C162 Student Learning Outcomes: How Counseling

1. C162Student Learning Outcomes:How Counseling /Advisement and Select Student Services Programs Impact Students� Self-Development Esau Tovar ? Merril A. Simon ? Angel Viramontes

2. 2 Contact Information

3. 3 Presentation Abstract

4. Why Assessment?

5. 5 Need Identified (SMC) Primarily resulting from institutional accreditation self-study; New accreditation standards; Need to measure student learning outcomes in both academic and student services; Focus on usage and satisfaction with services; and Contribution of student services to students� self-development (affective development)

6. 6 Why Conduct Student SupportServices Assessment? Schuh & Upcraft* (2001) cite the following as reasons:

7. 7 What is Assessment? Upcraft & Schuh (1996) indicate that: �Assessment is any effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, divisional, or agency effectiveness.�

8. 8 What Does Assessment Model Consist of? Schuh & Upcraft (2001) recommend the components of: Tracking�Utilization of WHAT & by WHOM; Needs Assessment Satisfaction of Services Student Cultures & Campus Environment Outcomes Assessment (effect for learning, development, student success�users vs. non-users) Peer institution Comparison National Standards�CAS Cost Effectiveness

9. 9

10. Specific Community College Example

11. 11 Counseling DepartmentMission Statement

12. 12 Assessment in Counseling Interest in measuring the contributions of student services�particularly counseling�to students� self-development while in college. Interest in operationalizing select components of the Santa Monica College Counseling Department�s Mission Statement. Moving beyond assessment of utilization/ satisfaction with services.

13. 13 Assessment in Counseling (cont.) Many student services designed and driven by student development/environmental models: Student retention (Tinto, 1993) Student engagement (Astin, 1993) How College Affects Students (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1990)  Designing new curricula emphasizing both cognitive and non-cognitive components: e.g., American Cultures requirement Items written were based on problems or issues discussed with students in a counseling setting.

14. 14 Survey Characteristics 67 Items with four sections: Background information; Awareness and usage of, and satisfaction with the existing twenty student services programs; Importance and agreement to items relating to counseling services, course enrollment/registration services, financial aid, safety and involvement; and Degree to which students� college experiences contributed to their self-development.

15. 15 Survey Characteristics (continued) Internal Consistency � Chronbach�s alpha:

16. 16 Sampling Protocol Administered in-and-out of classroom: Randomly selected classes from across disciplines (academic & vocational courses; excluded non-graded; did not sample early-ending or online courses). Collected 1,156 (81% of total surveys ) Also administered by 20 different Student Services Programs as students presented for services Collected 277 (19% of total surveys )

17. 17 About Santa Monica College(at time of initial assessment) Spring 2003 Enrollment: Population: 27,850 graded students Gender: 57% female, 43% male Status: 30% full-time; 10% F1-Visa Race/Ethnicity: 37% White, 27% Latino, 20% Asian, 9% African American, 4% Other, 3% Filipino

18. 18 Demographics of Respondents 26% F1-Visa Goal: 86% AA Degree/Transfer; 8% Career Certificate; 4% Personal Growth; 1% Basic Skills. Age: M = 24.5 SMC Attendance: 40% 1-2 semesters 31% 3-4 semesters 15% 5-6 semesters 14% Over 3 years

19. 19 Awareness of Student Services

20. 20 Utilization of Student Services

21. 21 Utilization of Student Services

22. 22 Satisfaction with Student Services

23. 23 Satisfaction with Student Services

24. 24 Importance/Agreement (Satisfaction) of Counseling Services

25. Contributions of Select Student Services to Students� Self-Development

26. 26 Factor Analysis for Self-Development Items (1 of 3) Items subjected to: Principle Components Factor Analysis Varimax Rotation Criteria for factor retention: Initial Eigenvalues > 1 Scree Plot test Item loading > .40 Theoretical justification of item loading on factor International students� responses excluded

27. 27 Self-Development Factor Analysis (2 of 3) Extent to which experiences at Santa Monica College has contributed to students� self-development. ����(1 = very negative effect; 5 = very positive effect) Extracted Communalities Understanding my career prospects .67 Developing my self-confidence .75 Developing a sense of personal identity .75 Recognize my potential for success .72 Helping me cope with change .74 Helping me handle stress .61 Helping me develop a personal code of values and ethics .72 Understanding people of diverse cultures, values, and ideas .74 Working with groups of people .77 Developing leadership skills .68 Taking responsibility for my own behavior .68 Developing time management skills .61

28. 28 Self-Development Factor Analysis (3 of 3)

29. 29 Self-Development by CounselorTask Performance

30. Influence of College Attendance on Self-Development Effect of Ethnicity, Length of Attendance, and Utilization of Student Services

31. 31 Vectors of Development  (Chickering & Reisser, 1993) Developing Competence; Managing Emotions; Moving Through Autonomy Toward Interdependence; Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships; Establishing Identity; Developing Purpose; Developing Integrity.

32. 32 Interpreting Findings All analyses described herein usedmultivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), controlling for: Students� Age Cumulative GPA

33. 33 Effects of Ethnicity on Self-Development Analyses indicated that age impacts degree of self-development to a statistically significant degree. Significant effects for Ethnicity on: Self-Development Full Scale Understanding/Management of SelfSubscale Developing Personal Values Subscale

34. 34 Self-Development Differences by Ethnicity

35. 35 Effects of Length of College Attendance on Self-Development Analyses indicated that age impacts degree of self-development to a statistically significant degree. Significant effects on: Self-Development Full Scale Understanding/Management of SelfSubscale Developing Personal Values Subscale

36. 36 Self-Development Differences by Length of College Attendance First year students expressed significantly lower levels of self-development compared to 3rd year and 4th+ year students; Findings consistent with theory (Vectors of Development; Chickering & Reisser, 1993)

37. 37 Effects of Utilization of Counseling Services on Self-Development Analyses indicated that age impacts degree of self-development to a statistically significant degree. Significant effects on: Self-Development Full Scale Understanding/Management of SelfSubscale Developing Personal Values Subscale

38. 38 Effects of Utilization of Counseling Services on Self-Development As may be expected, the greater the number of times a student used counseling services, the greater their level of self-development.

39. 39 Effects of Utilization of Special Programs on Self-Development Students participating in SMC�s select �special programs� (e.g., African American Collegiate Center, Latino Center, Pico Partnership) expressed significantly higher levels of self-development than non-participants. Findings support the premise that the very nature of their function and the added services they provide (social, cultural, affective) further assist students.

40. 40 Effects of Utilization of Special Programs on Self-Development EOPS participants differed to a significant degree from non-EOPS participants EOPS students required to meet with counselor three times per semester.

41. 41 Effects of Feeling Safe on Campus on Self-Development Analyses indicated that age impacts degree of self-development to a statistically significant degree. Significant effects on: Self-Development Full Scale Understanding/Management of SelfSubscale Developing Personal Values Subscale

42. 42 Effects of Feeling Safe on Campus on Self-Development Students feeling safe on campus expressed significantly higher scores on self-development. Safetyis a contributing factor to a supportive learning environment.

43. 43 Conclusions (1 of 3) College attendance significantly and positively impacts students� self-development, particularly for: African Americans & Latinos; Those attending college for a longer period of time; Students receiving counseling services, including ethnic and SES-based programs (e.g., Latino Center, EOPS); Students receiving financial aid assistance; Students feeling safe on campus.

44. 44 Conclusions (2 of 3) Students particularly credit college attendance as positively impacting their ability to: Understand people of diverse values and cultures; Taking responsibility for their own behavior; Helping shape a personal identity; Enhancing their self-development; Recognizing the potential for success.

45. 45 Conclusions (3 of 3) There is a need for student services to move beyond simply conducting usage and satisfaction studies. Assessment of student learning outcomes should also emphasize both non-cognitive as well as cognitive domains. Assessment should be ongoing and embedded into student services� ongoing evaluations�not simply program reviews. Assessment should be used to improve service delivery.

46. 46 Select References Astin, A. W. (1993). What Matters in College: Four Critical Years Revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Komives, S. R., & Woodard, D. B. (Eds.). (2003). Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession. (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  Kuh, G., Schuh, J., Whitt, E., Andreas, R., Lyons, J., Strange, C., et al. (1991). Involving colleges: Successful approaches to fostering student learning and personal development outside the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schuh, J. H., & Upcraft, M. L. (Eds.). (2001). Assessment practice in student affairs: An application manual. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.  Upcraft, M. L., & Schuh, J. H. (1996). Assessment in student affairs: A guide for practitioners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.