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Overview
As one of its initial research projects, the Policy Center on the First Year of College conducted national surveys of first-year structures, policies, and practices in the collegiate curriculum and co-curriculum. Hyperlinks to two separate survey instruments were embedded in e-mail messages sent to chief academic officers and chief student affairs officers at 621 two- and four-year colleges and universities. The instruments asked a broad range of questions, and responses to these questions have been analyzed by institutional size, type (2-year and 4-year), and Carnegie classification (2000 edition). The survey instruments were designed by Policy Center staff members, Dr. Betsy Barefoot (principle investigator), Dr. Randy Swing, and Dr. John N. Gardner, with input from a nationally known team of educational research experts and first-year program directors.
This national survey is not intended to be diagnostic or prescriptive. It does not, in and of itself, paint a picture of "best practice." Rather it reveals common practice, for better or worse, in the first college year across the curriculum and the co-curriculum. Some responses are consistent with anecdotal evidence about the first year, but other responses are in direct conflict with some widely held beliefs about what happens to first-year students in and out of the classroom. You are invited to direct questions about this research or any other activity of the Policy Center to any of the above individuals.
The following Web links will direct interested readers to findings in various formats derived from the survey responses.
Summary of Curricular Survey Findings
Curricular survey instrument with links to responses to each question (analysis by Carnegie classification)
Co-Curricular survey instrument with links to responses to each question (analysis by Carnegie classification)
Summary of Co-Curricular Survey Findings
621 institutions, stratified by Carnegie classification, were in the original random sample population.
Hyperlinks to the survey instruments (curricular and co-curricular) were embedded in e-mail messages.
The hyperlink to the curricular survey was sent successfully to 586 chief academic officers.
The hyperlink to the co-curricular survey was sent successfully to 568 chief student affairs officers
| Curricular Survey: |
586 transmissions, 323 responses (54.7%) |
| Co-Curricular Survey: |
568 transmissions, 291 responses (51%) |
Comparison of Survey and Response Populations by Institutional Type and Size
| Curricular responses by institutional type |
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Survey population
(n = 586)
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Response population
(n = 323)
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| Two-year |
235 (40.1%)
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116 (35.9%)
|
| Four-year |
351 (59.9%)
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203 (62.8%)
|
| Unknown type |
|
4
|
Curricular responses by institutional size
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| <2,000 |
177 (30.0%)
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102 (31.6%)
|
| 2,000 - 4,999 |
197 (33.6%)
|
106 (32.8%)
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| 5,000 - 14,999 |
144 (24.6%)
|
78 (24.1%)
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| 15,000 or more |
68 (11.6%)
|
33 (10.2%)
|
| Unknown size |
|
4
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Curricular responses by Carnegie classification
|
| AA |
see "Two-year" above
|
see "Two-year" above
|
| BA-Gen |
72 (12.2%)
|
38 (11.7%)
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| BA-LA |
54 (9.2%)
|
34 (10.5%)
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| Masters I & II |
153 (26.1%)
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90 (27.9%)
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| Research Intensive |
27 (4.6%)
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15 (4.6%)
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| Research Extensive |
38 (6.4%)
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22 (6.8%)
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| Unknown |
|
4
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Co-Curricular responses by institutional type
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|
Survey population
(n = 568)
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Response population
(n = 291)
|
| Two-year |
234 (41.2%)
|
106 (36.4%)
|
| Four-year |
334 (58.8%)
|
179 (61.5%)
|
| Unknown type |
|
6
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Co-Curricular responses by institutional size
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| <2,000 |
173 (30.4%)
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90 (30.9%)
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| 2,000 - 4,999 |
196 (34.5%)
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94 (32.3%)
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| 5,000 - 14,999 |
137 (24.1%)
|
71 (24.3%)
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| Unknown size |
62 (10.9%)
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30 (10.3%)
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|
|
6
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Co-Curricular responses by Carnegie classification
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| AA |
see "Two-year" above
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see "Two-year" above
|
| BA-Gen |
69 (12%)
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34 (11.6%)
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| BA-LA |
53 (9.3%)
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30 (10.3%)
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| Masters I & II |
144 (25.3%)
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76 (26.1%)
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| Research Intensive |
25 (4.4%)
|
13 (4.4%)
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| Research Extensive |
37 (6.5%)
|
23 (7.9%)
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| Unknown |
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6
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View Curricular Respondents
View Co-Curricular Respondents
Web-based Curricular Survey
Web-based Co-Curricular Survey
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