Hi Janet and TBer's,
As Patty noted this morning, a downside of not having an
IR office is having the time and expertise to drill down into the data to
answer some of the very interesting questions raised in these discussions. We’ll
try, however, to do this when we can.
NSSE asks two relevant questions which speak to our
ability to disaggregate data by department. The first yields the
following breakdown for which we could disaggregate data:
Primary
Major
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid
Percent |
Cumulative
Percent |
|
Valid |
Arts and Humanities |
161 |
15.3 |
19.1 |
19.1 |
Biological
Sciences |
68 |
6.5 |
8.1 |
27.2 |
|
Business |
69 |
6.6 |
8.2 |
35.3 |
|
Education |
270 |
25.7 |
32.0 |
67.4 |
|
Engineering |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
67.5 |
|
Physical
Science |
38 |
3.6 |
4.5 |
72.0 |
|
Professional |
35 |
3.3 |
4.2 |
76.2 |
|
Social
Science |
94 |
8.9 |
11.2 |
87.3 |
|
Other |
96 |
9.1 |
11.4 |
98.7 |
|
Undecided |
11 |
1.0 |
1.3 |
100.0 |
|
Total |
843 |
80.1 |
100.0 |
|
|
Missing |
System |
209 |
19.9 |
|
|
Total |
1052 |
100.0 |
|
|
The second asks students to write in their major. While
it would take some effort to do the analysis, here are the write-in responses
(note 209 students did not write-in their major).
NSSE
staff recoded primary write-in major (majrprim) into one of 85 majors
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid
Percent |
Cumulative
Percent |
|
Valid |
Art, fine and applied |
44 |
4.2 |
5.2 |
5.2 |
English
(language and literature) |
18 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
7.4 |
|
History |
22 |
2.1 |
2.6 |
10.0 |
|
Language
and literature (except English) |
6 |
.6 |
.7 |
10.7 |
|
Music |
63 |
6.0 |
7.5 |
18.1 |
|
Theater
or drama |
7 |
.7 |
.8 |
19.0 |
|
Other
arts & humanities |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
19.1 |
|
Biology
(general) |
38 |
3.6 |
4.5 |
23.6 |
|
Biochemistry
or biophysics |
4 |
.4 |
.5 |
24.1 |
|
Environmental
science |
23 |
2.2 |
2.7 |
26.8 |
|
Other
biological science |
3 |
.3 |
.4 |
27.2 |
|
Accounting |
17 |
1.6 |
2.0 |
29.2 |
|
Business
administration (general) |
8 |
.8 |
.9 |
30.1 |
|
Other
business |
44 |
4.2 |
5.2 |
35.3 |
|
Elementary/middle
school education |
167 |
15.9 |
19.8 |
55.2 |
|
Secondary
education |
54 |
5.1 |
6.4 |
61.6 |
|
Other
education |
49 |
4.7 |
5.8 |
67.4 |
|
Chemical
engineering |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
67.5 |
|
Atmospheric
science (including meteorology) |
6 |
.6 |
.7 |
68.2 |
|
Chemistry |
7 |
.7 |
.8 |
69.0 |
|
Earth
science (including geology) |
7 |
.7 |
.8 |
69.9 |
|
Mathematics |
11 |
1.0 |
1.3 |
71.2 |
|
Physics |
6 |
.6 |
.7 |
71.9 |
|
Statistics |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
72.0 |
|
Law |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
72.1 |
|
Medicine |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
72.2 |
|
Allied
health/other medical |
31 |
2.9 |
3.7 |
75.9 |
|
Therapy
(occupational, physical, speech) |
2 |
.2 |
.2 |
76.2 |
|
Anthropology |
4 |
.4 |
.5 |
76.6 |
|
Economics |
6 |
.6 |
.7 |
77.3 |
|
Ethnic
studies |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
77.5 |
|
Geography |
4 |
.4 |
.5 |
77.9 |
|
Political
science (including govt., internatl. relations) |
9 |
.9 |
1.1 |
79.0 |
|
Psychology |
52 |
4.9 |
6.2 |
85.2 |
|
Social
work |
1 |
.1 |
.1 |
85.3 |
|
Sociology |
17 |
1.6 |
2.0 |
87.3 |
|
Communications |
43 |
4.1 |
5.1 |
92.4 |
|
Computer
science |
7 |
.7 |
.8 |
93.2 |
|
Family
Studies |
18 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
95.4 |
|
Criminal
justice |
15 |
1.4 |
1.8 |
97.2 |
|
Other
field |
13 |
1.2 |
1.5 |
98.7 |
|
Undecided |
11 |
1.0 |
1.3 |
100.0 |
|
Total |
843 |
80.1 |
100.0 |
|
|
Missing |
System |
209 |
19.9 |
|
|
Total |
1052 |
100.0 |
|
|
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: Teaching Breakfast List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Janet
Nepkie
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 12:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Apologies to TB Group
HI, Jim,
Thanks for having scheduled a meeting with Steve and
Patty to talk about the NSSE. Thanks, too, to Patty and Steve for having
taken their time to talk to our group. I'm sorry that I had to leave
early to attend another meeting so I didn't have opportunity to hear the
discussion after the PowerPoint presentation.
I went to our college website to view the entire
Patty/Steve NSSE Power Point.
I have several questions about NSSE data. If the
questions were answered in the Teaching Breakfast discussion after I left, I
hope some one will let me know what was said.
If the questions were not asked, I would like to do so
here.
My questions are all based on the general premise that
data will be a lot more beneficial to our institution if we can decide how to
use them.
If the generally held belief that higher levels of
student engagement will produce higher levels of student academic accomplishment
is accurate, how can we raise our student engagement?
If we are at a certain level of student engagement, how
can we improve it? Which areas of our curricula, what sorts of classroom
behavior and leadership, result in higher levels of student engagement?
We have seen INSTITUTIONAL data for our school.
Can we break NSSE data down to the departmental level?
If my department has any problems with student
engagement, or student study habits, or class attendance, or any of the other
engagement and success criteria studied in NSSE, I'd like to know that so I can
seek to improve it at the departmental level. Similarly, if my department
is experiencing success with specific NSSE criteria, I'd like to know that so I
can be sure we continue whatever activities have been successful.
Our INSTITUTIONAL levels of success have a better chance
of improving if individual DEPARTMENTS know what areas of their programs may
need attention.
Although NSSE measures student engagement, the reason for
measuring engagement is to improve academic performance, so perhaps this may be
a issue that the College Curriculum committee may want to study.
Are the NSSE student data generally reflective of the
size of the departments on campus? In other words, if my department
accounts for 11 percent of the SUNY Oneonta population, are the NSSE data taken
from enough Music Industry students to make an actual reflection of the Music
Industry cohort? If our NSSE data do not reflect our actual student
population, can we be confident that our NSSE data give us an accurate picture
of our actual student body?
I am delighted that Steve pioneered the use of NSSE at
Oneonta, and his work with Patty Francis gives us a strong and knowledgeable
team that can be of immense value to us. Faculty are fortunate to have this
high level of administrative support. I'm asking my questions because I'd
like to be sure that I can use the data they gather and share with us
effectively.
Thanks
Janet
Dr. J. Nepkie
SUNY Distinguished Service Professor
Professor of Music and Music Industry
Music Department
State University of New York College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820
Ph. (607) 436 3425
Fax 607 436 2718
-----Original Message-----
From: Teaching Breakfast List on behalf of Jim Greenberg
Sent: Thu 4/2/2009 8:33 AM
Subject: Apologies to TB Group
My apologies to Steve Perry and to the Teaching Breakfast
group for missing today's get together. Can someone let me know how it
went (or didn't go).
:-(
My bad.
Mr. James B. Greenberg
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Milne Library
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820
blog: The 32nd Square at http://32ndsquare.blogspot.com
wiki: The 32nd Square at http://32ndsquare.wikidot.com
email: [log in to unmask]
phone: 607-436-2701
fax: 607-436-3081
IM: oneontatltc
Twitter: greenbjb
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