Institutional Researchers and Faculty Partnerships Improving Student Outcomes

Institutional Researchers and Faculty: Partnerships Improving Student Outcomes Kaitlyn Stormes, M. A. Seiji Steimetz, Ph. D. San Bolkan, Ph. D. Institutional Research & Assessment Economics Communication Studies

Overview � Research Setting � Research Motivation and Focus � Data Team � Research Methods � Need for Collaboration � Findings � Recommendations � Next Steps

Research Setting �CSULB � 101, 276 applicants � 37, 065 students � 7 colleges �Liberal Arts (CLA) � 8, 707 students � 27 departments Core Academic Purpose: Graduate students with highly valued degrees

Research Motivation and Focus �Graduation Initiative 2025: “…California State University’s ambitious initiative to increase graduation rates for all CSU students while eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps. ” q CSULB Student Success Plan � 1 Steering Committee � 6 Cross-divisional Taskforces � 7 College Data Teams

College of Liberal Arts Data Team �Identify factors that facilitate or impede student success �Focus on graduation within 4 years �Analyze two groups from Cohort 2013 �All first-time freshmen �Those who persisted to Fall 2016 in Liberal Arts �Collaboration between IR&A and faculty �Larger effort in thinking about student success in 4

College of Liberal Arts Data Team Cont. Sub-research committees lead by an Associate Dean Focus Groups: Journalism (Shaffer), Sociology (Patraporn) Survey Data: Communication Studies (Bolkan), Psychology (Pedersen) IR&A Data: IR&A (Stormes), Economics (Steimetz), Human Development (Lanza)

Different Methods / Approaches Focus Groups • 5 focus groups: ensured a well-rounded perspective regarding student experiences; captured student information not attainable from survey or institutional data (n = 39) Survey Data • Reviewed pertinent literature; determined which measures exist and which needed to be created; feedback from department chairs and advisors in CLA; tested via pilot survey; sent via email with survey link (n = 317) IR&A Data • Reviewed Higher Education literature; identified which data exist, created new variables & proxies; prepared script in relational database via SQL; recoded data in SPSS & STATA to perform analyses (n = 4, 343) Note. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained prior to collecting and analyzing data.

Need for Collaboration between Survey & Institutional Research Efforts Survey Data: Motivation: Self-efficacy, attitude toward 4 -year graduation Opportunity: Dependents, commute time, advising 4 -year Ability: Sex, grit IR&A Data: Minority Status, Overlap: IPEDS Race/ Ethnicity, -Units Race Sub-Categories Attempted College Readiness, -First. Pell-Eligibility flag, Generation Disability flag, Status -HS G. P. A. Non-Citizen HS graduate flag, - SAT Local Preference

IR&A Data: Logistic Regression Results (n = 4, 166) FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASE IN PROBABILITY OF 4 -YEAR GRADUATION FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECREASE IN PROBABILITY OF 4 -YEAR GRADUATION CSULB GPA Pell-eligibility Units attempted per semester Remedial courses needed (2+) Percent of attempted units completed Local preference admission Percent of units taken online Engineering major at entry (relative to College units earned before entry Business, Health & Human Services, or Liberal Arts major at entry (relative to undeclared)

Survey and IR&A Data: Logistic Regression Results (n = 312) FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASE IN PROBABILITY OF 4 -YEAR GRADUATION FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECREASE IN PROBABILITY OF 4 -YEAR GRADUATION Female Underrepresented minority HS GPA & SAT/ACT Scores Math Remediation needed First-generation to attend Number of times switched major Units attempted per semester Number of dependents Hours worked per semester Percent of family expenses contributed Living with parents Concerns about money Attitude toward 4 -year graduation Physical health concerns Perception of self-efficacy Perception that advisor promotes 4 -year graduation Index of grit related to college interest IR&A Data are in blue

Survey and IR&A Data: Pathways to 4 -Year Graduation (n = 312)

Recommendations �Institutional researchers need to have an active voice in data requests, model specification, and interpretation �Collaboration with IR&A enables the analysis of data combined from student records and student perceptions �Buy-in and resources from stakeholders are essential �Important to take advantage of human capital on campus

Thank you! Questions and Comments? Kaitlyn Stormes, M. A. Seiji Steimetz, Ph. D. San Bolkan, Ph. D. Institutional Research & Assessment Economics Communication Studies