Development of Student Assessment Survey for Northeastern University's University College Liberal Arts Program (original) (raw)

Student Attitudes toward Liberal Arts Degree Program as a Function of Academic Outcomes

1997

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between students' attitudes toward their liberal arts Associate Degree (AD) programs and their academic outcomes. Questionnaires were randomly administered to 300 AD students enrolled at New York City Technical College in spring 1996, receiving usable responses from 121 students. Further, respondents' performance after three semesters of study was analyzed with respect to grade point average (GPA), number of college credits earned, and enrollment or graduation status. Study findings included the following: (1) after 3 semesters, 18% of the sample had a GPA of 0 to 1.99, 65% had a GPA of 2.0 to 2.99, and 17% had a GPA of 3.0 to 4.0; (2) 23% had earned 0 to 29 credits, 35% had earned 30 to 49, 21% had earned 50 to 69, and 20% had earned 70 or more; (3) 12% had completed an internal transfer to another academic curriculum, 15% had stopped out, and 18% had graduated; and (4) students with the highest levels of dissatisfaction were more likely to stop out, to have achieved a GPA of 0 to 1.99, to have earned between 0 and 29 credits, and to have completed an internal transfer than those with low dissatisfaction levels. As a result of the findings, it was recommended that the questionnaire be used to help the college predict which students are at academic risk. (BCY)

Assessing Community College Student Knowledge in the Liberal Arts

Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 2003

This paper describes an assessment of community college student knowledge in the liberal arts at two-year colleges in Southern California. A survey instrument with multiple choice questions covering five liberal arts subject areas was distributed to 4,200 students in randomly selected classes at ten colleges. More than 2,500 questionnaires were returned, for a 60% response rate. Key findings include: (1) an association between age and performance in the content areas was observed-older students tended to score higher in English and lower on the mathematics section, which may indicate that living longer and having more exposure to cultural and written materials enhances scores in English; (2) there was a positive relationship between the number of units students had completed in a subject area and the scores obtained on the corresponding section of the test, a relationship that was especially strong in science classes but less significant for humanities classes; (3) students' self-assessments of their abilities in liberal arts subjects were remarkably accurate, showing that community college students are realistic about their academic skills. Appended are: student demographics survey items; a list of sub disciplines and sample questions; and a table illustrating discriminating power of subject area test sections. (Contains 10 references, 9 tables, and 2 figures.) (CB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

The Student Survey Report, Spring 1992

1992

In winter 1992, a survey was conducted by the Arrowhead Community College Region (Minnesota) to determine why nonreturning full-time students had failed to return to Arrowhead colleges. A questionnaire was mailed to all fall 1991 nonreturning students, followed by a second mailing two weeks later to all non-respondents. Of the 421 nonreturning students surveyed, 232 responded. Study findings, based on a 55% response rate, included the following: (1) 52.6% of the respondents indicated that they hal entered college intending to earn a degree; (2) 23.3% had planned to transfer before earning a degree, 18.1% after earning a degree, and nearly one-half were not sure or had not intended to transfer; (3) the average percentage for all seven Arrowhead colleges planning to return to college was 47.4%, with 39% of those indicating that they planned to do so in the spring, and 19% within the next year; (4) 34.5% of all respondents were currently enrolled in another college, and 67.8% of those were enrolled full-time; (5) 51.7% of the respondents were employed, with nearly 80% of those working half-time or more; (6) 25.8% of those employed felt that their job was closely related to the education they had received at an Arrowhead college, and 47.5% found their education to be helpful or very helpful in theie present job; (7) 36.6% of the respondents had received some form of financial aid while enrolled; and (8) the major reason given for not returning was transfer to another college (27.2%), followed Oy money problems (22.8%), employment (19%), inability to cope with the demands of family, work, and school (12.1%), and unavailability of courses due to scheduling conflicts (10.8%) or lack of offerings (7.3%). Tabulated responses to survey questions, and the survey instrument are appended. (JSP)

Validation of a Research-Based Student Survey of Instruction in a College of Education

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 2009

As a preparer of students for the profession of teaching, a college, school, or department of education in higher education has an expectation that instructors teach competently. In higher education, the student survey of instruction is one of the most important among other indicators of teaching effectiveness. This article presents a validation of a new student survey of instruction in a college of education. In this validation, we found the new survey to be as troublesome as the previous survey. Four major findings emerged from this study that offer hope for a new and improved survey of instructional effectiveness. These findings involve estimating reliability, subscore validity, course relevance and rigor of the instructor, and construct-irrelevant variables that threaten validity. Given the failed validation, many cogent observations provide guidance for the design and development of improved forms that may overcome these threats to validity and guide others in validating teaching effectiveness surveys.

Developing and Implementing Program Outcomes and Assessment Measures for Postsecondary Programs

2001

With greater demands being placed on postsecondary education as employers report that graduates have inadequate skills, interest has been generated in assessing student academic achievement in reliable and valid ways. A descriptive case study was used to outline the process that has been developed to identify and implement program outcomes for 55 programs at Western Wisconsin Technical College (WWTC). For the purpose of the study, program outcome was defined as a culminating demonstration of learning as applied in the workplace, as well as what is expected of learners who successfully complete all the course work and learning experiences. Program outcomes are identified by faculty, validated by business and industry, communicated to students, and assessed at program completion. The study sought to determine whether there are common program outcomes within each school division and across divisions, how programs are written; the frequency and type of assessment measures identified within each division; and the percentage of outcomes achieved within each division and across all four divisions. The ability to demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills was found to be the most common program outcome within the programs at WWTC, and alternative assessment measures are used as well as paper-and-pencil tests. Additional research was recommended to determine degrees of alignment between faculty and employer perceptions of student success by reviewing division assessment results with the college's employer satisfaction survey results. (Contains 27 references.) (KC) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document.