UC Undergrads Rank Real-World Learning Experience As Key to Success

University of Cincinnati students report higher participation rates in UC’s

co-op

and experiential learning programs in a recent national survey on student engagement at universities and colleges across the United States and Canada.

Results from the 2015 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for undergraduate students at colleges and universities report that 23 percent more first-year students and 5 percent more seniors at the University of Cincinnati had participated in “out-of-classroom experiential learning opportunities” than the survey’s participating Carnegie Class comparison group. These are the very out-of-classroom, real-world experiences for which UC students have historically attributed much of their college success.

These

“high impact”

learning experiences –– as the survey refers –– include for:

First-year students

• Learning communities
• Service learning 
• Research with faculty
  

Seniors

• Internships
• Field experience
• Cooperative work-educational programs
• International study abroad
• Capstone experiences
  

NSSE also defines these programs as

high-impact

because they involve

• Considerable time and effort
• Facilitate professional training outside the classroom
• Build meaningful interactions with faculty and outside professionals 
• Encourage collaboration with a diversity of students.
  

Co-op and real-world educational experience bring both learning and earning ––

$57 million in annual co-op wages for UC students

.

“When I review these reports I am struck by the prevalence of high-impact experiential learning practices in our students’ experiences,” says Gisela Escoe, UC vice provost for undergraduate affairs. “Indeed, experiential learning is a signature strength for UC, as our General Education Program requires each baccalaureate student take part in experiential learning (such as study abroad, coop, internships, clinicals, UC Forward, undergraduate research, student teaching, service learning, performance or exhibition) to graduate.”

CRACKING THE BOOKS

When it comes to the quality of time spent per week on studying and class preparation, UC students take those efforts seriously, crediting strong faculty support for both areas.

While UC first-year students spent as much time (14.5 hours) as Carnegie Class peers on studying and class preparation, Bearcat seniors buckled down slightly more at

15.7

hours as opposed to the

15

hours Carnegie Class seniors report spending per week, which includes well-organized studying and homework completion.

And as for feeling the challenge, NSSE reveals both UC first-year and senior students report that their course work significantly challenges them to do their best work almost 5 percent more than their Carnegie-Class peers.

“Since the first participation in NSSE in 2002, UC’s responses indicate that undergrads have continually increased their experiences with high impact practices over time,” says Susana Luzuriaga, UC director of Institutional Research. “Because high-impact practices have shown to have positive associations with student learning and retention in empirical studies, we are able to tie these practices to our improving retention and graduation rates.”

In 2015, UC main campus first-year into second-year year overall student retention rates were 88.3 percent and for 1st-Generation students it was 84.6 percent. But for first-year students living in the Gen-1 Theme House the retention rate was 92 percent.

“And UC’s first-year class now includes far more African American and Hispanic students than in previous years thanks to a concerted effort to recruit talented students from a broader swath of the population,” says Caroline Miller, vice provost for Enrollment Management. “The first-year baccalaureate retention of African American students now stands at 92.1 percent, which is up from 70.5 percent ten years ago.”

DATA AS CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Academic studies show that findings from surveys like the NSSE results help institutions track student success, which helps improve student support services and academic achievement. In fact, UC’s 13-year-old

One Stop Student Service Center

, as well as additional learning communities such as the

Academic Writing Center

and

24-hour computer labs

, were added as a result of previous NSSE results.

“As we can see from this data, these experiences, as well as our Learning Community programs and our capstone requirements truly distinguish the learning environment at UC apart from other Carnegie Class peer institutions,” says Escoe.

About NSSE

NSSE

annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about student participation in activities and programs that promote their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending their college or university to implement changes and improvements in policy and practice.

The 2015 NSSE survey involved 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 587 U.S. and Canadian bachelor’s degree-granting colleges and universities.

Among University of Cincinnati students, 809 first-year and 1,327 seniors participated.

UC participates in NSSE every other year and first took part in the survey in 2002. The 2015 survey included ten engagement indicators based on three to eight survey questions each (a total of 47 survey questions). The questions are organized into four broad themes to identify and compare different areas of student learning.

NSSE THEMES/ENGAGEMENT INDICATORS

• Academic Challenge – Higher-order learning; reflective and integrative learning; learning strategies; quantitative reasoning
• Learning with Peers – Collaborative learning; discussions with diverse others
• Experiences with Faculty – Student-faculty interaction; effective teaching practices
• Campus Environment – Quality of interactions; supportive environment
  

MORE HELPFUL LINKS:

Get the student story and stop by for a visit

UC Admissions information

Cincinnati Smart -

#HottestCollegeInAmerica

RELATED NEWS:

• Hit the books then the bank
• National Student Survey Points to UC's Success in 'High Impact' Learning
  
• University of Cincinnati co-op sets standard for rest of world