BSI Task Force on Research and Academic Improvement
Proposal for BSI Research Project for Academic Improvement
This proposal addresses BSI Strategic Planning Objective #1, strategies 2 and 2a. It is based upon
discussion within the BSI Task Force on Research and Academic Improvement along with
recommendations from the Office of Institutional Research (OIR).
Mission Statement
The BSI Research Project for Academic Improvement will close the loop between research and effective
action in all areas requiring basic skills by providing the right information to the right people at the right
time.
Values Statement
Informative:
Supportive:
Readily available:
We value a research project that is:
It delivers data in ways that effectively inform efforts to improve learning;
it includes mechanisms to help faculty and administrators understand, value
and use research;
It makes data and information easily available in user-friendly formats.
Key Performance Indicators
The BSI Research Project for Academic Improvement is working when:
 The right research is available when and where it is needed;
 Faculty and administrators regularly discuss research regarding courses, programs and the
institution;
 Faculty and administrators use research effectively in support of change.
Data sets for research agenda
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All new students each year
Affective and practical data
o SSTK survey results & possibly additional data, such as CCSSE survey results
o Demographics (age, gender, ethnicity, first generation college)
o Student use of college resources (student services, support services, library, etc.)
Academic data
o Initial placement (Including non-credit)
o Retention (i.e. how many stay enrolled to the end of their courses, receiving a grade)
o Persistence (i.e. how many of retained students enroll for the following semester and
year)
o Progress through the basic skills sequence of courses (including non-credit)
o Ultimate success of students (i.e. degree, certificate, and transfer rates)
o Basic skills outcomes research at the course and program levels
Baseline data
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All academic data described above for all new students in fall/spring 2005—the year that BSI
began at COD—and following them through spring 2009. This will provide an initial longitudinal
study against which continuing BSI efforts can be measured. The data may also be queried in
response to questions about changes in basic skills curriculum and support services over this
time period.
Longitudinal research
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Each year a new cohort of students will be identified and followed. A cohort will be all new
students for fall of that year (including participants in summer bridge programs).
Research will include a focus on value added as a result of BSI programs and other changes to
programs and services for COD students.
Regular reports on the progress of cohorts will be developed. All of these reports would be
developed in such a way that we could drill down into SSTK results as needed. These reports
will include:
o SSTK results (summary of new cohort—fall of each year)
o Initial placement of new cohort cross referenced with demographic data (fall of each
year)
o Status of retention and persistence for any cohort cross referenced with demographic
data (the beginning of each semester reporting on previous semester)
o Progress through basic skills sequence for any cohort by initial placement and cross
referenced with demographic data (fall of each year) (E.g. we would get a report on the
progress of students who initially place in Eng 50 or any other basic skills course.)
o Ultimate success of students by achievement (degree, certificate, transfer), showing
time of initial enrollment and initial placement all cross referenced with demographic
data (fall of each year)
o Reports on COD’s progress in “Baseline Measures for Developmental Education,” as
described in Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California
Community Colleges.
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A system will be established by which requests for additional research can be processed.
Gathering Data
The following steps will be followed:
 A BSI Research Sub-Committee will be established
o Work with OIR, faculty, and administrators to analyze and evaluate data
o Develop and distribute regular reports
o Assist COD faculty and administrators with designing additional queries to the
database as needed
o Investigate possible errors in data and data collection as needed.
 An outside contractor will be identified and employed to
o Put the SSTK Survey online
o Develop a data warehouse to support this project
o Develop standard reports as defined by the BSI Sub-Committee on Research
 Provide resources to complete required “data programming” necessary to maintain the
data warehouse and associated reporting functions, and respond to requests for
customized queries.
Providing Information
Our goal is to provide information about COD students in order to understand who they are and
assess their academic improvement in basic skills and beyond. This information would be
based in data, but delivered in usable formats. The BSI Sub-Committee on Research will work
with the OIR to provide the following:
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A set of standardized reports (described above) designed to be easily interpreted and
customizable for responding to focused questions within certain parameters
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A data library of these reports with a dashboard added to the OIR page
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Regular interpretive reports on the data for the BSI Committee and the College
Support for generating customized reports drawn from the BSI Data Warehouse.
Closing the Loop
This project will provide support for faculty and administrators to interpret and evaluate data
and information in order to identify problems, make targeted changes to address those
problems, and assess the effectiveness of those changes. The BSI Sub-Committee on Research
working closely with OIR and the BSI Professional Development program will provide the
following:
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A train the trainers program for its own members to assure that faculty representatives
on the sub-committee can be effective resources to their colleagues within the Divisions
The same program of training for administrators and appropriate classified staff
Regular professional development opportunities for interpreting and acting upon
research through FLEX activities and through the BSI Professional Development Center
A program of direct assistance to faculty who wish to pursue research projects
Regular reports of exemplary practice in developing change as a result of the effective
research both here at COD and elsewhere.