Getting Serious About Engagement - Developing a Campus Plan to Enhance the Student Experience

1. Getting Serious About Engagement - Developing a Campus Plan to Enhance the Student Experience Clayton Smith, University of Windsor Susan Gottheil, University of Manitoba

2. Student success is both a process and an outcome of student learning and engagement - CAS Learning and Development Outcomes (2008)

3. Introductions • Your name, institution and role • Why did you sign up for the workshop? • Have you personally been involved in any student experience-oriented strategic planning process? If so, in what capacity?

4. Our Goals Today • Establish a common understanding of “student engagement” and the “student experience” • Identify some institutional approaches and lessons learned • Provide resources you can use

5. What are the top three things you remember most about your university experience?

6. Student Experience - UM • TheStrategic Planning Framework promises students an outstanding student and learning experience. • “The University of Manitoba will be a student-focused research university from the time of recruitment: a life-long academic home where students contribute to a diversity of ideas and experiences.”

7. University of Windsor “Provide an exceptional and supportive undergraduate experience that emphasizes independent learning, interdisciplinary opportunities, flexibility in degree completion pathways, and successful year-to-year transition.” Thinking Forward...Taking Action, 2010

8. Group Discussion - I • Does your institutional mission and/or strategic plan talk about student engagement or the student experience? • What is meant by that? • Is this concept widely understood/put into action? • Is it measured? If so, how?

9. What is “An Outstanding Student Experience”? • Measures not difficult to identify: • Attracting students who persist through to graduation • High student satisfaction ratings • Achievement of institutional and program learning outcomes (i.e., acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies) • Attainment of student’s educational objectives (further education, employment) • Alumni loyalty

10. What We Know Students who are: • Connected • Involved on campus • Deeply invested in learning and growth ….are more likely to persist and be satisfied with their educational experience The more important question is: How do we make this happen?

11. A TED Talk to Get Us Going • Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action – why, how and what? • http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html?utm_source=email&source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ios-share

12. Group Discussion - II • Why are we (PSE Institutions) focusing on enhancing student engagement and the student experience? • Why is it top of mind now?

13. Why Now? • Focus on student retention and success • Focus on student learning, learning outcomes • Demographic shifts, fiscal realities • Concern about outcomes of targeted populations (international, Indigenous, first-generation students) • Reputational rankings, comparative surveys (NSSE, CUSC) • Marketing and philanthropy campaigns (good “stories”) • Public accountability

14. Group Discussion - III Are the concepts “enhancing student engagement” and “enhancing the student experience” referring to the same things? If not, what are the differences?

15. What Does the Research Tell Us? “What matters is the nature of the experiences students have: the courses they take, the instructional methods their teachers use, the interactions they have with their peers and faculty members outside the classroom, the variety of people and ideas they encounter, and the extent of their involvement in the academic and social systems of their institution.” -Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005

16. Student Engagement …student engagement – the time and effort students devote to their studies and related activities and how institutions organize learning opportunities and provide services to induce students to take part in and benefit from such activities. - Kuh, 2005

17. Student Engagement • Embraces three key student success processes: • Active involvement: time and energy invested in learning experience inside and outside the classroom [Astin, Tinto, Pace] • Social integration: interaction, collaboration and interpersonal relationships between students and peers, faculty, staff and administrators; sense of belonging and community [Tinto] • Personal reflection: think deeply on learning experiences [Entwistle & Ramsen, Flavell, Svinicki, Vgotsky]

18. NSSE Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice Kuh/NSSE uses “student engagement” as an indicator of quality of student experience • Level of academic challenge • Active and collaborative learning • Enriching educational experiences • Supportive campus environment • Student-faculty interaction

19. Importance of Faculty/Classroom • The most significant measures of student engagement in NSSE are those measures that involve faculty • Students come to, and stay at, our institutions because of academic programs

20. Student Success: Research • Evidence from decades of studies indicates that: • The degree to which students are engaged in their studies impacts directly on the quality of their learning and their overall educational experience • The more opportunities a student has to build a connection to campus, the better their chances of success

21. Important Note The relationship between student engagement & student persistence is not linear • Increased level of academic engagement, when not connected with high levels of social engagement, is negatively related to student persistence • High level social engagement in social activities is positively connected to student persistence - Hu, 2010 -

22. Student Engagement: Key Concepts • Early studies focused on time-on-task behaviors, on students’ willingness to participate in routine activities, such as attending classes, submitting required work and following teachers’ directions in class • But student engagement can also be inferred from more subtle cognitive, behavioral and affective indicators

23. Do Engagement Measures Predict Learning Outcomes? • Yes (Conway, Zhao & Montgomery, 2011) • Data linkages between NSSE & CCSSE survey responses and administrative data can provide a deeper understanding of student engagement, which can then be used to design or improve engagement strategies

24. Group Discussion - IV What are the Challenges to Enhancing Student Engagement and the Student Experience?

25. Challenges • Changing student population • Increasing diversity • Commuting • Part-time study • Work and family responsibilities • “Swirling” • Diverse learning styles • Mental health issues, stress, general lack of well-being

26. Challenges...cont’d • University and learning environment • Budgetary and resource constraints • Large class sizes/high student-faculty ratios • Increased reliance on part-time instructors and TA’s • Focus on research • Space constraints • Impact of technology • New ways of connecting – opportunities for enhanced communication, community building • Enhanced service expectations

27. Challenges...cont’d • Students’ pre-entry characteristics and post-entry experiences: impact access, persistence and engagement • Preconceived notions of university environment • Lack of academic preparation, including language and literacy • Family and community support/role models • Financial issues: tuition/fees/cost of living; debt aversion; lack of student assistance/band funding • Work and family commitments • Institutional policies and processes: admission criteria, advising • Lack of interest, motivation • Poor self-esteem and self-confidence • Lack of general well-being: isolation, stress • Campus climate: perception of unwelcoming/racist community

28. Key Point What happens during the student’s campus experience is as, or more, critical than student inputs …

29. So…. ….. How Do We Create an Enhanced Student Experience and Engage Our Students?

30. Key Services/Programs • Intentionally and well-implemented academic and social orientation • Academic advising • Supplemental instruction/academic skill development - Hossler, 2006

31. ACT: What Works in Student Retention? • Increased number of academic advisors • Advising interventions with selected student populations • Supplemental instruction • Summer bridge program • Program for honour students • Integration of advising with first-year transition programs • Training for non-faculty academic advisors • Faculty mentoring • Residential living/learning communities • Program for international students • Staff mentoring - Public 4 Year Colleges & Universities ACT, What Works in Student Retention? (2010)

32. NSSE 2013: Engagement Indicators • Academic challenge • Learning with peers • Experiences with faculty • Campus environment • High-impact practices

33. High-Impact Educational Practices • First-Year Seminar • Common Intellectual Experiences (“core” curriculum) • Learning Communities* • Writing-Intensive Courses • Collaborative Assignments and Projects • Undergraduate Research* • Diversity/Global Learning/Study Abroad* • Community Service-Learning* • Internships and Co-operative Education • Capstone Courses and Projects* *Engagement Indicators -Kuh, 2008

34. Revisiting the DEEP Study: 10 Years Later • High-Impact Educational Practices still important • Emergence of early alert systems to enhance student success • Additional practices of great importance: • Emphasis on data-informed decision-making; focus on data that are actionable (not immutable institutional or student characteristics) • Better collaboration between academic and student affairs • Increasing faculty and staff understanding of conditions for success - NSSE Annual Results, 2012

35. Quick Takes – NSSE 2012 Annual Results • Engagement in high-impact practices, particularly doing research with faculty and service-learning, was positively related to deep approaches to learning • Participation in high-impact practices varied considerably by major

36. More NSSE Quick Takes • 1st year students who frequently interacted with peers, faculty and campus units by way of social media were more engaged, but those who used social media during class reported lower grades • All students reported higher engagement when they also perceived higher levels of campus support • Student-faculty interaction varied by field of study

37. Group Discussion - V What are the strategies your institution has employed to enhance student engagement?

38. Programs and Strategies • Student Recruitment • High school and community partnerships, outreach activities • On- and off-campus events • “Student for a Day” • Student Orientation • Academic Advising • Program and Curriculum • New course development • Undergraduate/Graduate Program Reviews • Learning Communities • Pedagogical support (Teaching and Learning Centres) • Analyzing DFW Rates

39. Programs and Strategies… cont’d • Academic policies • Progression and graduation requirements; student mobility • Course scheduling/Program Planning • Use of Summer Session • Space • To study, gather, interact, engage • Supplemental instruction • Tutoring “student halls” • Writing Centres

40. Programs and Strategies… cont’d • Experiential Education • Study abroad programs (student exchanges) • Community-service learning • Co-op, internships • Enriching educational experiences • Research mentorships • Field trips, study tours • Brown bags, lecture series • Support of student societies • Mentoring • Using faculty, alumni, student peers • Career advising • Partnership between student affairs and academic programs

41. And Some More Strategies… • Aboriginal student access/retention • Academic civility • Bridging programs • Coaching (case managed access to student services, coaching first-year students on probation) • Co-curricular record • Cross-departmental collaboration

42. Strategies…cont’d • Cultural sensitivity/cultural competency training • Early Alert • Emotional Intelligence interventions • Faculty development • Financial aid • Graduate student teaching development workshops

43. Strategies… cont’d • Learning & information commons • Peer mentor programs • Planning (staff/faculty retreats and symposia) • Recognition for staff & faculty • Residence (academic, bridging and transition programs) • Teaching (clickers, critical thinking, early feedback, hybrid courses, idea incubator, technology in large classes)

44. A Few Institutional Approaches to Developing a Student Engagement Plan

45. Vision

46. University of WindsorUsing NSSE to Create an Action Plan to Enhance the Quality of the Student Experience http://nsse.iub.edu/ ACTION PLAN: TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

47. Process • Created a Deans Council NSSE Working Group (2011) to identify the low-hanging fruit • Identified “Building an Enhanced Sense of Community” as the over-riding key issue • Subsequently identified a number of key issues (some went beyond NSSE to include Globe & Mail and other surveys • Built a one-year plan for impacting each of the issues (that current resources could address) • Deans Council updates periodically

48. Major Areas of Focus • Sense of community • Quality of teaching • Variety and availability of courses • Quality of academic advising • Academic support services • Student residences • Financing education • Study spaces in the Library • Appearance of classrooms and labs

49. Areas...cont’d • Career preparation and services • Interpersonal skills for faculty and staff • Housekeeping services • Food services • Second year experience • External student awards • Recycling and garbage

50. Current Status • Will evaluate status of the plan at year’s end • Consider looking at how we might address these issues with new resources • See many of these issues as taking many years to fully address (especially sense of community)