Community College Assessment Program
Overview
Community and Two-Year Colleges have unique assessment challenges as compared to their four-year college counterparts. While both sectors have similar assessment needs, the diverse range of programs and the diversity of students at community colleges add a layer of complexity to assessment initiatives.
StudentVoice is pleased to offer the first comprehensive assessment program for Community and Two-Year Colleges.
Elements of the program
- Comprehensive, centralized assessment platform to manage assessment activities across the institution
- Five student benchmarking studies covering the following topics:
- New Student Transition/Early Intervention Assessment
- Student Learning Outcomes Study
- Profile of Today’s Community College Student
- Career Services/Graduating Student Survey/Transfer Preparedness/Exit Survey
- Campus Climate Survey (may also be administered to faculty and staff)
- One faculty/staff benchmarking study
- Professional Development Survey
- Customized web assessments to address campus-specific issues
- Unlimited data collection utilizing handheld data collections (hardware/mobile data collection devices are not included and must be purchased separately by the institution)
- Consultation on assessment design, administration, and data reporting
- Professional development opportunities for staff. Click here to see the ongoing webinar series.
Click here to receive more information.
Benchmark Studies
Each benchmarking study described below will result in campus-specific data, plus nationally normed data and peer comparison data from like colleges.
New Student Transition Assessment
Overview:
The assessment focuses on pre-enrollments services such as admissions, financial aid and registration; transitional issues such as students’ perceived academic and social integration; and transitional services such as new student programs and orientation efforts.
Click here to see example assessment questions.
Aside from providing useful assessment data, this assessment will have three additional unique features:
- Opportunities for data integration including pre-college data (high school GPA, test scores, etc.) and first semester outcomes data (GPA and retention).
- A final question on the assessment will ask whether respondents are interested in receiving additional information that may assist them during their time at the college. If a respondent responds affirmatively, they may receive a customized finish page that directs them to college services and resources based on how they responded to the assessment. This aspect of the assessment allows for both electronic (through the web assessment) and more direct early intervention strategies for students who may be at-risk.
- A final question on the assessment will ask whether the respondent is interested in being part of future assessments related to their experiences at the college. All new students that respond affirmatively will be enrolled in the learning outcomes assessment which is described in more detail below.
Target population: All newly enrolled (non-returning) full-time and part-time students
Timeline: September-October
Method: Online assessment delivered via email to students or the assessment may be administered in a computer lab/classroom setting
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
Overview: Utilizing the articulated student learning outcomes of the college, as well as the guiding national documents such as CAS and Learning Reconsidered outcome domains, this assessment will include measures of student learning, development, and growth. Paired with data from the New Student Transition Assessment and student’s self-reported growth along several dimensions, this assessment will allow student services to understand their contribution to student learning. The assessment will first ascertain the level of involvement of students in various campus activities and what student services and resources the student has utilized. Secondly the assessment will measure growth and development related to outcome domains such as: cognitive growth, knowledge acquisition, leadership development, increased personal responsibility and self-awareness, humanitarianism, civic engagement, appreciation of diversity, efforts to lead healthy lifestyles, and other outcome domains. This assessment will be heavily shaped by college’s articulated student learning outcomes (if available), however, there will be a section of standardized questions to allow for benchmarking.
Click here to see example assessment questions.
Target population: Random sample of students or those from the New Student Transition Assessment that indicated a willingness to participate in future assessments
Timeline: March-April
Method: Online assessment delivered via email to students or the assessment may be administered in a computer lab/classroom setting
Profile of Today’s Community College Student
Overview:
The Profile of Today's Community College Student is designed to provide an accurate portrait of today's student by understanding who they are, how they behave, and what they believe. All respondents are asked to complete the demographics section, as well as three of five randomly selected sections. The Profile's sections include academic integrity; health and wellness; technology usage; media consumption; and values and beliefs. Your institution may also add one mandatory or optional section of institution-specific questions. In addition to institution-specific data, institutions administering the Profile will have access to national and peer comparison benchmarking data.
Click here to see example assessment questions.
Target population: Random sample of students
Timeline: November-December or January-February
Method: Online assessment delivered via email to students or the assessment may be administered in a computer lab/classroom setting
Career Services/Graduating Student Survey/Transfer Preparedness/Exit Survey
Overview:
How does your college collect information on the career and professional plans of students? What is important to students as they consider different career and/or transfer opportunities? And how do Career Service Offices or other service providers on campus assist students in their professional endeavors? This assessment is designed to answer these questions as well as provide satisfaction measures and an enhanced understanding of why students may be leaving college prior to fulfilling their goals.
Click here to see example assessment questions.
Target population: Non-returning students/graduating students/exiting students
Timeline: December and/or April
Method: Online assessment
Campus Climate Survey
Overview:
This assessment covers the following topics: general perceptions of diversity (e.g., whether students feel that their campus is diverse and the factors that contribute to diversity), participation in diversity-related activities, students’ comfort level with diverse populations, and measures of campus climate such as whether students have experienced or witnessed discrimination or harassment. The assessment also provides a detailed demographic section that will allow campuses to filter and view the data for certain sub-populations of students. If interested, campuses may also administer a modified survey to faculty and staff.
Click here to see example assessment questions.
Target population: Random sample of students (faculty and staff may also be included in the sample)
Timeline: Spring
Method: Online assessment
Staff / Faculty Professional Development Survey
Overview:
One major concern for community and two year colleges is the impending shortage of college leaders resulting from an unprecedented number of retirements over the next decade. This online assessment will focus on the professional development needs of community college faculty and staff members. The data will inform Centers for Teaching and Learning, as well as professional development committees and other entities focused on staff and faculty development.
Click here to see example assessment questions.
Target population: All part-time and full-time staff and faculty members
Timeline: Appropriate for any point in the year
Method: Online assessment
Click here to receive more information.
FAQs
How does my campus sign-up for the StudentVoice Community and Two-Year College Assessment Program?
Click here, provide your contact information, and a StudentVoice staff member will be in touch with more details.
What is the cost to participate in the StudentVoice Community and Two-Year College Assessment Program?
The cost is dependent on whether your campus plans to participate in all aspects of the program. Click here, provide your contact information, and a StudentVoice staff member will be in touch with more details about pricing.
My campus already participated in CCSSE and/or other national studies. Why should we participate in the StudentVoice Community and Two-Year College Assessment Program?
CCSSE asks questions about institutional practices and student behaviors that are highly correlated with student learning and retention. Little to no overlap exists between the benchmarking studies described above and CCSSE. Rather, CCSSE data can be complemented by datasets from the benchmarking studies. Please see the descriptions above for more details about each study.
Does my campus need to do all of the benchmarking studies described above?
No, your campus may opt to participate in any of the benchmarking studies or design customized studies instead. By participating in the benchmarking studies, however, your campus will be able to create national and peer comparison reports through a dynamic reporting interface.
Who designed the studies?
The studies were designed by assessment professionals and were reviewed by a team/working group of practitioners at community and two-year colleges.
Can my campus change, edit, or delete questions on the benchmarking studies?
Yes, your campus may add additional campus-specific questions. You may also opt out of any questions that your campus does not wish to ask. Keeping the instrument intact is highly recommended in order to facilitate benchmarking across campuses, however.
How is the benchmarking data collected?
All data is collected through online assessments. The links to the assessments can be delivered via email or respondents can be directed to the links through other means (flyers, postcards, or messaging in classrooms or other settings).
What kind of online assessment response rate can my campus expect?
The typical response rate for most online assessments is between 15%-25%. Response rates can be increased in some instances by offering incentives, by sending out pre-survey e-mails letting students know when to expect the online survey, and by sending several targeted reminders to non-respondents.
Can my campus administer the assessments via paper forms?
StudentVoice does not support the reproduction of paper forms or the data entry of paper forms. In instances where campuses would like to utilize the instruments in a non-online format, special arrangements may be made to accommodate these requests. The campus, however, would be responsible for creating the paper forms and all data entry.
What is the timeline for the Community and Two-Year College Program?
Data collection is spread out over the course of the academic year. Recommended timelines are listed above in the description of each project and there is some flexibility to accommodate your academic calendar.
How is the data reported out?
The StudentVoice assessment platform provides online reports and data analysis tools such as frequency tables, filtering tools, graphing options, and crosstabs. Assessment results, including graphs and saved views, can be exported into Word, Excel, or a PDF file for inclusion in reports or presentations to share with colleagues and other audiences. Raw data files can be exported into an Excel or text file in order to conduct more advanced statistical analysis.
Is student data collected through StudentVoice secure?
StudentVoice is committed to maintaining the highest standards in data security. To protect information used in internet transactions (i.e., online surveys, data reports) StudentVoice uses the following security techniques and procedures: Secure login access (username and password) is required to access all data reports; information is exchanged via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) that uses 128-bit encryption; information requests must pass through multiple hardware and software security firewalls; StudentVoice’s data center is monitored 24/7 and access is restricted to authorized parties with validated key cards; data is backed up every hour internally; and data is backed up every night to a centralized backup system, with offsite backups in the event of catastrophe.
Who owns the data collected through the StudentVoice Community and Two-Year College Consortium?
All data collected through StudentVoice is on behalf of the institution and remains the property of the college or university. Data ownership is clearly outlined in the StudentVoice/Institutional contract that is executed prior to any data collection. By participating in any of the benchmarking studies, you are agreeing that your data will become part of the aggregate dataset. At no point will any institution’s name be revealed alongside the data.
What college and universities utilize StudentVoice assessment tools and resources?
Click here to see a full list of StudentVoice Member Campuses.