Project DEEP: Documenting Effective Educational Practice

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/23387

Project DEEP: Documenting Effective Educational Practice

A time-honored approach to improving productivity is the identification and adaptation of qualities that characterize high-performing organizations. Similarly, any institution of higher education can learn valuable lessons from educationally effective colleges and universities. Toward this end, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) collaborated on Project DEEP (Documenting Effective Educational Practice). With support from Lumina Foundation for Education and the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College, this initiative examined the everyday workings of a variety of educationally effective colleges and universities to learn what they do to promote student success. The effort is the first in a series of activities undertaken by the NSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice to respond to national concerns about improving the quality of undergraduate education.

In Fall 2002, a NSSE Institute research team launched the project by conducting case studies of 20 high-performing colleges and universities, including large, small, urban, and special mission institutions. Schools selected for the study had higher-than-predicted graduation rates and higher than-predicted scores on the five NSSE clusters of effective educational practice: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student interaction with faculty members, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment. Data collection and analysis continued through Spring 2004. Results of the study were disseminated through presentations, workshops, articles, and a book published by Jossey-Bass and AAHE in Spring 2005 entitled, Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter. In addition, NSSE published a series of DEEP Practice Briefs, policy briefs based on in-depth examination of 20 Project DEEP schools that had higher-than-predicted graduation rates and demonstrated through NSSE results that they had effective policies and practices for working with students of different abilities and aspirations. These briefs provide useful suggestions for promoting student success to a wide range of audiences including university administrators and leaders, faculty, students and the general public.

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Supporting Institutional Change at Historically Black, Tribal, and Hispanic-Serving Colleges and Universities
(American Association for Higher Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement, 2002-05-03) Cambridge, Barbara
Barbara and George outlined the respective work of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement and their joint two-year project on the impact of NSSE data on institutional change and effectiveness, discussing the role of the roundtables, the AAHE Summer Academy, and select site visits in culling such information. Barbara also briefly outlined the work that AAHE and NSSE hope to do in the proposed four-year partnership and discussed the central role historically black, tribal, and Hispanic-serving colleges and universities would play in that project through their administration of NSSE and their participation in the AAHE Summer Academy as part of a NSSE/AAHE consortium.
Faculty Developers Use of NSSE Data
(American Association for Higher Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement, 2002-12) Kezar, Adrianna
During the 2002-03 academic year, AAHE and NSSE are conducting six roundtables to explore uses of NSSE data for improvement of student learning. A roundtable held in October 2002 at the Professional Organizational Development (POD) conference in Atlanta gave 13 faculty developers from institutions across the U. S. and nearly every higher education sector the chance to discuss institutional uses of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The discussion focused particularly on the ways in which faculty developers have used this new source of data available to campuses. Specific questions examined impacts of use, availability of data to faculty development offices, uses of the data in faculty development activities, and ways in which NSSE data can be interpreted for faculty members.
State-Level Uses of NSSE Data: Observations from Kentucky
(American Association for Higher Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement, 2003-01) El-Khawas, Elaine
During the 2002-03 academic year, AAHE and NSSE are conducting six roundtables to explore uses of NSSE data for improvement of student learning. A roundtable discus-sion held in Kentucky on December 3, 2002, focused on ways that NSSE can contribute to state-level efforts on accountability and institutional improvement. Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) co-sponsored and arranged the meeting. Participants included persons with state-level responsibilities for higher education and representatives of three universities.
Student Affairs Administrators: Building Collaborations with Student and Academic Affairs for Institutional Improvement.
(American Association for Higher Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement, 2003-06) Kezar, Adrianna
During the 2002-03 academic year, AAHE and NSSE are conducting six roundtables to explore uses of NSSE data for improvement of student learning. A roundtable discussion held in Kentucky on December 3, 2002, focused on ways that NSSE can contribute to state-level efforts on accountability and institutional improvement. Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) co-sponsored and arranged the meeting. Participants included persons with state-level responsibilities for higher education and representatives of three universities.
The Role of Integrator: Potential Opportunities for Librarians to Connect NSSE to Institutional Improvement
(American Association for Higher Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement, 2003-06) Kezar, Adrianna
During the 2003-03 academic year, AAHE and NSSE are conducting six roundtables to explore uses of NSSE data for improvement of student learning. A roundtable discussion at the Association of College and Research Libraries annual conference in April 2003 involved librarians from a range of institutions across the country and focused on understanding institutional uses of NSSE data, especially how librarians have used this new source of information.
Using NSSE Data for Assessment and Institutional Improvement
(American Association for Higher Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement, 2003-08) El-Khawas, Elaine
During the 2002-03 academic year, the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) conducted a series of roundtables to explore uses of NSSE data for the improvement of student learning. This roundtable series is part of the Documenting Effective Educational Practices project (Project DEEP), a partnership between AAHE and NSSE. A roundtable discussion held on June 22, 2003 at the AAHE Assessment Conference in Seattle, Washington included campus officers responsible for student assessment and for institutional re-search, and others with experience using NSSE data on their campuses. The discussion identified how NSSE data have been used, have been helpful, and have had an impact on campus. Partici-pants also discussed how NSSE data can best be shared with various members of the university community and ways to improve the uses of NSSE data.
Do DEEP institutions spend more or differently than their peers?
(2004) National Center for Higher Education Management Systems [NCHEMS]
In September 2004 the NSSE Institute requested the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to undertake an expenditure analysis for twenty institutions selected as study sites for the Documenting Effective Educational Practices (DEEP) project. DEEP institutions were selected for study because they performed at higher than expected levels on both NSSE benchmarks and student retention, after taking a range of different institutional factors into account. Using publicly-available data on institutional expenditures drawn from the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), NCHEMS was asked to examine how DEEP institutions spent their money by category in terms of the proportions of expenditures devoted to various institutional functions and the absolute dollar amounts spent per FTE students in these categories.
A study of resource expenditures and allocation at DEEP colleges and universities: Is spending related to student engagement?
(Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2004-12) Gansemer-Topf, A.; Saunders, K.; Schuh, J.; Shelley, M.
Institutions were selected for the Documenting Effective Educational Practices (DEEP) study because they have higher than expected graduation rates and scores on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). These institutions have been characterized in a number of ways, but, most important, it was presumed that faculty, students, administrators, and others engaged in a variety of institutional activities and practices that advanced learning.
Promoting student success: What advisors can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) De Sousa, D. J.
Students who are well prepared academically and highly motivated tend to do well in college and persist to graduation. But for various reasons, some of which are beyond their control, many students lack the requisite academic background for college-level work. As a result, most colleges and universities enroll students with a wide range of abilities. Some of these institutions are more effective than others in helping their students succeed in college. These schools recognize that in terms of learning and personal development, what students bring to college is less important than what they do when they get to college. Academic advisors can play an integral role in promoting student success by assisting students in ways that encourage them to engage in the right kinds of activities, inside and outside the classroom. Advisors are especially important because they are among the first people new students encounter and should see regularly during their first year. The guiding principles offered here are based on an in-depth examination of 20 diverse four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and demonstrated through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that they have effective policies and practices for working with students of differing abilities and aspirations. These institutions are referred to below as either educationally effective schools or high-performing institutions.
Promoting student success: What student leaders can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Magolda, P.
Student leaders reap many benefits and rewards as a result of their involvements with campus organizations. In addition to enjoying the respect of their peers, they have opportunities to meet a variety of faculty, staff and students, exposing them to a range of different personalities and cultures. They typically grow in self confidence and practical competence as they learn how to manage their time, energy, and their group's financial resources. In addition, the challenges they encounter in the course of these and other activities draw them out of their comfortable patterns of thinking and responding to situations, helping them to become more flexible, responsive, and reflective (Kuh, 1995; Kuh & Lund, 1994). In addition to these personal benefits, student leaders can contribute much to the quality of the learning environment, the experiences of their peers, and the larger campus community. Unfortunately, too often these potentially positive effects are not fully realized. Student governments get sidetracked on trivial issues. Social organizations inadvertently discourage participation by students from diverse backgrounds. Service clubs touch in relevant ways only a small fraction of those who need assistance. Established campus governance structures ignore or limit active, meaningful involvement by students.
Promoting student success: The importance of shared leadership and collaboration
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Kezar, A.
Collaborative, shared leadership among administrators, students, faculty, and staff is a key component to creating campus environments that foster student success. Collaborative work groups can be powerful vehicles for launching and institutionalizing student-friendly policies and practices and for developing complementary programs such as first-year initiatives, fresh approaches to general education curricular offerings, service- learning, and student leadership development programs among others. Such initiatives almost always result in richer learning opportunities for students when done collaboratively than when an individual unit develops them. But collaborative approaches to leadership and program development do not come naturally within higher education institutions that reward individualistic endeavors over collaboration. The guiding principles offered here for promoting shared leadership and collaboration are based on an in-depth examination of 20 diverse four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and, as demonstrated through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), effective policies and practices for engaging their students.
Promoting student success: What the media and the general public need to know
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Kuh, G. D.; Kinzie, J.
After several years of intense public focus on the need to improve K-12 education, more attention has turned recently to what happens when high school graduates move on to college. Students, parents, and lawmakers are asking whether undergraduates are getting adequate value for their investments of time and money, particularly as college and university tuition keeps rising. Employers are expressing concern about whether some graduates are adequately prepared for the world of work. Demographic pressures in some states also mean that institutions have to find places for more students, even though state appropriations to many public institutions have been cut or are barely increasing. In addition, legislators and policy experts are pressing institutions to make it possible for students to complete degree requirements in a reasonable period of time and worry that significant dropout rates at some colleges and universities may reflect a waste of public resources spent on those students.
Promoting student success: Making place matter to student success
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Manning, K.; Kuh, G. D.
Some campuses have a "special" feel about them. Students are quick to mention that they cannot imagine a better place for them personally or--for that matter--any better setting for a college or university. The college has become their home away from home, the place they'd rather be than any other. Generations of graduates return for reunion weekends, passing through familiar buildings and pausing at favorite spots that evoke fond recollections of what was a very meaningful time in their lives. Built structures and memories are inextricably intertwined to form deep emotional ties to the institution and to those with whom they shared this place. Colleges and universities with such a palpable sense of place also have salutary effects on student success. In a uniquely human way, this powerful connection to something larger than oneself encourages students to engage with faculty, staff, and peers in meaningful ways and compels graduates to give back to alma mater by contributing their time, talents, and resources. Administrators at other colleges long to understand and create the conditions that bond people so tightly to the institution and to one another during and after graduation.
Promoting student success: What business leaders can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Lovett, C. M.
More than any other group of stakeholders, business leaders are aware that this country's ability to remain competitive in a global, technology-based economy is ever more closely tied to its ability to produce more and better prepared college graduates. Graduating more students from various backgrounds who are well prepared to meet the social, civic and economic challenges of the future is a national priority. Every college and university can improve its graduation rates and enhance the quality of its undergraduate programs by creating the conditions that matter to student success. Decades of research studies show that student engagement--the time and effort that students devote to their studies and related activities--is a key factor in student success. The Documenting Effective Educational Practice (DEEP) project gathered data from 20 very different institutions of higher learning whose student scores on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) were higher than what was predicted on the basis of their student and institutional profile, history, and other factors.
Promoting student success: Deep lessons for teaching and learning
(Professional & Organizational Development Conference, 2005) Kinzie, J.
Promoting student success: What accreditation teams can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Griego, E.
The process of accreditation review in the U.S. serves two primary functions: quality assurance and continual improvement. The experienced educators who voluntarily serve on accreditation teams apply common standards of quality that serve students and meet public accountability expectations and offer suggestions and recommendations for institutional consideration and improvement. In the last decade, regional accreditation commissions and national professional and specialized accreditation agencies have increasingly focused on student learning results and institutional improvement. There has been a corresponding shift in focus from institutional resources, structures, and inputs as the primary indicators of institutional quality, toward increased emphasis on student learning results, appropriate to the degree level and mission of the institution. Accreditation review team reports are rich sources for examples of institutional practices that engage student learning. What have not been readily available to accreditation teams, however, are compilations of examples of good institutional practice. The suggestions offered here are drawn in large part from a study of 20 diverse four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and, through the National Survey of Student Engagement, demonstrated that they have effective practices for fostering success among students of differing abilities and aspirations. These institutions called DEEP schools here because they were studied for the project on Documenting Effective Educational Practices clearly communicate that they value high quality undergraduate teaching and learning.
Promoting student success: What department chairs can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Schuh, J. H.; Kuh, G. D.
Department chairs are in a position to help shape a culture where student learning is the central focus of faculty, staff, and students (Gmelch & Schuh, 2004). They hire, socialize, and evaluate faculty members' performance, guide curriculum development, and maintain the quality of academic programs. At the same time, department chairs typically assume the role without any specific preparation for the position; many have little or no experience as academic administrators. Yet, they are expected to lead their peers in establishing and implementing departmental goals and objectives. If improving educational effectiveness and enhancing student learning are priorities, what should the department chair emphasize? The suggestions offered here are based on an in-depth examination of 20 diverse four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and higher-than-predicted scores on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Taken together, these measures suggest that their policies, programs, practices, and campus climates challenge and support students of differing abilities and aspirations. How might these ideas be applied to your department?
Promoting student success: Small steps senior administrators can take
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) El Khawas, E.
Colleges and universities can increase the number of students who graduate by making a number of small, strategic changes in institutional policies and practices. Some schools have done this by focusing on effective educational practices and empowering faculty, staff and students to work together in new, productive ways. Others have improved the campus climate for learning by carefully assessing what students are experiencing or by realigning resources to induce students to participate in activities associated with persistence and other desired outcomes of college. Senior administrators play a key role in such efforts when they speak plainly and consistently about the importance of student success and make decisions congruent with this priority. The suggestions offered here are drawn from a study of 20 diverse four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and, through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), demonstrated that they have effective practices for fostering success among students of differing abilities and aspirations. These institutions--called DEEP schools here because they were studied for the project on Documenting Effective Educational Practices--clearly communicate that they value high quality undergraduate teaching and learning, and provide effective, well-linked academic and support services. Despite constraints, they have found ways to create supportive learning environments, ensuring that students engage with course content, faculty and peers, inside and outside the classroom.
Promoting student success: What student affairs can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Whitt, E. J.
Interest in creating the conditions that enhance student learning and support students in achieving their educational goals is at an all-time high. Four-fifths of high school graduates need some form of postsecondary education to acquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to address increasingly complex social, economic, and political issues. Student engagement--what students do during college--generally matters more to what they learn and whether they persist to graduation than who they are or even where they go to college. The contribution of out-of-class experiences to student engagement cannot be overstated. Any institution that wishes to make student achievement, satisfaction, persistence, and learning a priority must have competent student affairs professionals whose contributions complement the academic mission of the institution in ways that help students and the institution realize their goals. The "lessons" for student affairs practice offered here are based on an in-depth examination of 20 four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and, as demonstrated through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), effective policies and practices for engaging their students.
Promoting student success: What campus leaders can do
(Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, 2005) Kuh, G. D.
Graduating more students and increasing the quality of their learning are national priorities. Every college and university can improve in these areas by focusing on the educational conditions that matter to student success. Decades of research studies show that a key factor is student engagement--the time and effort students devote to their studies and related activities and how institutions organize learning opportunities and provide services to induce students to take part in and benefit from such activities. The guiding principles offered here are based on an in-depth examination of 20 diverse four-year colleges and universities that have higher-than-predicted graduation rates and demonstrated through the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that they have effective policies and practices for working with students of differing abilities and aspirations. These institutions value high quality undergraduate teaching, diversity and support for all students. They clearly communicate and hold students to high standards, provide timely feedback, and encourage students to actively engage with course content and faculty and peers, inside and outside the classroom. When they complement the institution's mission and values, these conditions can create powerful learning environments that lead to desirable learning outcomes that are generally independent of institutional resources or students' background.

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