IUPUI Scores Highly In Effective Educational Practices, Survey Shows

IUPUI stands out in a national survey of effective educational practices in colleges and universities in the active and collaborative learning benchmark, when compared to similar institutions and other research universities.

The findings are part of the 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

Specific items from the active and collaborative learning scale where IUPUI scored highly are:

• Made a class presentation
• Worked with other students on projects during class
• Participated in a community-based project as part of a regular class

On the Enriching Educational Experiences benchmark, comprised largely of activities and experiences, IUPUI first-year and senior students scored higher than peer institutions and other research universities in several important areas:

•  First-year students (and to a lesser extent seniors) are far more likely to report they have “participate[d] in a learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together.
• Seniors are much more likely to report they have been involved in a “culminating senior experience (Capstone course, senior project or thesis, comprehensive exam, etc.).”
• Both first- year students and seniors are more likely to report the have been involved in “community service or volunteer work.”

These kinds of activities and experiences, according to experts, are the sorts of high-impact practices that contribute to student learning and success.

One opportunity for improvement is in the area of diversity experiences for first-year students. First-year students at IUPUI were noticeably lower than students at peer institutions and other research universities in their responses to two questions:
-“[Had] serious conversations with students of different religious beliefs, political opinions or personal values”
-“[Had] serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity than your own”

The School of Liberal Arts is piloting a program that is designed to address this issue.

Overall, the national survey shows that a variety of colleges and universities have shown steady improvement in the quality of undergraduate education, as measured by students’ exposure to and involvement in effective educational practices.

In examining trends, the researchers used several key quality measures: NSSE’s
“Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice” as well as the percentage of students
who participate in high-impact practices such as learning communities, service-learning,
study abroad, and research with faculty. They found that 41% of institutions showed
positive trends on at least one quality measure for first-year students, and 28% did so
for seniors. For first-year students, two benchmarks saw the largest number of
institutions with steady improvement: active and collaborative learning, and student faculty interaction. Positive changes were found at public as well as private institutions,
at doctorate- and master’s-granting universities as well as undergraduate colleges, and
at institutions in all size categories.

“Our findings provide compelling evidence that colleges and universities can
improve the undergraduate experience, and that positive change is not limited to certain
institutional types,” says Alexander C. McCormick, NSSE director and associate
professor of education at Indiana University. “These are not just isolated upticks, they
are patterns of steady improvement over a period of several years.”

The study also examined patterns of decline and found they were extremely rare.

“Seeing steady improvement at a large number of institutions but hardly any instances
of decline suggests that these changes reflect intentional improvement efforts. Some
institutions have made improvement a priority, and they are achieving it,” says
McCormick.

The survey annually provides diagnostic, comparative information about effective
educational practices at participating colleges and universities. Five key areas of
educational quality are measured: 1) Level of Academic Challenge, 2) Active and
Collaborative Learning, 3) Student-Faculty Interaction, 4) Enriching Educational
Experiences, and 5) Supportive Campus Environment.