8.2.c     Student outcomes: academic and student services

The institution identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent to which it achieves these outcomes, and provides evidence of seeking improvement based on analysis of the results for academic and student services that support student success.

Judgment

x   Compliance           o  Non-Compliance           o Partial Compliance

Narrative  

UL Lafayette has established and maintains a systematic, comprehensive, and effective process by which outcomes are identified, assessed, and analyzed, leading to continuous improvement efforts. Evidence of University-wide assessment infrastructure, governance, cycle, and review is available in the Assessment Preface. 

Evidence of Institutional Effectiveness at the Academic and Student Services Level

UL Lafayette’s academic, instructional support, and student services departments all focus on supporting student success, though housed in different divisions across campus, including Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, Student Affairs, and University College. The commitment to supporting student success is institution-wide.

Since 2009-2010, the University’s academic, instructional support, and student services departments have consistently participated in the annual assessment process of establishing goals and reviewing results to improve outcomes. Table 8.2.c – 1 shows that, in the three most recent assessment cycles (2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018), nearly all academic and student services departments entered Assessment Plan Elements, Assessment Report Elements, and Reflections. When the University transitioned to LiveText in 2016-2017, it was an opportunity to take inventory of which units were formally responsible for assessing; in this process, some units merged into other larger units. The Office of Institutional Assessment continues to work with Assessment Liaisons to share information on best practices related to assessment plans and reporting, and aims to obtain 100% participation throughout the assessment cycle. 

Table 8.2.c – 1: Completion by Academic and Student Service Departments

over Three Assessment Cycles

 

Evidence of Assessment of Academic, Instructional support, and Student Services

Each academic, instructional support, and student services department identifies, assesses, and improves outcomes. Assessment reports for these departments are available in LiveText’s AIS for assessment cycles 2015-present; archived assessment reports generated from WEAVEonline for assessment cycles 2009-2015 are available upon request from the Office of Institutional Assessment. In 2016, the Vice President for Student Affairs and each of her directors redesigned their assessment process; six division-wide goals were identified, and all departments within Student Affairs developed specific measures to assess those goals. Thus, the assessment reports for Student Affairs departments are found in one larger VP Student Affairs report beginning in the 2016-2017 cycle. Table 8.2.c – 2 provides direct access to each assessment report by department. To illustrate examples of assessment, a sample of summaries representing approximately 20% of the departments is provided below the table.

Table 8.2.c – 2: Assessment Reports by Academic and Student Services Departments

over Three Assessment Cycles

 

Departments reporting to President or Provost/VP for Academic Affairs

Athletics

The department of Athletics maintains a set of goals that prioritizes the success and well-being of the University’s student-athletes. One of these goals is to “enhance the quality of the student-athlete experience within the context of higher education.” In 2015-2016, Athletics established the “Game Plan Initiative, which depicts programming topics and educational opportunities for eight semesters; in 2017-2018, the initiative’s name changed to the “Geaux Cajuns Program.” Themes included Financial Literacy (Fall 2015), Professional Athletes (Spring 2016), Career Readiness (Fall 2016), Mentoring and Community Service (Spring 2017), Healthy Relationships (Fall 2017), and Coping with the Challenge of Change (Spring 2018). After each topic presentation or session, participants were asked to complete a survey to determine if they had gained a better understanding of the topic as a result of the program. While survey participants consistently demonstrated that their understanding had increased as a result of each program, the participation and survey response rates remained low.

The department of Athletics, in discussions with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), reviewed survey feedback, and discussed program expectations and changes. A concerted effort was made in 2017-2018 to increase communication and improve the participation rate among all sports programs. As a result, student-athlete attendance rates improved at all Geaux Cajuns Program events, due to increased buy-in and communication with student-athletes, coaches, and staff; many events saw attendance rates of 75% or higher. Additionally, in 2017-2018, hard copies of the surveys were provided during end-of-the-season team meetings; this brought total student-athlete feedback up to nearly 100 responses on the Geaux Cajuns Program Survey. With more student feedback, the Geaux Cajuns Program staff can better understand the students’ needs and expectations, in order to enhance their experience and provide meaningful programming topics, educational opportunities, and service projects. Additionally, this ensures all student-athletes have an opportunity to provide feedback, and to ensure student-athletes that their feedback is heard.

·         2015-2016 Athletics

·         2016-2017 Athletics

·         2017-2018 Athletics

Distance Learning

The Office of Distance Learning (ODL) is committed to student success in distance learning courses and programs by providing and promoting services that prepare students to successfully achieve learning outcomes in online or hybrid courses. Preparation for a successful start in distance learning courses depends on students being oriented to the expectations of hybrid or online learning, and to the academic and student support services provided by the University. As such, ODL reviews responses from students who complete the online student orientation survey in order to determine their preparedness. The target measure was for 75% of orientation participants who completed the survey to respond as “prepared” or “very prepared” to the question: “After completing this orientation, how prepared do you feel to be an online student at UL Lafayette?” The results showed that 87.4% of online student orientation survey participants felt “prepared” or “very prepared” to be an online student at UL Lafayette. Though these results indicate the goal was met, additional survey results revealed that approximately 30% of the students found the orientation “somewhat helpful” or “not helpful.” After discussions with online program coordinators, ODL set a goal in 2017-2018 to redesign and launch an improved online student orientation course to increase student readiness. The revised orientation was released in 2018, and new assessment measures are being developed to track its effectiveness.

·         2015-2016 Distance Learning

·         2016-2017 Distance Learning

·         2017-2018 Distance Learning

Dupré Library

Dupré Library maintains a robust set of goals and assessment measures to track student and faculty participation. The library has consistently assessed how it provides a variety of instructional opportunities to assist users; one way in which the Library rates instructional resources is by surveying faculty who request library instruction for students in their courses. Success was achieved if an 80% satisfaction score (“excellent” or “above average”) was reached on the question: “The librarian engaged the students.” For 2015-2016, this measure was achieved with 90.91% satisfaction. With a new instructional services librarian hired in 2016, revisions to the library instruction feedback form were planned for the 2016-2017 cycle to reflect the newly approved ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The revised form also necessitated a revised measure, so in 2016-2017 success was achieved if an 80% satisfaction score was reached on the question: “The librarian provided an instructional session (or sessions) that supported your learning objectives and the research needs of your students.” For 2016-2017, this measure was achieved with 100% satisfaction.

Faculty provided additional comments that reinforced their satisfaction, including:

·         “The librarian adapted to student needs and went above and beyond.” 

·         “She provided an extremely effective instructional session, the students remarked upon her presentation, and used her instructions throughout the semester; her session effectively oriented our freshmen to our library resources.”

In reviewing the full survey results, the Instructional Services staff realized they were relying on faculty input to be provided on the survey at the end of the semester. The Head of Instructional Services distributed faculty surveys monthly to reduce the time between instruction and assessment. The aim was to increase the quality of the feedback and the response rate. In 2017-2018, while survey results remained positive and demonstrated satisfaction, the library staff realized that the number of student contacts and the total number of sessions had decreased. To address this trend, the Instructional Services Department increased outreach to faculty to encourage them to dedicate more than one class to library research; specific outreach was made to English department graduate students (who teach the majority of freshmen writing courses). These improvement efforts continue to advance the library’s goals of providing quality instructional opportunities to students and faculty.

·         2015-2016 Library

·         2016-2017 Library

·         2017-2018 Library

Student Success

Several of the University’s student success initiatives fall under the direction and guidance of Student Success, which includes the Academic Success Center (ASC) and The Learning Center (TLC). These departments maintain separate goals and assessment measures, but collectively illustrate the University’s commitment to student success.

The Academic Success Center’s At-Risk Student Groups department has sought to increase the retention rate by targeting first-time freshmen on academic probation. Through AY2015-2016, identified freshmen on academic probation were required to attend an academic success workshop, and the GPA of these students was reviewed at the end of the semester. The assessment target was for at least 50% of students attending an academic success workshop to earn a 2.0 or higher semester GPA. In Spring 2016, the ASC identified and contacted freshmen on academic probation, and required them to attend a “Success Matters” workshop by the fifth day of class. While the participation rate of the targeted population was 90% or higher through 2016, the ASC did not meet its target of 50% of students who attend a workshop earning a 2.0 semester GPA or higher.

In response to this, ASC decided to require all first-time freshmen who are placed on academic probation in their Spring semester to take a course aimed at teaching the skills required for success. Academic Skills (ACSK) 100: Fundamentals of College Learning is a one-credit (CR/NC grading) course that introduces and refines techniques for learning and studying in the college classroom. The course includes group discussions on time management, note-taking, studying for tests, and other student success techniques; additionally, students meet individually with advisors throughout the semester as part of early-intervention efforts. The results for 2016-2017 reveal that the goal of 50% earning a 2.0 GPA after the workshop was still an unachievable benchmark. Of the 196 students enrolled in the course, 33% earned a 2.0 semester GPA, and 16% achieved a 2.0 cumulative GPA. However, 50% earned a higher GPA in the Spring semester compared to the Fall semester. Finally, of the students eligible for ASCK 100, but who did not enroll, only 22% earned at least a 2.0 semester GPA, and 13% earned at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. These data indicate that students who participated in the program were more successful than those who opted out.

After follow-up discussion and analysis of the data, the ASC implemented changes to the structure of the course for Spring 2018, and revised the baseline measure of success. For AY2017-2018, the revised outcome was for 40% of students enrolled in the course to earn a 2.0 or above semester GPA. The course changes led to positive feedback from students and instructors on class layout, management, and interaction with students, even though the number of students earning above a 2.0 semester GPA did not change dramatically. 33.5% earned a semester GPA greater than or equal to 2.0, and 25.4% earned a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.0. 53.5% earned a higher Spring 2018 semester GPA compared to their Fall 2017 semester GPA, which was an increase from the previous year. The ASC At-Risk Group utilize the revised baselines to evaluate and adjust services to better meet students’ needs.

·         2015-2016 ASC At Risk Groups

·         2016-2017 ASC At Risk Groups

·         2017-2018 ASC At Risk Groups

The Learning Center (TLC) supports students in becoming academically successful in their course work to increase retention and encourage graduation. For three assessment cycles, TLC has set a goal of increasing student participation in tutoring for challenging courses as compared to previous respective semesters. TLC utilizes an online software program (TutorTrac) to schedule and check in each student who attends individual, group, and supplemental instruction (SI) tutoring sessions throughout the semester. In 2015, TLC increased its supplemental instruction and group tutoring sessions, because those modalities proved to be more successful for UL Lafayette students, while being able to serve more students within identical budget and time constraints. The overall visits for AY2016-2017 increased to 11,621 compared to 11,177 in AY2015-2016. The increase is attributed to a deliberate and focused marketing effort on social media and at various on-campus events (Get on Board Day, Preview Days, and orientation sessions). In an effort to further increase attendance, in Spring 2017 TLC introduced incentives for students who attended more than three sessions. These efforts appear to have had a positive impact; a total of 14,787 visits were tracked in AY2017-2018. TLC was able to increase the number of students visiting the center at least three times by 24% in Fall 2017 and 29% in Spring 2018.

·         2015-2016 The Learning Center

·         2016-2017 The Learning Center

·         2017-2018 The Learning Center

Departments reporting to VP for Enrollment Management

Financial Aid

The Office of Financial Aid works directly with students to assist them in understanding and managing their loans. The office continues its efforts to increase efficiencies with the implementation of the ERP system. The office also endeavors to better understand how services are being received. In 2017-2018, Financial Aid prioritized collecting student feedback from surveys in order to refine existing processes or implement new processes. Beginning in 2018, students are sent an electronic survey within 24 hours of visiting the Office of Financial Aid. After reviewing survey results from February 2018 (the initial round of data), Financial Aid learned that 56% of students had a “fair” or “poor” experience with the office, and 50% “did not receive helpful answers to their questions.” Additional guidance and training were provided to department staff; the next review of results revealed a decrease to 36% of students who had a “fair” or “poor” experience. The Financial Aid office is open to feedback from students who overall felt the staff was knowledgeable, but needed to improve how information was delivered. The Financial Aid office continues to administer the survey and review the data regularly, with the continued objective of improving the department’s customer service and enhancing the student experience.

Orientation

The Office of Orientation is dedicated to preparing students for success during various orientation sessions and activities. One challenge that incoming freshmen frequently face is learning how to use the online registration system, ULink. The Student Orientation Staff (SOS), a group of student orientation leaders who have completed one year at UL Lafayette, as well as the EDFL 395 course, were expected to successfully demonstrate how to use ULink to incoming students. However, these SOS students had not been formally trained on best practices in presenting this information. When orientation students were surveyed about how well they understood ULink or online registering, results indicated that additional training for SOS leaders might be needed. In 2015-2016, the responses to the survey included:

·         Understand how to use ULink: 4.37/5.0

·         Understand how to register using ULink: 4.40/5.0

Based on student feedback, the Office of Orientation realized that course registration training was not straightforward. A training session was implemented with the Registrar’s Office to teach the SOS leaders best practices in how to educate new students in ULink and course registration. Since this training began, survey results have increased for both questions:

·         Understand how to use ULink: 4.37 (2016) to 4.51 (2018)

·         Understand how to register using ULink: 4.40 (2016) to 4.50 (2018)

Through ULink training, SOS better understood the system and the importance of successful course registration for new student matriculation and retention. In 2018, one question was added to the orientation survey to evaluate SOS’s performance: “My Student Orientation Staff Leaders helped me understand ULink and how to register for classes.” Students overwhelmingly indicated that SOS leaders helped with understanding ULink and registration by a score of 4.74 out of 5.0. With the improvement in this survey data, and with the development of the course registration system with each Banner update, Orientation will continue to work with the Registrar’s Office to train the SOS team in ULink functionality.

·         2015-2016 Orientation

·         2016-2017 Orientation

·         2017-2018 Orientation

Departments reporting to VP for Student Affairs

Student Affairs

Prior to 2016, departments reporting to the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Dean of Students maintained separate goals and assessment measures. In order to better quantify and measure student success through its support services, the Vice President for Student Affairs convened the department heads to identify six overarching goals (Table 8.2.c – 3), which align to national best practices for student service units at institutions of higher education. Two goals are assessed annually by all units in the VP Student Affairs area, and all six goals are assessed within three years. The departments within the VP Student Affairs division responsible for identifying their own specific measures and targets of success are: Career Services, Child Development Center, Counseling and Testing, Disability Services, International Affairs (now Global Engagement, reporting to Academic Affairs effective AY2018-2019), Public Safety and University Police, Recreational Sports, Residential Life, Student Engagement and Leadership, Student Health Services, and Student Rights and Responsibilities. Because of the recent change to their assessment process, the departments have not been able to document improvements but intend to do so once the full three-year cycle has been completed. With all departments focused on the same goals relevant to student affairs, the overall Student Affairs division is able to better focus on enhancing the student experience. A sample of two assessments per goal is provided after the table.

Table 8.2.c – 3: Student Affairs Goals and Assessment Cycle

 

Assessment of Goals: Inter/Intrapersonal Competence

The SGA Child Development Center assessed Inter/Intrapersonal Competence among its work-study students in 2016-2017. Through a focus group conducted in Spring 2017, the Center evaluated students’ ability to reflect on and describe best practices in situations calling for ethical reasoning while engaging with clients and staff. Students reported gaining knowledge of ethical responsibilities during employment and improving self-reflection skills in order to foster relationships with the children, families, and staff at the center. They were able to distinguish differences between Ethical Responsibilities and Ethical Dilemmas unique to early childhood education. During the focus groups, 100% of the students echoed the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) seven core values of ethical conduct, and informally discussed actual situations that could be perceived as ethical dilemmas (family values and beliefs, discipline, etc.). Students discussed best practices, and the reasoning behind the practices, and 100% of the students reported learning best practices while employed as a student worker.

The Office of Disability Services (ODS) assessed Inter/Intrapersonal Competence among its student workers who help to maintain office operations, including monitoring testing, delivering exams on campus, greeting students, and assisting with paperwork. For many student workers, working with ODS is often a first job, and inter/intrapersonal skills are developed as part of their experience. ODS recognizes a responsibility to ensure that students have advanced these skills upon graduation. Additionally, ODS student workers must demonstrate an understanding of the office’s purpose, and the importance of confidentiality and test security. ODS identified as its measure “to create a training that examines the social skills of the five student workers.” Initial training exposed the student workers to social skills and ADA compliance issues through real student applications. The office also administers a pre- and post-test to better gauge student knowledge of the ADA, office expectations, and social skills.

Assessment of Goals: Knowledge Acquisition

In 2016-2017, Career Services assessed Knowledge Acquisition by administering a survey of students who participated in the University’s Co-Op program. Students were asked to identify how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements about the Co-Op program experience. 83.3% of students strongly agreed or agreed that the experience “allowed me to apply concepts learned in class,” and 95.8% strongly agreed or agreed that the experience “expanded my knowledge and professional skills.” Additionally, 95.8% strongly agreed or agreed that the experience “helped clarify my educational and career goals,” and 91.7% strongly agreed or agreed that the experience “helped me to be better prepared for life after college.” Finally, 87.5% strongly agreed or agreed that the co-op experience met expectations.

In 2016-2017, Student Engagement and Leadership assessed Knowledge Acquisition through a post-participation survey of attendees of its Ragin’ Leadership Academy. The indicator of success was for 75% of leadership academy participants who completed the survey to indicate they are more prepared to lead student organizations. The results indicated that 95% of participants strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “I feel better trained to serve my organization;” nearly all (99%) indicated they would implement strategies learned at the Academy in current or future leadership positions; and 93% indicated greater confidence in their ability to influence others. The staff of Student Engagement and Leadership will continue to host the Ragin’ Leadership Academy, survey student participants, and prepare students to assume leadership roles in campus organizations.

Assessment of Goals: Cognitive Complexity

In 2017-2018, Residential Life assessed the goals of Cognitive Complexity and Humanitarianism/Civic Engagement. For Cognitive Complexity, Residential Life sought to measure how Residential Life Directors evaluated staff members in certain residence assistant (RA) roles. A focus group was held at the end of the semester; Directors successfully identified behaviors demonstrating whether RAs were able to do basic position-required skills. Residential Life staff also noted that Directors were able to provide concrete examples to the RAs when skills were not achieved up to the expected level. The results of the focus group demonstrated reflective thinking, and opened clearer lines of communication. Afterward, having seen value in the feedback process, the Directors asked for the evaluation forms to be revised with more specific criteria on which to evaluate the RAs.

International Affairs (IA) also assessed Cognitive Complexity in 2017-2018; specifically, IA sought to measure how successfully international students apply lessons learned during the Tax Information educational program. 100% of students indicated they strongly agreed or agreed the tax information session was helpful, and 100% indicated they strongly agreed or agreed they understood the tax filing requirements for international students.

Counseling and Testing assessed Cognitive Complexity in 2017-2018 by having interns conduct a peer evaluation on peer counseling techniques. The evaluation measured specific skills in the areas of Attending Behavior, Empathy, Genuineness, Session Focus, and Open-Ended Questions. Of the seven interns, full-time counselors saw an overall 95% improvement rate of the interns who were conducting the session, as well as the interns who provided feedback regarding counseling techniques. This practice provides students with opportunities to hone their critical thinking and effective reasoning skills, and will be continued for future interns.

Assessment of Goals: Humanitarianism/Civic Engagement

Recreational Sports assessed the Humanitarianism/Civic Engagement goal in 2017-2018. The department asked its student employees (“supervisors”) to respond to a series of questions relating to problem solving with others, community service/volunteering, and charitable giving. 52% of the supervisors indicated they had “worked together informally with someone or some group to solve a problem in the University community or the Recreational Sports Department.” The department has set a goal of 70% of supervisors achieving this expectation, and will implement more opportunities for student supervisors to get involved and collaborate with one another on extracurricular projects, including planning for Rec-Fest and the Big Event. Another area of improvement came in response to the question: “Have you personally walked, run, or bicycled for a charitable cause?” 39% of the student supervisors indicated such participation. The Recreational Sports staff intends to educate student supervisors on the impact of volunteering and participating in events of this nature and expects to increase this percentage in the future.

Student Engagement and Leadership assessed the Humanitarianism goal by exposing students to Allies resources through the “Candid Conversation” series. Overall, students learned about new resources as they pertained to Allies, and their comfort level increased through participation in the Candid Conversations series. Feedback from students indicated that the session was immensely valuable but was too long and needed more interaction. The program will continue with slight modifications to length and format.

Summary of Institutional Effectiveness at the Academic and Student Services Levels

UL Lafayette’s academic and student services departments actively set goals, assess these goals, and identify areas of improvement in order to promote student success across the University. 

 

Supporting Documents

2015-2016 ASC At Risk Groups Assessment Report

2015-2016 Athletics Assessment Report

2015-2016 Distance Learning Assessment Report

2015-2016 Library Assessment Report

2015-2016 Orientation Assessment Report

2015-2016 The Learning Center Assessment Report

2016-2017 ASC At Risk Groups Assessment Report

2016-2017 Athletics Assessment Cycle

2016-2017 Distance Learning Assessment Cycle

2016-2017 Library Assessment Cycle

2016-2017 Orientation Assessment Cycle

2016-2017 Student Affairs Assessment Cycle

2016-2017 The Learning Center Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 ASC At Risk Groups Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 Athletics Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 Distance Learning Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 Financial Aid Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 Library Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 Orientation Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 Student Affairs Assessment Cycle

2017-2018 The Learning Center Assessment Cycle