Using the Community College Survey of
Student Engagement (CCSSE) for
Institutional Improvement:
One College’s Approach to Using the
Data for Decision Making
Presented By: Debbie Hardy
Objectives
 Share tips for identifying data gaps
 Discuss how to establish institutional priorities
 Discuss how high impact practices increases
student success
 Share tips for creating an action plan for
improvement
 Use the survey as a tool for institutional
improvement
2
CCSSE
• CCSSE provides information on student
engagement, a key indicator of learning
• Questions assess institutional practices and student
behaviors correlated with student learning and
student retention
• Used as a tool for improvement
• Self-reported by students
3
CCSSE
 Benchmark Comparisons- related survey items that
address key areas of student engagement (three-year
cohort includes 2012, 2013, 2014)
 Frequencies-individual questions within survey
 Core Survey Items- kept consistent in all surveys
 Special Focus Items- examines areas of student
experience and institutional performance that are of
particular interest
4
Communicating Results-Share the Data







Have Conversations
Table Top Discussions
Data Carousel
Share Fairs (Great Teachers Workshop)
Newsletters
Work Teams
Web Page
5
Data Carousel Activity (example)
 Share two or three samples of data such as
charts/graphs at each table-(each table only has one set of
data)
Directions: Spend a few minutes thinking individually about the
data provided. Answer each question using a post-it (3-5 minutes)
WHAT…questions does the data raise for you? (pink post-it)
WHAT…surprised you about the data? (yellow post-it)
WHAT…can I do to improve the data in this area?(orange post-it)
Post your color coded response on the poster sheet on the wall next to the
appropriate question.
Discuss as a group.
6
Why this is important…
 Allows you to look at policies and procedures to determine
inconsistencies
 Identifies what is and is not working
 Allows you to understand strengths and weaknesses
– Gaps in gender and ethnicity
– Gaps in services provided
 Allows you to improve areas of teaching and learning
 Allows you to decide the professional development needed
 Allows you to set goals or adjust goals to develop specific
strategies for improvement
7
8
Disaggregate data
9
10
PCCUA 2014 Key Findings
 Promising Practices for Student Success
 Benchmark Overview by Enrollment
 Benchmarks of Effective Educational
Practice
 Aspects of Highest Student Engagement
 Aspects of Lowest Student Engagement
 Special-Focus Items
 CCFSSE- Faculty Survey
11
Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice
CCSSE 2014 Key Findings
70
60
50
66.1
60.3
55.2
58.6
57.4
55.8
55.7
60.2
59.1
58.5
50
50
50
50
50
Active and
Collaborative
Learning
Student Effort
Academic Challenge
Student-Faculty
Interaction
Support for Learners
40
30
20
10
0
PCCUA
2014 CCSSE Cohort
*Top Performing colleges are those that scored in the top
10 percent of the cohort by benchmark.
2014 Top-Performing Colleges
2014 CCSSE Key Findings
12
Reaching for Excellence
 Target improvement efforts by
disaggregating results to look at different
groups – male & female, developmental &
non-developmental etc.
 Multiple administrations- look at impact of
interventions over time and measure
institutional effectiveness
13
Disaggregated Data
Benchmarks by Gender and Ethnicity
CCSSE 2014
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
76
74.1
61.5
57.5
42
Active and
Collaborative
Learning
Black Male
60.9
61.5
54
55.7
65
Academic
Challenge
Black Female
63.7
56
52.4
48.1
43.6
42.6
Student Effort
69.2
64.9
64.7
72.9
Student-Faculty
Interaction
White Male
Support for
Learners
White Female
CCSSE 2014 Data
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Disaggregated Data- Gender and Ethnicity
Gender and Ethnicity Benchmark
Data Comparison for CCSSE 2012 and 2014
Black Males
Gender and Ethnicity Benchmark Data
Comparison for CCSSE 2012 and 2014
White Males
74.1
Support for Learners
58.3
52.4
48.5
Support for Learners
48.1
49.2
Student Faculty Interaction
60.9
54.7
Student Faculty Interaction
Academic Challenge
61.5
56.4
Academic Challenge
43.6
39
Student Effort
42.6
37.7
65
Student Effort
51.9
72.9
Active and Collaborative
Learning
55.7
0
2014 Black Males
20
40
60
2012 Black Males
80
42
Active and Collaborative
Learning
49.4
0
2014 White Males
10
20
30
40
50
60
2012 White Males
CCSSE 2014 Data
15
Benchmark Comparison 2012 and 2014
Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice
Comparison CCSSE 2012 and 2014
70
60
66.1
55.2
56.8
58.5
55.7
52.7
55.8
60.4
56
50.3
50
40
30
20
10
0
Active and
Collaborative Learning
Student Effort
Academic Challenge
2014
Student-Faculty
Interaction
Support for Learners
2012
CCSSE 2012 and 2014 Data
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CCFSSE
 Community College Faculty Survey of Student
Engagement
 Companion Survey to CCSSE
– Information from faculty about their teaching practices
– The way they spend their professional time, both in
and out of class
– Perceptions regarding students’ education experiences
 Full-time and Part-time Faculty
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CCSSE and CCFSSE-Student Effort
2014 CCFSSE and CCSSE Benchmark-Student Effort
Faculty and Student Responses
70.0%
Frequency of use: Computer lab
90.0%
55.5%
Frequency of use: Skill labs (writing, math, etc.)
70.0%
20.4%
Frequency of use: Peer or other tutoring
89.5%
Students' hours spend per week: Preparing for class (studying,
reading, wrting, rehearsing, doing homework or other activities
related to your program)
Frequency: Come to class without completing readings or
assignments
50.6%
40.0%
8.0%
63.0%
58.9%
Frequency: Worked on a paper or project that required integrating
ideas or information from various sources
Frequency: Prepared two or more drafts of a paper or assignment
before turning it in
40.0%
53.0%
5.0%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%
CCSSE-Student
Responded Very Often or Often; Quite a bit or Very Much
CCFSSE -Faculty
2014 CCSSE and CCFSSE Data
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CCSSE and CCFSSE- Active and Collaborative Learning
2014 CCFSSE and CCSSE Benchmark - Active and Collaborative Learning
Faculty and Student Responses
Frequency: Students discussed ideas from your readings or classes
with others outside of class (students, family members, co-…
Frequency: Students participated in a community-based project as
part of a regular course
Frequency: Students tutored or taught other students (paid or
voluntary)
47.0%
15.0%
16.7%
10.0%
13.0%
10.0%
33.4%
Frequency: Students worked with other classmates outside of class
to prepare class assignments
25.0%
50.9%
Frequency: Students worked with other students on projects during
class
40.0%
34.6%
Frequency: Students made a class presentation
70.0%
77.5%
Frequency: Students asked questions in class or contributed to class
discussions
0.0%
CCSSE-Student
Responded Very Often or Often; Quite a bit or Very Much
60.0%
10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%
CCFSSE -Faculty
2014 CCSSE and CCFSSE Data
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Using CCSSE for Institutional Improvement
 Identify key areas
(Strategic Plan/Initiatives)
 Identify survey items that
address these priorities
 Involve the college community
 Design strategies and set
targets
 Start with benchmarks
 Share the data and plans to
address them
 Look at individual survey
items
 Track progress by measuring
outcomes
 Disaggregate the data and
identify the least engaged
student groups
 Scale up efforts that are
working and modify those that
are not
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Practical Uses of CCSSE for Improvements-PCCUA
 Student Success Pass
 Mandatory Student Orientation
 Professional Development- Student Engagement
(Great Teachers Workshop)
 Professional Development-Cooperative Learning
 African American Male Mentoring Group-META
(Men Enrolling Toward Advancement)
 Strategic Planning
 Conversations/Shared Data
 Common Readers-Discussed poverty, gender and ethnicity
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Tools for Faculty

Collaborative Learning Techniques
–
Elizabeth Barkley, K. Patricia Cross, Claire
Howell Major

Student Engagement Techniques
–
Elizabeth F. Barkley
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CCSSE/CCFSSE and SENSE Newsletters
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Using Data for Improvement: ESSI Institute Training

Center for Community College Student Engagement hosted an Entering Student
Success Institute (ESSI)

Institute was 2 ½ days

Participants reviewed institutional survey data from SENSE Survey

Team approach

Identified priorities and strategies to improve student success and retention

Developed action plan to initiate strategies

SENSE 2008 data-team of administrators

SENSE 2009 data-team of faculty
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Entering Student Success Institute (ESSI)
 ESSI 2009
– Administrative team established Action Plan with three
priorities
• New student orientation
• Intrusive advising
• Align PCCUA policies, practices and initiatives to promote the
student success agenda throughout the college
 ESSI 2010
– Faculty team established Action Plan with three
priorities
• Communication: Interactive Data Sharing-Faculty Engagement
• Reinforce Early Alert
• Classroom Student Engagement-Faculty Professional
Development
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2012 CCSSE Institute-PCCUA
 Modeled the ESSI Institute and created a PCCUA Institute
 The workshop was facilitated by Arleen Arnsparger, Project
Manager for the Initiative on Student Success at the Center for
Community College Student Engagement in Austin, Texas.
 A team of faculty and staff worked together to review the data
provided from the CCSSE and CCFSSE surveys conducted
during the spring 2012 semester.
 During the one and a half days, the team worked with the data,
discussed strategies that could improve the student
experience, and formulated an action plan for initiating
appropriate strategies.
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CCSSE Action Plan (Prioritized)
1)
Redesign college strategic plan (review every three to four years)
2)
Continue faculty development
3)
Deepen understanding of collaborative learning
4)
Set consistent ( applied the same way) and uniform (the same) norms for
college practices
5)
Provide more opportunities and sharing for adjunct faculty
6)
Ensure that data provided for discussion and application is "real" and
"useable" for faculty and staff
7)
Make college data accessible to all
8)
Use more focus groups and other one to one approaches to gather
information
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CCSSE and Strategic Planning
 Redesigned the college strategic plan in 2012-13
 Based on outcomes from the CCSSE Institute
 Developed a dynamic plan driven by desire to see student
success at the forefront of the work we do
 Frequently revisit the plan for review and modification
(Review
September/April)
 This plan is driven by three simple practices:
– Connect to our students
– Engage our students
– Engage in the lives of our students
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Center for Community College Student Engagement
Survey Tools
Survey of Entering Student Engagement
(SENSE)
Community College Survey of Student
Engagement (CCSSE)
•
•
Administered in the spring semester
•
Gathers information from students about
their overall experiences at the college
•
Administered during the 4th and 5th weeks
of the fall term
Focuses on students’ experiences from
the time they decide to attend through the
end of the first three weeks of the term
Community College Faculty Survey of
Student Engagement (CCFSSE)
Community College Institutional Survey
(CCIS)
•
Administered in conjunction with CCSSE
to all faculty teaching credit courses
•
Collects information on identifying and
promoting high-impact educational
practices in community colleges
•
Gathers information on instructors’
perceptions of student experiences and
about teaching practices and use of
professional time
•
Gathers information about whether and
how colleges implement a variety of
promising practices
29
Four Surveys, Four Perspectives
 All are tools that assess student behaviors and
institutional practices that promote student
engagement in meaningful education experiences.
 Special Focus Items: examine areas that allows for
deeper exploration into issues that are key to
improved student engagement and success.
 Special focus items for the 2011, 2012 and 2013
surveys address promising practices for promoting
student success and completion.
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High Impact Practices Institute
 Cohort Data Review
• Institutional Data-Course completion, course persistence, term to
term, and earning no credit
• Disaggregated by enrollment, gender, race/ethnicity and age group
• CCSSE, CCFSSE, CCIS, SENSE
 Integrating Survey Results
 Short-Term Action Plan
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Integrating Survey Results- 13 Educational Practices

Placement Test, Preparation, & Proper
Placement
 Class Attendance
 Learning Community
 Orientation

 Academic Goal Setting and Planning
 Timely Registration
Academic Alert and
Intervention System
 Experiential Learning Beyond
the Classroom
 Accelerated/Fast Track Developmental
Education
 Tutoring
 First-Year Experience
 Supplemental Instruction
 Student Success Course
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Develop Short-Term Action Plan
 Key Findings-first impressions from the data
 Identify potential priorities that fits the student
success/college completion agenda
 Design Principles-what do you want to act on
 Build Promising Practices
 Coherent Pathways and Action Planning
33
High Impact Practices- Action Plan
 Priority/Strategy
– Early Intervention with Strong Support
•
•
•
•
Tutoring
Expand Student Success Coaching
Individual Career Plan (ICP)
Early Assessment and Faculty Interventions
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Student Success Strategies
 CCSSE data incorporated in all other college initiatives ATD, HLC
Quality Improvement Project, High Impact Practices, WFSN, etc.
 Next Steps: Continue to align all initiatives and focus on strategies
(2014-15)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Tutoring
Expand Student Success Coach Role
Career Planning
Expand Financial Coaching
Individual Career Plans (ICP)
Early Interventions for Student Success
Professional Development
 Focus on practices that help students create a pathway to success
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INITIATIVES ALIGNMENT
Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas
Achieving the
Dream
(ATD)
Higher Learning
Commission
(HLC)
Quality
Improvement
Project
(QIP)
Career
Pathways
Center for
Working
Families
Title III
Science,
Technology,
Engineering,
and
Mathematics
(STEM)
Student Support
Services
GEAR-UP
Gaining Early
Awareness and
Readiness for
Undergraduate
Programs
2007-Continuing
 Achieving the Dream is a national initiative to help more community college students
succeed and focuses on student groups that traditionally have faced significant barriers to
success, including students of color and low-income students.
 Funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
Priority—Success in remedial education.
Supplemental instruction
Early Alert
Student Success I and II
 The Higher Learning Commission has invited PCCUA to participate in a new kind of
accreditation process called an Open Pathway. It is composed of two components: the
Assurance Process and a Quality Improvement Plan. PCCUA accreditation rests with
this work, but no funds are available to do the work.
 No funding attached—part of the accreditation process.
Priority—Moving students from highest
level of remediation in English and math
through “gateway courses” in order to
increase the likelihood of graduation.
 The expanding of existing employment/education, income and work support
opportunities offered through the Career Pathways Center for Working Families. The
Center is available on all three campuses and expands existing employment education
opportunities available. The CP-CWF has increased the number of students served. A
mandatory Financial Education Program for students enrolled in Basic Writing II and
Freshman English I classes
 Funded through the Arkansas Career Pathways and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Priority—Success for the student
population which includes TANF eligible
adults and those who fall at or below 250%
of the federal poverty level. Casey
funding allowed Career Pathways to
expand its reach and offer services to more
students.
2013-2018
 To improve success and increase enrollments in key STEM courses, Title III is a multifaceted project that targets individual fields in each project year. Key elements are:
1) STEM direction summits; 2) Instructional technology; 3) Lab instrumentation;
4) Course revision; 5) Academic support; 6) Advising services; 7) Pilots of new
capabilities; 8) STEM summer academies; 9) Academic year student research projects;
10) Learning inquiries; 11) Facilities renovation
 Funded through Title III.
Priority—Strengthen STEM Programs
Year 1 – math
Year 2 – life and physical sciences
Year 3 – chemistry
Year 4 – computer technology
Year 5 – summative evaluation
Continuing
 Serves low-income, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities
evidencing academic need.
 Designed to increase retention, graduation, and transfer (to 4-year institutions) rates of
eligible students.
 Services include instruction in study skills, tutoring, transfer assistance, campus visits,
advice and assistance in course selection, career exploration, and financial literacy.
 Funded through DOE, TRIO.
Priority— Student success for lowincome, first-generation college students,
and individuals with disabilities.
2011-2018
 Partnership among PCCUA and eight school districts (Helena-West Helena, BartonLexa, Marvell-Elaine, Lee County, Stuttgart, DeWitt, Dumas, and Lakeside (Lake
Village), as well as other community partners.
 Services include: after school programs; mentoring; college/career planning; summer
programs; college campus experiences; professional development for school staff;
resources to support the delivery of a rigorous and academic curriculum; and parent
programming. Services are provided both on PCCUA’s campuses and at the school sites.
 Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Priority—Provides services to students in
underserved, low-income communities to
ensure they develop the academic and
personal skills needed for postsecondary
success.
2001-2015
2005-Present--CP
2008 Added CWF
Carl Perkins
2010-Present
Previous CPG
PACE
Path to
Accelerated
Completion and
Employment
2011-2014
FIG
Faculty Inquiry
Group
2012-2014
 Student success in career and technical education concentrator programs. The
general intent of Congress in authorizing Perkins IV is to make the United States
more competitive in the current world economy and to prepare workers to take
advantage of emerging opportunities. To that end there are four over overarching
goals:
1) challenging academic standards; 2) broadening services that
integrate academic and technical instruction; 3) increasing linkages between
secondary and postsecondary institutions; 4) providing additional resources in the
classroom.
 Funded through Carl Perkins.
 The PACE Grant’s primary goal is to improve retention and achievement rates and
reduce time-to-completion for students using strategies which 1) transform
developmental education; 2) streamline certificate and degree pathways; and 3) enhance
student advisement and job placement. PCCUA is a sub grantee. NWACC received the
grant for Arkansas
 Funded through the Department of Labor.
 Faculty inquiry is a form of professional development in which teachers identify and
investigate questions about the students’ learning. The inquiry process is ongoing,
informed by evidence of student learning, and undertaken in a collaborative
setting. Findings from the process come back to the classroom in the form of new
curricula, new assessments, and new pedagogies.
Priority—Student success in vocational
education programs and general
education which support these
programs.
Priority—Improving student success and
employability.
Priority—Student success through
collaborative inquiry providing an
opportunity for faculty to acknowledge
common challenges and search together for
solutions.
INDICATORS AND TOOLS
Success Indicators

Course completion

Course success

Term to term persistence

Year to year persistence

Degree completion

Acceleration of movement in degree program
Mission: PCCUA is a multi-campus, two-year
college serving the communities of Eastern
Arkansas. The College is committed to helping
every student succeed. We provide high-quality,
accessible educational opportunities and skills
development to promote life-long learning, and we
engage in the lives of our students and our
community.
Tools

Core Values (Summarized)
Student Success
The Power of Education
Diversity








Surveys and inventories (SENSE, CCSSE, CFSSE and
others)
Rubrics (writing)
Interviews/focus groups
Focused discussions
Logic models
Conceptual models
Outcomes
Evaluations
Anecdotal notes and stories
Outcomes

Quantitative Data

Qualitative Data
Core Competencies (STACC)
Social and Civic Responsibility
Technology Utilization
Analytical and Critical Thinking
Communication
Cultural Awareness
Common Readers: Bridges Out of Poverty,
Understanding and Engaging the Under-resourced
Student, Them, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The
Warmth of Other Suns
Student












Supplemental instruction labs (ATD)
Early alert (ATD)
Student Success I & II (ATD-CWF-CP)
Focused advising (ATD, HLC-QIP,CWF-CP, SSS, PACE,
Title III)
Financial literacy (CWF)
Accelerated courses in math and English (HLC-QIP, PACE,
ATD, Title III)
Combined reading and writing for lowest remediation (HLCQIP)
Writing embedded instruction in five selected non-English
courses (HLC-QIP, PACE)
Mandatory orientation (HLC-QIP, ATD)
Student success learning labs for gateway courses (HLC-QIP,
ATD)
Employability skills training (CWF-CP)
African-American male mentoring (2013 HLC-QIP, ATD,
CWF-CP)
Faculty
Professional Development, Supplemental Instruction, Cooperative
Learning Strategies, Technology Utilization, Tutoring, Virtual Support
Strategies, Increasing Research Capacity, Use of Rubrics, Cooperative
Learning, Curriculum Revisions
Data Sources Driving Strategies








CCSSE, CCFSSE and SENSE Data
ATD Data
Institutional Data
Student Success Data
Student Success Course Survey Data
Orientation Qualitative Survey Data
STAR Center Usage Data
Other
38
How can you use CCSSE at your college?







Review data
Select key data points
Communicate results
Conversations-engage
Honest data discussions
Make informed decisions based on data
Implement strategies to improve student
success
39
Questions…
40
Debbie Hardy
Director of Student Success and Institutional Effectiveness
Phillips Community College
of the University of Arkansas
Helena, AR 72342
870-338-6474, ext.1242
dhardy@pccua.edu
PCCUA Web Sources:
www.pccua.edu/student_engagement
http://www.pccua.edu/Achieving%20the%20dream/
41