Assessment & Research

  

Over the years, periodic research has been done on the First-Year students and the First Year Experience courses.

The First-Year Experience Survey had been conducted annually, from 1994-2005, and analyzed by Douglas Engwall, Psychology department.  Hard copies of these reports are available upon request.  The Survey includes information on the characteristics of First-Year students, their participation in extracurricular activities, courses taken and completed in their first semester, reasons for attending CCSU, problems experienced and help provided, and perceptions of the university and the FYE program.  A summary of the 2002 report is available in a Power Point version (click here). The final detailed report, from 2005, can be found here.

Additional information about various challenges and difficulties facing First Year students in Fall 2004, as collected and analyzed by Jim Conway, Alyssa Deaky, and Mary Jeanne Lofquist, is available here.  This information led to the development of the FYE Toolkit.

In Fall 2007 and Fall 2006, two other curricular models have been introduced: FYE 101, a one credit course paired with a discipline-based course; and Learning Communities, linked courses with a common theme. Published research, as cited below, by Kristine Larsen, provides further information on the creation of1 Learning Communities and an assessment of2 the ESCI100/MUS112 Learning Community at CCSU.  3 Living & Learning Communities are being piloted for Fall 2010.

Currently, FYE faculty are encouraged to incorporate our particular learning outcomes into the development,  teaching and evaluation of their FYE courses.  Building upon these learning outcomes, a student assessment instrument (Fall 2010) is now used every semester, beginning in Spring 2009. An annual report for 2010-2011 (Word version), including other assessment data, is now available.  Full Fall 2009 results (summary, FYE101 vs. embedded summary, detailed results in PDF form) and Fall 2010 results (see links below) are also available. 

We are continuing the use of peer leaders in select FYE sections for Fall 2011.

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment also tracks first-year student academic progress.  In addition to retention data, CIRP Freshmen survey results (from 1998-2010) and a comparison of the FYE101 vs. embedded model (for those students entering in Fall 2007, 2008, and 2009) are also available.

Fall 2010 Student Assessments:

Learning Outcomes Summary (vs. Fall 2009)

Living-Learning Communities

Co-Curricular Activities (vs. Fall 2009)

Peer Leaders

FYE 101 vs. Embedded Sections

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1. "The Universe is Universal: Creating Astronomy-based Learning Communities." Cosmos in the Classroom 2007, ASP Press, 2008: 71-4.

2. "The Harmony of the Spheres: An Astronomy/Music Learning Community." Cosmos in the Classroom 2007, ASP Press, 2008: 183-6.  

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