of 1 (poor) to 7 (excellent), with (other) students, academic advisors, faculty, student services staff, and other administrative staff and offices at UFV. Similarly, in the NSSE 2019 survey, students are asked to indicate the quality of their interactions in the same manner. Very few UFV faculty respondents, and in most cases, less than half of UFV student respondents gave a high rating (6 or 7) for their perceived quality of interactions of students and other members at UFV. The proportion of students that give high ratings (6 or 7) for the quality of interactions with students, academic advisors, faculty, student services staff, and other administrative staff and offices is much higher than the perceptions of UFV faculty members ─ by a surprisingly large margin (a range of 17 to 44 percentage points higher). The largest discrepancy is in UFV faculty’s perception of student interactions with other administrative staff and offices (registrar, financial aid, etc.) and UFV students’ ratings; only 12% of lower-division and 3% of upper-division faculty give a high rating on the perception of these types of interactions, in contrast to high ratings from UFV first-year students (48%) and senior students (47%) experiences (Figure 8). The surveys also find that students rate the quality of their interactions with faculty much higher than faculty perceive; a smaller proportion of UFV faculty perceive the quality of student interactions with themselves as high (lower-division 27%, upper-division 26%) compared to responses of UFV first year (44%) and senior (60%) students (Figure 8). Figure 8: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Quality of Interactions
UFV faculty were asked how important it is (to them) that UFV increase its emphasis on a variety of students support options that contribute to a supportive environment; in comparison UFV first-year and senior students were asked how much UFV emphasized these same attributes. In this case, we see a
Lower-Division 16% First-year 46%
Upper-Division 15% Senior 50%
Lower-Division 17% First-year 41%
Upper-Division 14% Senior 45%
Lower-Division 27% First-year 44%
Upper-Division 26% Senior 60%
Lower-Division 10% First-year 29%
Upper-Division 5% Senior 28%
Lower-Division 12% First-year 48%
Upper-Division 3% Senior 47%
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
Indicate your perception of the quality of student intractions
with the following people at your institution.
Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following
people at your institution.
High ratings % (6 or 7) High ratings % (6 or 7)
Student services staff (career
services, student activities, housing,
etc.)
Student services staff (career
services, student activities, housing
etc.)
Other administrative staff and
offices (registrar, financial aid, etc.)
Other administrative staff and
offices (registrar, financial aid, etc.)
Other students Students
Acadmic advisors Academic advisors
Faculty Faculty
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13
larger proportion of UFV faculty categorizing the various types of support as important (or very important) compared to how students perceive UFV’s emphasis on student support. For example, 90% of UFV lower-division and 91% of UFV upper-division faculty believe that it is important for UFV to increase its emphasis on providing support to help students succeed academically, whereas 69% of UFV first-year and senior students feel UFV emphasizes this type of support very much, or quite a bit (Figure 9). Figure 9 (below) shows a comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and UFV first-year and senior students and the proportion of faculty that have assessed the survey attributes associated with a supportive environment as important or very important, in contrast to the proportion of students that feel that UFV has emphasized the same attributes very much or quite a bit. Figure 9: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Supportive Environment
From Figure 9 we see that a high proportion of UFV faculty feel that it is important for UFV to increase its emphasis on student supports, while a much lower proportion of UFV students have responded that they feel that UFV emphasizes these same student supports at least quite a bit. The majority of UFV student respondents feel that UFV emphasizes providing support to help students succeed academically (69% first-year and senior students) and using learning support services (63% first-year, 53% senior students) at least quite a bit.
Lower-Division 90% First-year 69%
Upper-Division 91% Senior 69%
Lower-Division 81% First-year 63%
Upper-Division 76% Senior 53%
Lower-Division 81% First-year 52%
Upper-Division 85% Senior 49%
Lower-Division 76% First-year 53%
Upper-Division 81% Senior 46%
Lower-Division 80% First-year 56%
Upper-Division 87% Senior 48%
Lower-Division 58% First-year 27%
Upper-Division 55% Senior 21%
Lower-Division 48% First-year 40%
Upper-Division 64% Senior 28%
Lower-Division 58% First-year 43%
Upper-Division 78% Senior 35%
Student Responses to:Faculty Responses to:
% very important + important % very much + quite a bit
How much does your institution emphasize the following?How important is it to you that your institution increase its
emphasis on each of the following?
Providing support to help students
succeed academically
Providing support to help students
succeed academically
Students using learning support
services (tutoring services, writing
center, etc.)
Using learning support services
(tutoring services, writing center,
etc.)
Encouraging contact among students
from different backgrounds (social,
racial/ethnic, religious, etc.)
Encouraging contact among students
from different backgrounds (social,
racial/ethnic, religious, etc.)
Students attending campus activities
and events (performing arts, athletic
events, etc.)
Attending campus activities and
events (performing arts, athletic
events, etc.)
Students attending events that
address important social, economic,
or political issues
Attending events that address
important social, economic, or
political issues
Providing opportunities for students
to be involved socially
Providing opportunities to be
involved socially
Providing support for students'
overall well-being (recreation, health
care, counseling, etc.)
Providing support for your overall
well-being (recreation, health care,
counseling, etc.)
Helping students manage their non-
academic responsibilities (work,
family, etc.)
Helping you manage your non-
academic responsibilities (work,
family, etc.)
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14
Additional Engagement Items The NSSE and FSSE surveys include an Additional Engagement Items category pertaining to Student Leadership, Memorization, Time Spent by Students, Faculty Course Goals and Student-Perceived Gains, and Course Engagement. For the questions we highlight in this portion of the surveys, faculty were asked to respond based on a particular course section in the current school year that they were teaching (2018/19), whereas students were asked to respond to the same questions through the lens of all activity in their current school year. We highlight instances where faculty perception is in alignment with students’ responses, and also where there are differences. When it comes to the category of Course Engagement, faculty placed a higher importance on student engagement than the frequency of the behaviour students reported in actual practice. For example, only 56% of first-year and 64% of senior students responded that they often asked questions or contribute to course discussions in other ways, compared to 90% of lower-division and 98% of upper-division faculty that believe it is important for students to do so. Similarly, 19% of first-year students and 25% of senior students reported that they often went to class without completing readings or assignments; actions that 91% of lower-division and 97% of upper-division faculty valued as important (Figure 10). Figure 10: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Course Engagement
Regarding student leadership, a larger proportion of UFV faculty (33% of lower-division, 39% for upper-division) feel that it is important for students to hold a formal leadership role in a student organization or group than the proportion of UFV students that intend to hold one before they graduate (compared to 5% of first-year and 30% of senior students).
Lower-Division 90% First-year 56%
Upper-Division 98% Senior 64%
Lower-Division 57% First-year 42%
Upper-Division 54% Senior 41%
Lower-Division 91% First-year 19%
Upper-Division 97% Senior 25%
Asked questions or contribute to
course discussions in other ways
Asked questions or contributed to
course discussions in other ways
Prepare two or more drafts of a
paper or assignment before turning it
in
Prepared two or more drafts of a
paper or assignment before turning it
in
Come to class having completed
readings or assignments
Come to class without completing
reading or assignments
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In your selected course section, how important is it to you that
the typical student do the following?
During the current school year, about how often have
you done the following?
very important + important % very often + often %
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15
In the Time Spent by Students sub-category, for the majority of questions, we see that faculty have a very good perception of how students spend their time in an average week. There are many areas of faculty perception very similar to students’ responses. For example, 42% of UFV lower-division faculty respondents perceived that the typical UFV student worked for pay off campus for 16 or more hours in a week compared to 43% of first-year respondents (52% for upper-division faculty vs 47% of senior respondents), who reported doing so, shown in Figure 11 below. Figure 11: 16 or more hours per week working for pay off campus
UFV faculty are also very aware of the time UFV students spend providing care for dependents (children, parents, etc.); 9% of first-year students and 16% of senior students reported spending 16 hours or more per week caring for dependents, with lower-division faculty perception at 10% and upper-division faculty perception at 17% (Figure 12). Figure 12: 16 or more hours per week providing care for dependents
Student responses to: About how many hours do you spend in a typical 7-day week working for pay off campus?
Faculty responses to: In an average 7-day week, about how many hours do you think the typical student in your selected course section spends working for pay off campus?
Student responses to: About how many hours do you spend in a typical 7-day week providing care for dependents?
Faculty responses to: In an average 7-day week, about how many hours do you think the typical student in your selected course section spends providing care for dependents?
22
16
One big difference between UFV faculty perception and student responses is regarding the amount of time spent preparing for class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities) in an average week. Both UFV lower-division and upper-division faculty estimate only 5% of students spend 16 hours or more per week preparing for class, compared to 36% of UFV first-year and 38% of senior respondents that reported spending 16 or more hours per week preparing for class (Figure 13). Figure 13: 16 or more hours per week preparing for class
Another observed difference is regarding the emphasis on memorizing course materials. UFV first-year respondents reported that 74% of their coursework emphasized memorizing course materials (69% for UFV senior students), whereas 29% of UFV lower-division faculty responded coursework in their selected course section emphasized memorizing course material (69% for UFV senior respondents; 21% for UFV upper-division faculty) (Figure 14). Figure 14: Coursework emphasis on memorizing course material
Student responses to: During the current school year, how much has your coursework emphasized memorizing course material?
Faculty responses to: In your selected course section, how much does the coursework emphasize memorizing course material?
Student responses to: About how many hours do you spend in a typical 7-day week preparing for class?
Faculty responses to: In an average 7-day week, about how many hours do you think the typical student in your selected course section spends preparing for class?
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17
Figure 15 below provides a comparison of UFV student and faculty results for the Time Spent by
Students grouping of questions.
Figure 15: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Time Spent by Students
UFV faculty and student survey participants were also asked about Faculty Course Goals and Student-
Perceived Gains. Faculty were asked the extent that they had structured their course sections so that
students learned and developed specific skills, whereas students were asked how much their experience
at UFV had contributed to their knowledge, skills, and development in the same areas. UFV faculty and
students generally agree in their responses; where we do see some larger differences is between upper-
division faculty and senior student responses. For example, 76% of upper-division faculty felt that they
structured their course sections so that students learn and develop solving complex real-world problems
Lower-Division 5% First-year 36%
Upper-Division 5% Senior 38%
Lower-Division 0% First-year 4%
Upper-Division 0% Senior 4%
Lower-Division 2% First-year 3%
Upper-Division 2% Senior 7%
Lower-Division 42% First-year 43%
Upper-Division 52% Senior 47%
Lower-Division 0% First-year 4%
Upper-Division 2% Senior 4%
Lower-Division 34% First-year 30%
Upper-Division 17% Senior 25%
Lower-Division 10% First-year 9%
Upper-Division 17% Senior 16%
Lower-Division 3% First-year 6%
Upper-Division 5% Senior 4%
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
In an average 7-day week, about how many hours do you
think the typical student in your selected course section
spends doing each of the following?
About how many hours do you spend in a typical 7-day
week doing the following?
16 or more hours % 16 or more hours %
Preparing for class (studying, reading,
writing, doing homework or lab work,
analyzing data, rehearsing, and other
academic activities)
Preparing for class (studying, reading,
writing, doing homework or lab work,
analyzing data, rehearsing, and other
academic activities)
Participating in co-curricular
activities (organizations, campus
publications, student government,
fraternity or sorority, intercollegiate
or intramural sports, etc.)
Participating in co-curricular
activities (organizations, campus
publications, student government,
fraternity or sorority, intercollegiate
or intramural sports, etc.)
Working for pay on campus Working for pay on campus
Providing care for depenents
(children, parents, etc.)
Providing care for depenents
(children, parents, etc.)
Commuting to campus (driving,
walking, etc.)
Commuting to campus (driving,
walking, etc.)
Working for pay off campus Working for pay off campus
Doing community service or
vounteer work
Doing community service or
vounteer work
Relaxing and socializing (time with
friends, video games, TV or videos,
keeping up with friends online, etc.)
Relaxing and socializing (time with
friends, video games, TV or videos,
keeping up with friends online, etc.)
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18
abilities, whereas only 50% of senior students felt their experience at UFV contributed to this area.
Further, 78% of UFV upper-division faculty believed that their course sections were structured so that
students learn and develop towards being an informed and active citizen, compared to only 50% of
senior students that felt their experience at UFV had done the same. On the flip side, we see 58% of
senior UFV students reporting that UFV had contributed to their abilities analyzing numerical and
statistical information, compared to 38% of upper-division faculty that felt that they had structured their
course sections to do so. Figure 16 provides a comparison of all Faculty Course Goals and Student-
Perceived Gains for all NSSE and FSSE participants.
Figure 16: Comparison of UFV faculty (lower and upper-division) and student (first-year and senior) responses to survey questions categorized under Faculty Course Goals and Student-Perceived Gains
Lower-Division 66% First-year 68%
Upper-Division 66% Senior 78%
Lower-Division 48% First-year 51%
Upper-Division 53% Senior 73%
Lower-Division 91% First-year 77%
Upper-Division 93% Senior 87%
Lower-Division 34% First-year 46%
Upper-Division 38% Senior 58%
Lower-Division 59% First-year 46%
Upper-Division 64% Senior 52%
Lower-Division 65% First-year 59%
Upper-Division 73% Senior 71%
Lower-Division 47% First-year 51%
Upper-Division 55% Senior 58%
Lower-Division 49% First-year 53%
Upper-Division 58% Senior 57%
Lower-Division 51% First-year 49%
Upper-Division 76% Senior 50%
Lower-Division 59% First-year 47%
Upper-Division 78% Senior 50%
Faculty Responses to: Student Responses to:
To what extent do you structure your selected course section so
that students learn and develop in the following areas?
How much has your experience at this institution
contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal
development in the following areas?
very much + quite a bit % very much + quite a bit %
Writing clearly and effectively Writing clearly and effectively
Speaking clearly and effectively Speaking clearly and effectively
Thinking critically and analytically Thinking critically and analytically
Analyzing numerical and statistical
information
Analyzing numerical and statistical
information
Acquiring job- or work-related
knowledge and skills
Acquiring job- or work-related
knowledge and skills
Working effectively with others Working effectively with others
Being an informed and active citizen Being an informed and active citizen
Developing or clarifying a personal
code of values and ethics
Developing or clarifying a personal
code of values and ethics
Understanding people of other
backgrounds (economic, racial/ethnic,
political, religious, nationality, etc.)
Understanding people of other
backgrounds (economic, racial/ethnic,
political, religious, nationality, etc.)
Solving complex real-world problems Solving complex real-world problems
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19
Finally, from Figure 16 we see that a high percentage of both UFV faculty and student respondents agree
that UFV contributes to students’ development of thinking critically and analytically; 91% of lower-
division and 93% of upper-division faculty believe that they structure their course sections to develop
these skills, while 77% of first-year and 87% of senior students believe that their experience at UFV has
done the same.
High-Impact Practices The NSSE and FSSE surveys measure participation rates of students in the following High-Impact
Practices: Learning Community; Service-Learning; Research with Faculty; Internship or Field Experience;
Study Abroad and Senior Culminating Experience. Students are asked about the High-Impact Practices
they have or are planning to complete before they graduate, with faculty asked how important it is to
them that students complete these same High-Impact Practices. Faculty are also asked about their
participation in three of the High-Impact Practices; Service-Learning, Research with Faculty, and
Internship or Field Experience.
One of the most notable results under this category, is the proportion of UFV faculty that place a high
importance for UFV undergraduates to complete a High-Impact Practice, as compared to actual
participation by UFV first-year and senior respondents. Only 25% of UFV senior students reported that
they had done or are in progress of completing a senior culminating experience, where, 72% of faculty
believe it is important for UFV undergraduates to participate in a senior culminating experience before
graduating (Figure 22).
For Service-Learning, Research with Faculty, and Internship or Field Experience sub-categories, faculty
believe that it is important for UFV undergraduates to participate in each of these practices at a higher
proportion than their (own) current participation rates. For example, 79% of UFV faculty believed it was
important for UFV undergraduates to participate in an internship or field experience before they
graduate, with only 38% of UFV faculty respondents responding yes to supervising undergraduate
internships or other field experiences (Figure 18).
In the discussion (and Figures 17-22) that follow, the FY Participation and SR Participation display the
percentage of UFV first-year and senior students who have participated in the given High-Impact
Practice. The percentages represent the proportion of students responding done or in progress, except
for Service-Learning, which is the percentage who responded that at least some courses included a
community-based project. The Faculty Participation in the figures display the percentage of UFV faculty
who participate in the three selected high-impact practices in a typical week (Service-Learning, Research
with Faculty, and Internship or Field Experience). For Research with Faculty and Internship or Field
Experience, this represents the percentage of faculty responding yes to working with or supervising
undergraduates in these experiences. For Service-Learning, this represents the percentage of faculty
responding that at least some of their courses include a service-learning component. Finally, the Faculty
Importance figures display the percentage of UFV faculty who believed it was very important or
important for undergraduates at UFV to participate in the given High-Impact Practice before they
graduate.
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20
Service-Learning 38% of first-year and 63% of senior UFV student respondents reported that some of their courses have included a community-based project. Similarly, 57% of UFV faculty responded that at least some of their courses include a service-learning component, and 61% believe that it is important for undergraduate students to participate in service-learning as part of a course before they graduate. Internship or Field Experience A high proportion (79%) of UFV faculty believe that it is important for UFV undergraduate students to complete an internship or field experience before they graduate, with 38% of faculty responding that they supervise undergraduate internships or other field experiences in a typical 7-day week. Only 6% of UFV first-year students have participated in an internship or field experience (responded as done or in progress), compared to 43% of UFV senior respondents. Research with Faculty The majority (52%) of UFV faculty respondents believe that it is important for UFV undergraduate students to work with a faculty member on a research project; 43% indicated that in a typical 7-day week, they are working with undergraduates on research. About one quarter (26%) of UFV senior respondents reported that they have done work with a faculty member on a research project, or are in progress; only 2% of first-year UFV respondents reported the same.
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21
Learning Community Just under half of UFV faculty participants (47%) believe that it is important for UFV undergraduates to participate in a learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together. The proportion of UFV students that have participated in some form of learning community (done or in progress) is less than half; 21% for senior students, and 6% for first-year UFV students. Study Abroad Of all of the high-impact practices included in the NSSE and FSSE 2019 surveys, study abroad had the lowest percentage (35%) of UFV faculty who believed it was important for UFV undergraduates to participate in before they graduate. Only 7% of senior UFV respondents indicated that they have participated in a study abroad (done or in progress), and 4% for first-year UFV students. Senior Culminating Experience One quarter (25%) of UFV senior and 2% of UFV first-year respondents said that they had participated in a senior culminating experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, comprehensive exam, portfolio, etc.). Almost three quarters of UFV faculty (72%) believed it was important for undergraduates at UFV to participate in a senior culminating experience before they graduate.
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