data-driven decision making in addressing study abroad barriers
TRANSCRIPT
The Elon Commitment:
Data-Driven Decision Making in Addressing Study Abroad Barriers
CIEE Annual Conference
November 21, 2014
Baltimore, MD
Introductions
Woody Pelton, Dean of Global Studies
Paul J. Geis, Associate Director of Study Abroad
Rod Springer, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Steven House, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Elon University profile
Private, selective, liberal arts
6,483 students with 5,782 undergrads
Theme #1 in our 10 year plan is a commitment to diversity and global engagement, including a
commitment for 100% access to global engagement
Underrepresented
Diverse backgrounds
Men
STEM
Athletes
High need
First generation
Community College
Non-traditional age
Performing arts
Finances
Curriculum
Athletics
Campus Involvement
Fear (students & parents)
Health (physical/mental)
Probation status
Barriers
Assumptions and Anecdotes
Do demographics tell us about the barriers?
What assumptions do we make?
What does the data actually tell us?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
All Students Women Men Non-whitestudents
Athletes
% of Elon Students Who Studied Abroad
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
All Students Women Men Non-whitestudents
Athletes
All Students
No Football
% of Elon Students Who Studied Abroad
Slide with useful data/chart re: majors and men
NO ATHLETES WITH ATHLETES
Sport Event Mgmt
Male/Female ratio 45%, 55% 56%, 44%
% of Females who Study Abroad 86% 78%
% of All Majors who Study Abroad 73% 50%
% of Males who Study Abroad 57% 29%
Exercise Science
Male/Female ratio 27%, 73% 29%, 71%
% of Females who Study Abroad 77% 74%
% of All Majors who Study Abroad 68% 64%
% of Males who Study Abroad 44% 40%
What the data does tell us
Men are underrepresented across the board
25% of students with no financial need did not study abroad
Disparities by major
% Athlete % Study Abroad
Arts Administration, Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, Env. Studies/Env. Engineering, French, International Economics
0%
100.00%International Studies 2% 98.18%International Business 9% 95.45%Art History 0% 92.59%Public Health Studies 0% 88.89%Human Services Studies 6% 80.80%Religious Studies 8% 80.56%Strategic Communications 5% 79.87%Environmental Studies 3% 79.49%Elementary Education 5% 77.22%Psychology 5% 75.00%Marketing 8% 74.76%Economics 15% 74.55%Biology 4% 73.19%English 1% 72.61%Mathematics 9% 72.00%Accounting 9% 71.15%AVERAGE 8.05% 70.95%
% Athlete % Study Abroad
AVERAGE 8.05% 70.95%Finance 10% 70.83%Communications 3% 70.43%Physics 20% 70.00%Theatre Studies 0% 70.00%Media Arts and Entertainment 6% 67.45%Entrepreneurship 11% 66.04%Philosophy 8% 65.79%Music Education 0% 64.29%Exercise Science 20% 64.18%Public Administration 3% 63.64%Environ/Ecological Science 16% 63.16%Biochemistry 3% 62.50%Management 13% 60.98%Sociology 12% 60.98%Special Education 5% 58.97%Computer Science 11% 54.05%Computer Information Syst 6% 51.52%Music Technology 5% 50.00%Sport and Event Management 36% 46.94%Music Theatre 0% 42.31%Theatre Arts 0% 39.58%
What the data does not tell us
Barriers (real or perceived)
Qualitative
The full story
Institutional context
Expertise
Institutional Research
What is IR?
IR provides information to various stakeholders so that more informed decisions can be made.
What data does IR have access to?
Typically – lots of data access. Our goal is to turn that data into information.
Correlation
Being aFemale
Being an Athlete
Having more NEED (dollars)
Spearman's rho
Study Abroad
Y/N
Correlation Coefficient
.235** -.231** -.152**
Sig. (2-tailed) <0.001 <0.001 <0.001
Effect-Size (r2)
.06moderate
.05moderate
.02small
Observations 4,482 4,482 1,597
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level
Study Abroad by EFC Level4-years of graduating students
Estimated FamilyContribution (EFC)
Have Need (Headcount) Have Need (Percent)
No Yes No Yes
Study Abroad Study Abroad Study Abroad Study Abroad
No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
EFC <= 5,000 196 236 45% 55%
EFC 5,001 - 10,000 86 133 39% 61%
EFC 10,001 - 20,000 153 289 35% 65%
EFC >20,000 140 364 28% 72%
EFC = Full Cost 727 2,158 25% 75%
All 727 2,158 575 1,022 25% 75% 36% 64%
Gender and AthleticsYes*
Study AbroadSport No Yes
Baseball 97% 3%Softball 88% 12%Men-Basketball 57% 43%Women-Basketball 33% 67%Men-Cross Country 38% 63%Women-Cross Country 22% 78%Men-Golf 44% 56%Women-Golf 36% 64%Men-Soccer 88% 12%Women-Soccer 46% 54%Men-Tennis 82% 18%Women-Tennis 56% 44%Football 87% 13%Volleyball 13% 88%
Total 66% 34%*May not sum to 100% due to rounding
Financial NeedStudents Who Have Need
Graduates
Study Abroad?
DifferenceNo Yes
2010 $24,692 $22,951 $1,741
2011 $27,154 $23,128 $4,026
2012 $28,143 $23,014 $5,129
Selected Majors2010-2013 May Graduates Have Need Gender White/Non-White Athlete
Study Abroad
Total%
No%
Yes%
Female%
Male%
White% non-White
%No
%Yes
% Yes
Institutional Average (unduplicated headcount)
64% 36% 61% 39% 83% 17% 92% 8% 71% 4,482
Major (includes double/triple majors)
Public Health Studies 67% 33% 100% 0% 100% 0% 100% 0% 89% 18
Economics 66% 34% 25% 75% 81% 19% 85% 15% 75% 110
Biology 63% 37% 72% 28% 87% 13% 96% 4% 73% 138
Institutional Average = 72%
Finance 73% 27% 23% 77% 85% 15% 90% 10% 71% 192
Exercise Science 65% 35% 71% 29% 84% 16% 80% 20% 64% 201
Management 67% 33% 40% 60% 78% 22% 87% 13% 61% 82
Sport and Event Management 62% 38% 39% 61% 78% 22% 64% 36% 47% 147
Other Data Sources Survey Data
Global Perspective Inventory (GPI)
Before College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE)
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Multi-Institutional Survey of Leadership (MSL)
Others (e.g., locally developed surveys)
Focus Group/Interviews
National Student Clearinghouse
The Elon Commitment:“Disruptive Forces and Innovation”
“A tsunami is coming” David Brooks - NY Times
A combination of forces now “destabilize the residential college…business model over the long run” Moody’s Report
Learning? “Not much” Academically Adrift
Changing students Demographics
The Elon Commitment:
“There is still huge value in the residential college experience and the teacher-student and student-student interactions it facilitates. But to thrive, universities will have to nurture even more of those unique experiences while blending in technology to improve education outcomes in measurable ways at lower costs. We still need more research on what works, but standing still is not an option.” Thomas Friedman, The Professors’ Big
Stage, New York Times, March 5, 2013
The Elon Commitment:
In March 2012 Sebastian
Thrun, the CEO of
Udacity, predicted that
“fifty years from now
there will be only 10
institutions in the world
delivering higher
education and Udacity
has a shot at being one of
them.” (The Stanford Education
Experiment Could Change Higher
Learning Forever, Wired, March
2012)
MOOC – Massive – Open – Online – Course
The Elon Commitment:What is College For?
“Since there are now innumerable other (and cheaper) ways to be educated, why are we
doing this? … Colleges with a compelling answer to these questions – where everyone on campus knows the answers – are going to be fine. … We each need to figure out what
our college is for. ... If a college’s true product is a transformed student, then the main effect
of the next decade should be to redouble every school’s commitment to that cause.”
Dan Currell, “What is College For?” Inside Higher Education
Theme 1 - An unprecedented university commitment to diversity and global engagement
What is Elon For? – Engaged Learning
1. Finalize a strategy to assure that 100% of Elon students have access to a global experience either domestically or abroad, including a process to create award packages for students participating in a global experience.
What is Elon For? – Engaged Learning
6. Implement international recruitment strategic plan, including partnership with American Language Academy to continue increasing international enrollment at Elon.
What is Elon For? – Engaged Learning
Decisions Based on Study Abroad Data:
• Built Global Neighborhood and Global Commons• Shifted fellows grants to primarily support Study Abroad and Study
USA• Increased financial aid for global education - $150,000/year for 3
consecutive years• Increased first year admissions target by 50 students (i.e. from 1,400
to 1,450) following jump in fall semester abroad enrollments• Developed Shanghai Center – for business majors - with internships• Hired Associate Dean and Director of International Admissions
What we have done at Elon?
Scholarship funding
Asia Center
Elon Experiences Grant
Increased ELR
Global Neighborhood
Have you worked with your institutional research office to obtain and analyze data? (Do you even know them?) How have you collaborated?
What has surprised you in looking more deeply at data on your campus? Have you debunked any myths or assumptions?
In the coming year, how can you more effectively utilize data to better inform your office’s outreach to underrepresented students, advocacy for resources, and/or addressing of barriers?
Contact
Woody Pelton: [email protected]
Paul J. Geis: [email protected]
Rod Springer: [email protected]
Steven House: [email protected]