Large Studies and Data Sources on Student Learning in the U-M Curriculum and Co-Curriculum
| U-M Coordinating Unit | Data Source | Coordination and Distribution of Findings |
| Office of Budget and Planning (OBP) | National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE): The survey is administered to first-year students and seniors and asks students to report on in-class and out-of-class experiences associated with a rich learning experience. | Since 2000, UM has participated in this study, which is coordinated at Indiana University. At U-M, OBP houses the data, and they make periodic reports on key findings. A summary of 2008-9 data for seniors can be found on the UM Portrait.* Because UM has a better-than- predicted NSSE score, it is also profiled in Kuh, et al. (2010, 2nd ed.) Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. |
| Alumni Surveys: In preparation for the 2010 accreditation, U-M surveyed six cohorts of undergraduate alumni (1998-2000 and 2004-6). The survey asked respondents about how U-M experiences helped prepared them for their careers/study, overall and by specific skill/attitude (e.g., appreciation for the arts). | http://www.accreditation.umich.edu/ reports/2009_alumni_survey.php |
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| UMAY: This survey is open to all U-M undergraduates, and it is quite wide reaching. Each respondent answers a core set of questions about time use, academic/personal development, academic engagement, evaluation of the major, overall satisfaction, and climate. Respondents (through random assignment) also are requested to answer one of four modules on mental health, civic engagement, personal development, or the academic experience. | The local coordination of this project is through OBP. This is part of a nationwide study, Student Experience in the Research University (SERU), based at UC Berkeley. Summary responses are provided here: http://umay.umich.edu/resources.html. | |
| Collaboratory for Advanced Research and Academic Technologies (CARAT), Office of the Provost | UM Survey on Teaching and Learning: These surveys poll students on IT-related issues such as their preference for and barriers to using instructional technology in teaching and learning. | Some findings are presented on the CARAT website (http://carat.umich.edu/carat/home). |
| Division of Student Affairs (DSA) | Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey: Examines entering students' preparation, previous activities, expectations of college, confidence levels, and future goals. | The study is coordinated nationally at UCLA and implemented at UM by DSA. DSA distributes periodic reports on these data, and CRLT also distributes summary data at its faculty and GSI orientations. Additionally, findings are available online (http://www.umich.edu/~rsa/factbook.html). |
| CSS: College Senior Survey: This instrument is administered to fourth-year, graduating U-M students and examines their college experience and activities, expectations of next steps, confidence levels, and future goals. | The study is coordinated nationally at UCLA and implemented at UM by the Division of Student Affairs (DSA). DSA distributes periodic reports on these data. A summary of 2008 data is available at the UM Portrait.* | |
| Facebook and Social Networking: This study seeks to understand learning outcomes advanced by the use of social networking by students, faculty, and staff, and to understand implications for student learning. | The study is conducted annually
by the DSA. Findings have been presented at the DSA Research Symposia
(available: http://www.umich.edu/~rsa/ 2009conferences.html). |
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| DSA Research Symposium & Student Voice: The annual DSA Research Symposium presents several assessment projects for DSA units. Student Voice is an online survey tool used by many units for their assessment, which allows for institutional benchmarking and data sharing. | This event and this data
system are coordinated by DSA. See http://www.umich.edu/~rsa/ symposium.html for DSA assessment & evaluation projects presented here. |
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| The Career Center and others | Destination Surveys: These studies examine LSA alumni’s, medical school applicants’ or law school applicants’ first experiences after college, looking at the "first destination" of job, graduate school, volunteer life, or family, and how the university served in preparing for that step. | The LSA study is conducted
by The Career Center. Data for law school and medical school applicants also are presented on their website
(http://www.careercenter.umich.edu /parents/firstdestination.html). |
| Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI) | Michigan Student Study (MSS): Since 1990, qualitative and quantitative approaches have been used to examine student experiences on campus with respect to issues of diversity, as well as more general academic and co-curricular experiences. | Findings are presented on
the website (http://www.oami.umich.edu/ mss/about/index.htm) and were also used in Pat Gurin’s amicus brief for Gratz v. Bollinger (available: http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/ admissions/legal/expert/gurintoc.html). Summary data are also presented in CRLT’s GSI Guidebook. |
| MPortfolio | The MPortfolio website indicates that these are currently being used in 17 programs and schools/colleges at U-M, including Dental Hygiene, the Sweetland Writing Center, Internal Medicine, honors Chemistry, and UROP. (For a full list, see http://mportfolio.umich.edu/pilot.html). | Sample ePortfolios can
be found at the MPortfolio website (http://mportfolio.umich.edu/ |
| College of Engineering | A list of CoE faculty research on student learning can be found at the CRLT in Engineering website. The College also has compiled department assessment plans for its ABET accreditation. | CRLT in Engineering website: http://www.engin.umich.edu/teaching /crltnorth/researchscholarship/index.html #UnderstandingStudents |
| Center for the Study for Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE), School of Education | Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education: This is a mixed methods, national longitudinal study with the aim at identifying how and why student development takes place in the following areas: integration of learning; inclination to inquire and lifelong learning; effective reasoning and problem solving; moral character; intercultural effectiveness; leadership; and well-being. | 49 institutions, including the University of Michigan, are participating in the study. CSHPE is the coordinating site. |
| Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB), LSA, and the IDEA Institute | Assessment of Student Learning in Biology: Using a series of assessments to measure students’ understanding of key biological concepts, this project evaluates the impact of introductory biology course reforms. | The study is described at
the IDEA Institute website: http://ideainstitute.umich.edu /?page_id=160. |
| Global Intercultural Experiences for Undergraduates (GIEU), Center for Global and Intercultural Study, LSA | GIEU assessments: GIEU conducts pre- and post-travel surveys using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), analyzes student reflection surveys, and conduct focus groups with students who have and have not participated in off-campus intercultural programs. | These studies are coordinated
at the Center
for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS), LSA.
Some
findings are available at the website (http://lsa.umich.edu/cgis/ Research/analysis andfindings.html). The IDI is a commercial instrument, coordinated by a Maryland company. |
| Department of Mathematics, LSA | In Fall Term 2008, the department administered the Calculus Concept Inventory, designed to test concepts of differential calculus. The survey was given to all sections of Math 115, with a pre-/post- design. On the post-test, students also were asked to rate the interactivity level of the classroom, and the percentage of time spent on interactively engaged activities. | The survey is part of a larger
study housed at
Polytechnic University. Summary findings
are presented here:
http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/news/ continuum/ContinuUM09.pdf |
| Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), LSA | UROP engaged in a long-term, multimethod assessment of the impact of the program on student retention, academic performance, engagement, and pursuit of graduate and professional education. | Results are presented online
(http://www.lsa.umich.edu/urop/ about/evaluation) and in several higher education publications (see site for references). |
| Center for International Business Education (CIBE), Ross School of Business | Brad Farnsworth, working with Fiona Lee, Psychology, developed an assessment of student’s global competence developed through international internships and study. | N/A |
| Michigan Living Learning Communities | U-M has over ten living-learning communities, such as the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, the Global Scholars Program, and the Women in Science and Engineering Residence Program. Many of them do their own assessment work and are currently working to collaborate on a joint assessment project. | Some programs share limited information on their websites (e.g., ePortfolios at the Michigan Research Community site). |