San José State University Report on Student Engagement
Spring, 2013
Appendix A: Correlation of High Impact Practices and Student Success at SJSU
Although there is a great deal of literature linking high impact practices (HIPs) to measures of student success
(Kuh, 2008) and to graduation rates at CSU campuses in particular (Huber, 2010), what remains to be done
includes scaling up HIPs at the university- or even CSU-scale. One of the persistent criticisms of the work to
date is that the positive correlations may just be a by-product of self-selection. In other words, participation in
HIPs is largely optional at most campuses, and the students who are motivated enough to participate in them
are ones who would have graduated anyway (O’Donnell, 2012). Although there has been some early research
suggesting there is more going on, the resource-intensiveness of most HIPs requires careful consideration of
the expected benefits and costs before widescale implementation.
A pseudo longitudinal analysis performed at SJSU with the NSSE SLIC data shows that SJSU students trail
students at other CSUs, our Carnegie class institutions, as well as the NSSE national averages in HIP
participation. However, at SJSU in particular, participation in learning communities, diversity and global
learning, service learning, and internships have all increased in the period from 2002 - 2011. During the same
period, participation in common intellectual experiences, collaborative assignments, and undergraduate
research have remained the same. Participation in writing intensive courses was the only HIP found to have
decreased during this period (Briggs, 2012). In conclusion, although participation in HIPs as a whole appears
to be increasing at SJSU, we are still behind other institutions in our class.
Two independent studies were undertaken to explore the impact of HIPs on the SJSU campus. Although
student success is more broadly defined, these studies will focus on graduation rates. The first is a preliminary
study of required HIPs in undergraduate degree programs at SJSU. The second is an in-depth analysis of the
self-reported HIP participation from the NSSE-SLIC data and correlations to graduation rates.
Required HIPs Study
In the study of required HIPs, the following data was assembled: a) undergraduate programs at SJSU, b)
number of units in program, c) HIPs required, elective, or optional in program, d) number of freshmen entering
program, and e) 6- and 8-year graduation rates. For a) undergraduate programs and b) number of units, the
information was obtained from the current SJSU catalog. For c) HIPs required, personal contacts involved in
academic advising in select programs were queried via email. The required HIPs were not obtained for every
program, but some programs from each college at SJSU were included. Additional assumptions used include
the following: COB major was broken down by concentration; writing-intensiveness was assumed for all
programs through 100W; the only first-year experience counted was Science 2; core classes in majors were
not considered common intellectual experiences; and required courses on research methodology were counted
as undergraduate research. For d) number of freshmen and e) graduation rates, these were copied from the
SJSU IEA website and computed as the average of the F02, F03, and F04 cohorts by final major.
Programs with fewer than 10 students on average per cohort were excluded in this analysis because their
graduation rates were too highly variable and of insufficient resolution. The programs that met the minimum
size requirement, provided HIP information, and were used in this analysis include the following:
COE: Aviation, Computer Eng., Electrical Eng., Mechanical Eng., Aerospace Eng., Civil Eng.
COB: Accounting, Accounting IS, Corporate FM, Finance, Human Resources, International Business,
Management, Management IS, Marketing
COS: Biology, Chemistry
CASA: Nutrition, Social Work, Health Science, Hospitality, Justice Studies
H&A: Art History, English, World Languages,
COSS: Environmental Studies, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology
Ed: CHAD
There are statistically significant and positive correlations between the number of required HIPs and
graduation rates in the SJSU programs studied. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the number of
required HIPs
H
in a progrram and their 6-year
6
gradua
ation rate is r = 0.416, with p = 0.014. The
e Pearson’s
correlation
n coefficient be
etween the number of requirred HIPs and the 8-year gra
aduation rate is r = 0.526, w
with p
= 0.001. This
T
result pro
ovides evidenc
ce that requirin
ng HIPs in prog
grams does im
mprove gradua
ation rates for all
students, and
a that previo
ous findings were
w
not just a by-product off self-selection
n.
The numb
ber of required HIPs for prog
grams in this sample varied ffrom 1 to 6. T
The average graduation rate
es of
programs per number off required HIP
Ps are graphed
d in Figure 1. As shown on this figure, ass more HIPs arre
b UG program
ms, the higher the average graduation
g
rate
es tend to be. The exceptio
on is the one
required by
program at
a SJSU in this
s study with on
ne required HIP
P and fairly hig
n rates.
gh graduation
The limitattions of this study include th
he following: (1) Data was n
not obtained fo
or all SJSU UG
G programs. W
We
had a limitted contact listt and were at the
t mercy of those who cho
ose to respond
d to our requesst for information.
(2) Trans
sfer student su
uccess is not in
ncluded in this
s analysis. We
e only looked at native student graduation
n
rates and HIPs in four-y
year programs. (3) Similarly
y, graduate pro
ograms are no
ot included in tthis analysis. (4)
Also, programs that adm
mit students affter lower divis
sion study werre not included
d (e.g. Nursing
g, Occupationa
al
Therapy). (5) The analy
ysis omitted prrograms with fewer
f
than 10 entering fresh
hmen average
ed per year during
the F02, F03,
F
and F04 cohorts,
c
becau
use their gradu
uation rates we
ere of coarse resolution and
d sometimes o
of
extreme fluctuation. Ho
owever, it is po
ossible that diffferent correlattions exist for this group. (6
6) Other factors not
ence graduatio
on rates, such as number off units, certain HIPs in particcular, and elecctive
studied miight also influe
or optional HIPs in a pro
ogram.
duation Rate of
o UG Program
ms at SJSU, C ategorized byy the Number o
of HIPs Required of
Figure 1. Average Grad
e Program. (A
Average gradu
uation rate is calculated
c
as a
averages from
m F02, F03, an
nd F04 cohortss by
the Degree
final majorr.)
Further Analysis
A
of Se
elf-Reported HIP
H Participattion
Further an
nalysis was pe
erformed by SJ
JSU Institution
nal Effectivene
ess and Analyttics with stude
ents’ self-reporrted
participatio
on in HIP activ
vities in the NS
SSE 2011 surv
vey. In this su
urvey, 290 resspondents werre seniors as o
of
Spring 2011. Since that time, 223 of them have graduated. 43 students were still enrolled and in good
standing as of Fall 2012. 24 students had dropped out as of Fall 2012 (determined if not graduated and not
enrolled). Of the 24 students who had dropped out, 19 were in good standing, and 5 were on probation or were
disqualified.
The seniors were asked if they had participated or were planning to participate in various HIP activities before
they graduate. A multiple regression analysis was then run to see if there were particular HIPs that were
predictors of students graduating, remaining enrolled, or dropping out.
The analysis suggested that internships could lead to students having graduated (beta = -.394, Sig = .031), and
surprisingly, that study abroad could lead to students not graduating (beta = .367, Sig = .058). Furthermore,
collaborative assignments could lead to fewer dropouts (beta = -.675, Sig = .056) and again, study abroad
could lead to more dropouts (beta = .771, Sig = .015).
These results will not be interpreted beyond what is reported above. The sample size is quite small compared
to our senior population, and it is unclear if it is representative. Also, the dropout population was determined
based on non-enrollment in Fall 2012 - it is possible that those students were taking a semester off instead.
Conclusions
The following bullets summarize the conclusions from this work:
• The number of required HIPs in four-year UG programs is positively correlated with 6- and 8-year
graduation rates at SJSU, for programs with between 1-6 required HIPs.
• This provides evidence that increasing the number of required HIPs in a program benefits all students
by increasing graduation rates.
• Some very preliminary analysis suggest that internships, study abroad, and collaborative assignments
might have special influence on students graduating or not dropping out in comparison with all the
other HIPs.
Jinny Rhee, Associate Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
San Jose State University
Note to readers: This paper
is a work in progress, and
may be further revised.
Works Cited
Kuh, George D. “High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Tem, and Why They
Matter,” AAC&U, Washington D.C. (2008) ISBN: 978-0-9796181-4-7
O’Donnell, Ken, “Bringing High Impact Practices to Scale, v3,” December (2012)
Huber, Bettina J., “Does Participation in Multiple High Impact Practices Affect Student Success at Cal State
Northridge?: Some Preliminary Insights, Cal State Northridge, Office of Institutional Research, August 2010