Home of the CIRP

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2007 CIRP Freshman Survey

• 272,036 Respondents
• 356 Institutions
• Sylvia Hurtado John Pryor
• University of California, Los Angeles

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Cooperative Institutional Research Program
(CIRP) Freshman Survey

• Administered to all incoming first-year students
  who are first-time college students
• Comprehensive survey
• Examines characteristics and expectations of
  incoming students before college
• First part of a longitudinal assessment program
• TFS ? YFCY ? CSS

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Cooperative Institutional Research Program
(CIRP) Freshman Survey

• 42nd year
• Over 13 million students
• Over 1,900 schools
• Largest and longest running study of higher
  education

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Major Findings in 2007

• Habits of mind for learning
• Parental Involvement
• Social Networking Sites
• Diversity
• Environment
• Reasons for choosing a college

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Habits of Mind
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Habits of Mind

• Behaviors and traits that have been identified as
  contributing towards success
• in coursework
• foundation for life-long learning
• New questions in 2007

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Habits of Mind Most Frequent
Frequent learning behavior in the past year
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Habits of Mind Least Frequent
Frequent learning behavior in the past year
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Habits of Mind by SAT Quartiles
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Evaluating the Quality of Information
Students who frequently used the internet
Frequency of evaluation of information
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Habits of Mind

• Habits are important to learn if students wish to
  achieve
• Room for improvement
• Will examine changes in acquiring habits by
  first-year students and seniors

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Parental Involvement
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Parental Involvement

• Assess students perception of parental
  involvement with college-related activities
• 6 new questions for 2007

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Most Students Perceive Parental Involvement as
Just Right
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Latino Students More Likely to Report Too
Little Parental Involvement
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First-Generation Students More Likely to Report
Too Little Parental Involvement
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Parental Involvement

• Differential perceptions of too little
  involvement suggests that for some students,
  high-school and college admissions counselors
  should seek to fill in the gaps
• Follow-up research will examine the developmental
  gains and experiences by students reporting
  different levels of parental involvement

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Social Networking Sites
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Social Networking Sites

• Time Diary
• Hours in a typical week
• Does time on social networking websites interfere
  with academics?
• Does time on social networking websites interfere
  with other activities?

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Social Networking Sites

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No difference in study time
Percent spending six or more hours
Amount of time spent on social networking sites
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More women than men use social networking sites
at higher rates
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More African Americans use at higher rates
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Social Networking

• Incoming first-year students do not appear to
  take time from studying to use social networking
  sites.
• Research with the CIRP Your First College Year
  Survey indicates that students with high use,
  however, do report less confidence in their study
  skills and time management
• HERI will continue to follow these students with
  the College Senior Survey to examine long-term
  effects

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Diversity
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Rise in Essential or Very Important Goals
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More Freshman at HBCUs Concerned with Helping to
Promote Racial Understanding
Personal Goal Helping to promote racial
understanding
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Differences in Opinions Concerning Diversity
Agree or Strongly Agree
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Diversity

• Increases in overall importance of diversity
  issues
• Disparities still exist between groups

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Environment
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Environmental Concerns
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Choosing a College
?
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Increases in the Importance of Academic
Reputation, Good Jobs, Graduate Admissions, and
Rankings
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Increases in the Importance of Being Awarded
Financial Aid, Cost, and Social Life
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Implications and Future Directions

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Implications

• Reinforce Habits of Mind for learning
• Help students develop autonomy from Parental
  Involvement
• Understand increasing competition for students
  time

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Implications

• Knowledge about diversity and global issues is
  key, and are needed in today's workforce
• Growing interest in environmental issues a new
  factor in defining citizenship
• Emphasize academics and available ways to pay for
  college to attract students

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Future Directions

• Follow-up with YFCY and CSS to examine
• long-term changes in Habits of Mind
• Impact of parental involvement
• Impact of social networks
• CIRP Freshman Survey for 2008
• Refine and expand Habits of Mind
• New green environmental questions
• Web-based format available

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For more information

• heri_at_ucla.edu
• www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri
• Ordering The American Freshman National Norms
  for 2007
• HERI Forum
• Register for Surveys www.cirpsurveys.com