Annual Progress Report on
Assessment of Student Learning
Student Life Units (rev. 10/09 and 6/11)
Academic year: _____2010/2011___
Student Life Unit/Program: PILOTS Program
Person(s) preparing report: Rebeca Paz
Date submitted: September 2, 2011
In one paragraph, summarize your Annual Progress Report
The PILOTS Program proves to be an effective freshman retention program for qualifying students
with ACT scores 21 and below. The assessment results for the year 2010/2011 indicate that the PILOTS
Program helped students succeed academically. PILOTS, a first year retention and academic success
program, measures retention rates into the sophomore year. According to retention data gathered from the
Office of the Associate President for Student Life, 78 % of the fall 2010 cohort who participated in PILOTS
was retained into the second year in college, as compared to 72% of their peers with equal ability who did
not participated in the program. The SLO’s identified for this past year also indicate that the majority of the
students served in PILOTS are satisfied with the program and contribute their academic success with
participating in the program. Because PILOTS enrolls a diverse pool of students, program participants are
enriched culturally by attending classes with a diverse cohort, therefore, increases their level of interaction
with students from other cultures.
Provide the web link to department web site where degree program SLOs, Alignment Matrix, and
2008-2009 APR Summary are posted
1) List the complete set of Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives for your unit (all SLOs identified
for your unit)
a. PILOTS Program students will be retained at a higher rate than those students of
equal ability who did not participate in the program.
b. Program students will appreciate the value of other cultures outside their own by
participating in class clusters with diverse student population.
c. Students will describe participating in the PILOTS Program as a contributing factor to
their academic success.
2) Identify the Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives (from the full list above) that were assessed
for this Annual Progress Report and how they are inclusive of the university undergraduate
SLOs (knowledge, communication, critical thinking, diversity, academic and professional
integrity).
a. PILOTS Program students will be retained at a higher rate than those students of
equal ability who did not participate in the program (knowledge, critical thinking,
communication, diversity, academic/professional integrity.)
b. Program students will appreciate the value of other cultures outside their own by
participating in class clusters with diverse student population (knowledge, critical
thinking, communication, diversity.)
c. Students will describe participating in the PILOTS Program as a contributing factor to
their academic success (knowledge, critical thinking, communication.)
3) For each learning outcome, describe (a) the measures used (at least one direct measure must be used for
each student learning outcome) ,(b) the sample of students from whom data were collected, (c) the
timetable for the collection, and (d) the forum in which the measures were administered. (Examples of
direct measures can be accessed at http://www.k-state.edu/assessment/plans/measures/direct.htm).
SLO: PILOTS Program students will be retained at a higher rate than those students
of equal ability who did not participate in the program.
Measure: Direct
Sample: students who participated in the program, and students who were eligible for the
program but did not participate
Time table: data collected yearly after the 21st day of enrollment of the fall semester
Forum: Data from K-State records
SLO: Program students will appreciate the value of other cultures outside their own by
participating in class clusters with diverse student population.
Measure: Indirect
Sample: All students enrolled in the program
Time table: End of spring semester
Forum: Survey
SLO: Students will describe participating in the PILOTS Program as a contributing
factor to their academic success
Measure: Indirect
Sample: All students enrolled in the program
Timetable: Every April, toward the end of the students’ freshman year
Forum: Survey
4) Describe the results of the assessment. (What do they tell you about student learning? What did you
learn about strengths and weaknesses of your unit?) If specific results are not available, describe the
progress that has been made on the initiatives included in the approved assessment plan.
SLO: PILOTS Program students will be retained at a higher rate than those students of
equal ability who did not participate in the program.
Retention data collected after the 21st day of enrollment of the fall 2011 indicates a retention
rate of 78% for the 2010 PILOTS student cohort with ACT scores 21 and below. The retention
rate into the sophomore year for non-PILOTS students, 2010 freshman cohort, with ACT scores
21 and below, was 72%. Thus, this data reflects that the program had a positive impact students’
ability to persist to the sophomore year.
SLO: Program students will appreciate the value of other cultures outside their own by
participating in class clusters with diverse student population.
“The PILOTS Program has helped me appreciate the value of other cultures outside of my
own.” Seventy eight percent of students agreed with this statement. Thirty seven percent of
student participants were multicultural, and 20% of peer assistants came from multicultural
backgrounds, as identified in their ethnicity survey through iSIS. Thus, students were
exposed to a multicultural environment through enrolling in classes with diverse student
body and being tutored by diverse role models. PILOTS strives to foster appreciation for
diversity and understanding of other cultures. Having diverse class clusters helps students
learn about each other’s cultures the natural way.
SLO: Students will describe participating in the PILOTS Program as a contributing
factor to their academic success
“ I attribute much of my academic success to participating in the PILOTS Program” 78% of
students indicated yes, 22% indicated no, out of 77 respondents.
We learned through this survey that most students benefit from our services, were in good
academic standing after finishing their second semester, and are satisfied with the program.
There were other questions that alluded to their overall satisfaction: 87% indicated that the
program’s structure aided them in their success, 94% indicated that their PILOTS advisor was
helpful in assisting them with problem solving, and 94% of them indicated that their overall
experience visiting Holton Hall had been positive.
5) Describe the actions and/or revisions that were implemented in response to the previous year’s
assessment results and the effects on student learning observed on this year’s SLOs.
N/A
6) Describe the process by which staff reviewed the results of this year’s SLOs and the actions and/or
revisions that are planned in response to the assessment results. (include changes that may be made to unit
SLOs or to the general assessment strategy)
SLO: PILOTS Program students will be retained at a higher rate than those students
of equal ability who did not participate in the program.
We analyzed the data and were pleased with the results. We will keep on working with
students’ individual needs in mind in order to help them succeed.
SLO: Program students will appreciate the value of other cultures outside their own by
participating in class clusters with diverse student population.
Through our staff meetings during the course of the semester, we looked at our student
demographics and determined if we have, indeed, a diverse student body. At the end of each
semester, when it is time to hire new Peer Assistants (tutors), we advertised across the
campus making an effort to include a wide pool of applicants, and strived for having a
multicultural group of Peer Assistants that represents the PILOTS student population. We
also decided to incorporate officially attending a “cultural event” component into the
program’s structure.
SLO: Students will describe participating in the PILOTS Program as a contributing
factor to their academic success
The PILOTS staff reviewed the survey results and discussed during our weekly staff meetings.
Even though 78% student satisfaction is very good, the professional staff agreed to strive for a
higher percentage of student satisfaction. We discussed all items indicated in the survey, and
looked for areas of improvement. We set goals to provide more structure in the advising of our
students in order to increase students’ level of engagement with the program, and, thus,
increase not only their satisfaction level but also their utilization of services.
One hundred and twenty seven students enrolled in the spring, the majority of them
continuing the program from the fall semester. It was the program’s goal to have all student
participants to complete the survey, only 77% responded. There was consensus among the
staff to strive for increasing the number of students who take the survey.
7) Briefly describe what you plan to do with the assessment results, what changes you plan to make
and the long-range plan to assess the remaining outcomes (if assessing over a sequence of years).
As a team, we will continue to look at our assessment results and make adjustments
accordingly. For next year, when surveys are used as the assessment tool, we will strive for
increasing the student response to close to 100%.
We will continue to measure retention rates from year to year and strive to do our best.