Nosaka, T., & Novak, H. (2014). Learning Communities Research and Practice, 2(2), 3.
Reviewed: June 2020
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.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Second-Fall Retention |
Key Communities (Key) program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
88.24 |
80.40 |
Yes |
|
|
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Other or unknown | 100% |
"Key" is a first-year program that was implemented at Colorado State University. Students enrolled in the Key program participated in one of five communities: Key Academic; Key Culture, Communication, and Sport; Key Explore; Key Health Professions; and Key Service. Students within each community were organized into smaller clusters of 19 students.
Based on the descriptive statistics presented in the study for Key students, 64% were female, 45% were minority; and 32 percent were Pell grant recipients.
Key was a first-year program that was implemented at Colorado State University. Students enrolled in the Key program participate in one of five communities: Key Academic; Key Culture, Communication, and Sport; Key Explore; Key Health Professions; and Key Service. The intervention included a two-day Key Orientation that took place prior to the start of the fall semester of the first year. Key also included a shared residential experience, where all first-year Key students lived together in a centrally located hall. The intervention also included learning communities, where clusters of 19 students attended the same freshman seminar and one-to-two university core courses.
The comparison group included non-Key students who received business-as-usual curriculum and services provided by Colorado State University.
Key staff included mentors, full-time Key coordinators, and Key seminar faculty.
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.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
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.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
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).
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