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“Foundations of Execllence in theFirst College Year: A NationalModel Taking Root in Indiana’sFertile Soils”John N. Gardner, Policy Center on the First Year of CollegeScott EvenbeckIndiana University Purdue University IndianapolisJerry PattengaleIndiana Wesleyan UniversityIndiana Pathways to College NetworkNational Access to SuccessGreenwood, IndianaOctober 15, 2004

John N. GardnerExecutive DirectorPolicy Center on the First Year ofCollege400 North Broad StreetBrevard, NC 28712Phone 828-966-5309Fax 828-883-4093gardner@brevard.edu

Foundations of Excellence in theFirst College Year• FYE—a 20 year old reform movement• A victim of its own successFirst-year orientation seminarRetention effortFragmented activities• Foundations Project—an attempt to movebeyondAspirational modelMeasurementFirst year as unit of analysis & distinct set of experiences

What should acampus be doing forfirst-year students?How canassessmentefforts lead to realimprovement?What defines‘best practice’in the first yearof college?Answer...An aspirational model of excellence&Process to evaluate achievement of

Building the Aspirational ModelDeveloped by thePolicy Center staffWinter 2003Vetted byAASCU & CICSpring 20036DraftDimensionsof Excellence219 InstitutionalTask Forcesadd – delete – edit Dimensions94CIC125Aug 2003 -Dec 20049AASCUDimensions8SharedDimensions11CICDimensions24 “Founding Institutions” - intensive pilot sites72 “Affiliate Institutions” - independent self-study sites

Project Schema•Current Practice Inventory•Foundational Dimensions•Performance Indicators(PIs) and SurveysDimensions•NSSE•Summative Evaluation ofAchievement of Dimensions

PhilosophyOrganizationTransitionsFacultyAll StudentsEngagementDiversityImprovementEducated Person (CIC)InstitutionalCommitment (CIC)Life Purpose (CIC)Roles &Purposes(AASCU)Foundational Dimensions – version 2.0Foundations of Excellence TMin the First College YearDimensions of Excellence• Defining characteristics ofeffectiveness• Broad statements• Multiple perspectives• Core concepts – not requiredprograms© 2003 Policy Centerhttp://www.brevard.edu/fyfoundations/aascu/dimensions.htm

Task Forces – Evaluation ComponentBased on . . .Professional JudgmentCampus-Specific KnowledgeLocal AnalysisMultiple PerspectivesKey elements . . .Cross-functional MembershipLocal Liaison to the PolicyCenterVPAA InvolvementEvidence Driven

Task Force Work. . .Met 2+ times/monthCurrent Practices InventoryQualitative PerformanceIndicatorsNSSE dataCSHE data (Faculty, CAO, CSAO)

Project Methodology• Face & Construct Validity—based on work of PolicyCenter staff, partners, and 178 institutions in Phase I• Predictive Validity—– Cross-Sectional Study: student data (NSSE), facultydata (CSHE survey), CAO/CSAO data (CSHEsurveys), institutional data bases– 24 Founding Institutions will rate themselves on theirachievement of the Dimensions

Project Methodology (cont.)–CSHE will look for relationshipsamong selected NSSE items, CSHEdata, and institutional data in relationto the Dimensions

Data & SourcesAdministrators/CSHE• Organizational structures• Budget• Personnel policies• Program policies• Characteristics of first-year programs• Program review policies• Support services

Data & Sources•Other: Institutional data files• First-year class sizes• Senior faculty teaching first-yearcourses• Persistence—past five years• Program completion rates• Faculty Profile

Confirmor ImproveA Model for ActionDimensionsTask ForceCSHE

The End Results . . .Improvement component1. Report card of Excellence2. Inventory of Practices and Data3. Improvement Plan4. ACTION

AASCU Founding InstitutionsCity University of New York, Brooklyn CollegeCity University of New York, Medgar Evers CollegeChadron State CollegeGeorgia Southwestern State UniversityIllinois State UniversityIndiana University-Purdue University IndianapolisKennesaw State UniversityMissouri Western State CollegePlymouth State UniversityState University of New York College at BrockportTexas A&M University – Corpus ChristiUniversity of Wisconsin - Parkside

CIC Founding InstitutionsAugsburg CollegeAurora UniversityColumbia CollegeEndicott CollegeFranklin Pierce CollegeIndiana Wesleyan UniversityMadonna UniversityMaryville CollegeMarywood UniversityNazareth College of RochesterSt. Edwards UniversityUniversity of Charleston

SummaryAspirational model vetted by peer institutionsMeasurement model createdCore elements include:Local Task ForceUse of local and national forms of evidenceProfessional judgmentsImprovement PlanAction

Conclusion• A work in progress: (euphemism for“everything inconclusive at this point”)– Will we find relationships between the datacollected on Dimensions and learningoutcomes and retention?– Should we maintain sector-specificDimensions or develop one set for all ofhigher education?• Teleconference—stay tuned

Dissemination componentNational Teleconference• December 2, 2004 1:00 – 4:00 pm EST• Free for all AASCU & CIC Members• Beam the results directly to your campus

John N. Gardner, Executive DirectorBetsy O. Barefoot, Co-Director & Senior ScholarRandy L. Swing, Co-Director & Senior ScholarStephen W. Schwartz, Visiting Senior Fellowwww.brevard.edu/fyc(828) 966-5401