Here are some quick summaries of some new reports out on education issues. The first looks at community college students. The other is on state v. fedearl reponsibilities for education. The third focuses on workforce preparation. And GAO weighs in on how universities are not safeguarding private information.
Community colleges play a pivotal role in providing education these days. Much of the training that was once provided through union apprenticeships has been shifted to community colleges. And students who are unable to matriculate at a college or university because of finances, work or family obligations, or lack of adequate preparation use community colleges as the only way to improve their education.
Then Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) 2006 National Report, Act On Fact: Using Data to Improve Student Success, has just been released. The CCSSE and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) both assess student achievement, but with different focuses.
We discussed the most recent NSSE results a few weeks ago, here.
The CCSSE takes the position:
Research shows that the more actively engaged students are — with college faculty and staff, with other students, and with the subject matter they study — the more likely they are to learn, to stick with their studies, and to attain their academic goals. Student engagement, therefore, is a valuable yardstick for assessing the quality of colleges’ educational practices and identifying ways they can produce more successful results — more students across all subgroups learning at higher levels and attaining their academic goals.
The CCSSE therefore emphasizes using the results to improve and fine tune the quality of community college eduation.
Here are some results from the study.
* 61% are parttime students
* 57% work more than 20 hours a week. The women students have a heavier work obligation than do the men.
* 34% spend substantial time caring for dependents
It should therefore come as no surpise that many students anticipate withdrawing from school for reasons of lack of preparation, overwork, and family obligations.
Additional findings show the impact of these problems. Students tend not to be prepared for class. Teaching tends to focus on memorization and less on synthesis of information and ideas. Students tend not to seek out faculty for advice and information, and many faculty spend no time on advising students:
More than a third of full-time students (38%) spend five hours per week or less preparing for class. Full-time women put forward more effort by this measure than full-time men: 33% of women, versus 46% of men, spend between zero and five hours preparing for class; and 52% of women, versus 46% of men, spend between six and 20 hours preparing for class.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of students report that their coursework emphasizes work associated with memorizing facts quite a bit or very much. A similar percentage of respondents say their coursework emphasizes analyzing ideas, and fewer respondents report that their coursework emphasizes synthesizing ideas or information, making judgments about the value and soundness of information, and applying concepts to practical problems or in new situations.
In the 2006 CCSSE Cohort, responses to all but one survey item associated with studentfaculty interaction show significant differences between parttime and full-time students. Part-time students are less likely than full-time students to use e-mail to communicate with an instructor (34% of part-time students, versus 47% of full-time students, say they often or very often do so), talk about career plans with an instructor or advisor (19% of part-time students versus 30% of full-time students), and discuss grades or assignments with an instructor (40% of part-time students versus 51% of full-time students).
Briefly
Those interested in eduation issues may want to look at the National Conference of State Legislatures, Transforming Higher Education: National Imperative - State Responsibility. It considers similar issues but within a context of examining who should take responsibility for providing quality education.
Workforce Strategy Center, Working Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional Prosperity looks at access and the relationship of education to work.
Government Accountability Office, Agencies Should Assess Vulnerabilities and Improve Guidance for Protecting Export-Controlled Information at Universities.
Math and Science Education and United States Competitiveness: Does the Public Care?
MLA Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion
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