Involving Students in Institutional Research and Planning

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Involving Students in Institutional Research and
Planning
Maureen Pettitt, Ph.D. Skagit Valley College

• Presented at PNAIRP
• October 2002

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Session Topics

• Why involve students in institutional research
  and planning
• Example Technical Writing Research Teams
• Studies for review of general education
  curriculum
• Advantages and Challenges of Student Involvement
• Students, Faculty, and IR
• Your examples, ideas and issues

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Undergraduate Research

• If learning is the coin of the realm, then
  student involvement in research is the gold!

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Undergraduate Research

• An often-cited factor in encouraging student
  engagement and student involvement described by
  Astin, Tinto, and Boyer
• One of the facilitating strategies for Teaching
  to Create Intentional Learners in the recently
  released AACU National Panel Report, Greater
  Expectations (2002)
• Should not be thought of as only available to
  students in research universities

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Planning for a Review of the General Education
Curriculum

• English 270 (Technical Writing)
• Student Research Team Projects

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Background

• Instructor Dr. Lynn Dunlap
• Similar strategy used in her Technical Writing
  class in 1991 as part of the colleges general
  education reform efforts
• Students had access to the 1991 studies, bound in
  a report format

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Implementation

• Charge to the student research teams from the
  co-chairs of the Assessment Committee
• Mike Witmer, chair of Social and Behavioral
  Sciences and Dr. Maureen Pettitt, Director of
  Institutional Research
• Co-chairs also served as consultants to
  research teams research design, survey
  development, data collection

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Research Team Projects

• Multiculturalism in the Curriculum
• Analyzed course syllabi, interviewed faculty from
  liberal arts and professional areas to determine
  the extent multiculturalism is infused in the
  curriculum.
• On-Ground and Distance Education Course
  Characteristics
• Examined core courses in English, Math, Natural
  Science, and Social Science to compare
  objectives, text, materials, assignments,
  assessments, grading, etc.

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Research Team Projects

• General Education Course-Taking Patterns of
  Professional Students
• Used student surveys and de-identified transcript
  data to examine how/why students in professional
  programs choose their related education courses
• Communication and Group Skills in the Sciences
• Analyzed requirements and opportunities for
  students in science courses/majors to develop
  communication and group skills

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Research Team Projects

• Course Assessment Strategies
• Analyzed course syllabi to identify assessment
  strategies being used at SVC by instructors and
  the degree to which those assessment methods were
  1) clearly identified and 2) appropriate to the
  objective they were measuring

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IR Role

• Teamed with faculty during first week in class to
  discuss research design attended periodically
  during the quarter to answer questions
• Available for office consultation
  sessionsstudent research teams needed help
  primarily with survey development

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IR Role

• Provided de-identified data about student course
  taking patterns in several professional/technical
  programs for one team
• Read final team reports worked with instructor
  on feedback and final grades for projects.

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Advantages,

• Increases visibility and value of IR on campus
• Expands IR resources
• Students have opportunity to learn how data
  becomes information about organizational culture
  and info politics to discern patterns, causes,
  relationships (i.e., critical thinking)

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More Advantages

• From the students perspective, the most
  important aspect was that their work was to be
  compiled, bound, and used to make important
  decisions on the campus.
• For them, this was in stark contrast to course
  projects that seemed to have no use or meaning
  outside the course.

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.and Challenges

• Time spent pre-planning and coordination with
  faculty
• Time spent in class and with research teams
  outside of class
• Time reading and critiquing team reports

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What about your campus?

• Existing
• Do you have some examples about successful
  student research on your own campus?
• How did it come about? What was IRs role?
• What worked well? What didnt work so well?

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What about your campus?

• Future
• Are there initiatives or activities on your
  campus that could benefit from student research
  projects?
• Do you have projects in your office that might be
  aligned with courses?
• What steps could you take to encourage this?