Center for Academic Excellence:  Assessment Summary and Activities

Spring 2012 CAE Survey

Qualitative Analysis Summary

DRAFT: September 12, 2012

The Learning Center of the Center for Academic Excellence conducted a student survey in Spring 2012 to determine levels of student satisfaction with existing services and to gather input towards improving student achievement and success through the CAE’s tutoring services. The survey consisted of both closed and open-ended queries. The open-ended questions were as follows:

·     Why did you come to this tutoring session today?

·     What did you learn that was new during this tutoring session?

·     What will you do next to ensure that you do well in this class?

·     What else could do to help you do well in this class?

·     Additional comments

Analysis and results of the survey are available below in the Attachments as CAE 2012 Survey Full Report

Additional Workshops for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012

Specific workshops targeting areas of math, english and research skills were also made available to students in fall 2011 and spring 2012.  Attendance logs and records from both semesters are available in the Attachments area below.

2011 Workshop Agenda

In order to directly enhance student learning outcomes, the CAE has assessed spring 2011 workshop programming as well as student post-workshop evaluations and have developed the following agenda:

• Workshop offerings will be expanded from four core topics to eight focused areas addressing critical student gaps: basic study skills, math, grammar, writing an essay, citations, plagiarism, library research, exit exams.

• Significant increase in the number of workshop offerings at all campuses to ensure broad and comprehensive availability of academic support for day and evening students.  Numbers of workshops increased from 24 in spring 2011 to 120 in fall, 2011 – a five-fold increase.

• Attendance is workshops have also dramatically increased.  In spring, 2011, 24 sessions were offered with a total attendance of 94.  This fall, 30 sessions have been offered in September alone, with attendance reaching 292.  90 more sessions are planned this semester.

• Need to expand workshop assessment mechanisms in order to better gauge student success and continually improve the structure and content of offerings.  As a result, a focused pre and post assessment survey has been created and is currently being administered.  Analysis of the survey will guide improvements going forward (see Attachments).

Outcome of Spring ’11 pilot study of Early Alert (EA) students showed a positive correlation between attendance at Center for Academic Excellence Learning Centers (LCs) and GPA for semester.

• Study focused on 413 undergraduates on Early Alert for whom tutoring was the “recommended action” 6 weeks into the semester; students were called repeatedly to encourage attendance at LCs.
• Among the group of (156) EA students who came to tutoring, the percentage with a Fall ‘10 GPA of 2.0 or better was 23%.  At the end of the spring semester, 59% of these students had earned a GPA of 2.0 or better for that semester, an improvement of approximately 150%.

Among the group of (257) EA students who did not come to tutoring, the percentage with a Fall ‘10 GPA of 2.0 or better was 37%.  At the end of the spring semester, 41% of the 257 students who had come to tutoring earned a GPA of 2.0 or better for that semester, an improvement of only