The Effects of Non-Compulsory Freshman Seminar and Core Curriculum Completion Ratios on Post-Secondary Persistence and Baccalaureate Degree Attainment
Clouse, Wendi A. (2012). ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Colorado at Colorado. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED545944
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examining8,290Students
First year experience courses Intervention Report - Supporting Postsecondary Success
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2016
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for First year experience courses.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Degree conferred at home institution |
First year experience courses vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
College students;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Degree conferred at any institution |
First year experience courses vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
College students;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Persistence from first to third semester |
First year experience courses vs. Business as usual |
3 Semesters |
College students;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 40%
Male: 60% -
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West
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Race White 88%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted at a large public university in the western United States using archival data extracted from the student records central information warehouse. Data from all first-time, full-time incoming freshmen enrolled in the fall semester from 1995 to 2005 were eligible for analysis.
Study sample
The authors reported baseline characteristics on the full sample. The mean age was 18.69 (SD=1.42). 60% of the sample was male and 88% of the sample was white. The average amount of need-based aid received over the first year was $1,035.74 (SD=$2,471.44).
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention condition chose to enroll in a credit-bearing freshman seminar course designed for first-time, first-semester freshman college students. The first year experience course was designed to help freshmen at the university transition from high school to college and included topics in the following three areas: academic, personal, and community. Academic components included study, communication, and technology skills; personal components included a focus on developing personal goals and responsibilities; and community components focused on developing relationships and learning opportunities outside the classroom. Each section generally included 15 or fewer students and was taught by one of several faculty members and one junior teaching assistant.
Comparison Group
Students in the intervention condition chose to enroll in a credit-bearing freshman seminar course for first-time first-semester freshman college students. The freshman seminar course was created to help freshmen transition from high school to college, adjust to university life, and succeed in college. While the goals of the program changed slightly over time, they always included a mix of academic, personal, and community goals. The course is taught by 2 to 4 faculty and/or instructional staff. Two different sections of the course are offered to students each fall. Each section is kept to a small number of students, generally 15 students or less. Topics covered include study skills development, orientation material, and personal goals development. Currently, the three main goals are aligned to personal goals, academic goals, and community goals.
Support for implementation
Implementation of the freshman seminar program was initiated by the college in 1993. The course is taught by 2–4 faculty and/or instructional staff. These faculty/staff are supported by teaching assistants who are selected from currently enrolled students. No information on training for instructors is reported.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
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A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
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Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).