Educational Effectiveness Review

Opportunity

Exploration

Interaction

Summary and Conclusions

Appendices

Standards and Criteria for Review

Standard 1

Standard 2

Standard 3

Standard 4

 

EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS REVIEW:
INTERACTION

Interaction-"Transformation through Integration of Knowledge and Experience"

This essay includes the response to two research questions:

• E. How has the university's community engagement affected students?
• F. How productively is the university engaged with the community?

E.HOW HAS THE UNIVERSITY'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AFFECTED STUDENTS?

Furco's (1996) continuum of student engagement with the community provides a vehicle for viewing various student engagement activities (volunteer work, community service, service-learning, fieldwork, and preprofessional internship) based on the intended beneficiary (student or service recipient) and the level of emphasis on service and/or student learning. This review will collapse the student engagement continuum to three areas by combining volunteerism with community service and by integrating fieldwork and internships. As appropriate or relevant, these each will be examined separately in relation to the four most common categories of impact indicators: academic learning, civic responsibility, career development, and academic aspirations along with personal growth. Absent centrally coordinated assessment processes, this essay attempts to synthesize existing data generated by programs that draw students from across campus.

Campus Compact has recently launched its web site on "Indicators of Engagement Project: Model Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions." Fresno State is recognized as having exemplary practices in 12 of the 13 areas examined.

VOLUNTEERISM AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

According to 2001-2002 figures, approximately 2,500 California State University, Fresno students were involved in one-time, short-term, or ongoing volunteer and community service activities via one of several university-sponsored volunteer and community service initiatives (Appendix E1). Combined, these students provided 110,000 hours of service. The effect of such engagement on students may be seen on multiple levels.

Undergraduate participation in volunteerism and/or community service promotes short-and long-term benefits in the form of academic learning (improved GPA, writing and critical thinking skills), personal growth (increased commitment to activism and racial understanding), and civic responsibility (a lifelong commitment to service as demonstrated by an increased interest in service careers and plans to participate in service after college) (Astin et al., 2000), These benefits are substantial and long-lasting, and extend to personal growth and academic aspirations (Astin et al., 1999). Given the large number of students involved in volunteerism at Fresno State, this impact is most likely being recognized by a significant percentage of the university's student body. A post-service survey completed by 109 students enrolled in Community Service 1 or 101 fall 2003 supported this assumption (Table E1). In addition to the responses in Table E1, students reported gains in leadership skills (100%), awareness of community (94%), career skills (66%), and commitment to community (63%).

SERVICE-LEARNING

Table E1. Student self-report on the impact of service-learning (Fall 2003).

The university's 2002-03 Service-Learning Report to the Chancellor's Office identifies 82 sections of 30 different courses that utilized service-learning. Overall, 3,000 students each year contribute more than 50,000 hours of service to the local community. The effect of the service-learning pedagogy on students appears in three separate survey-based studies conducted at Fresno State over the past several years (Table E2). Curtis (2003) also conducted focus groups of faculty and representatives of community-based organizations.

Table E2. Studies of service-learning impact on students.

Service-learning increased student awareness of community needs and opportunities for involvement (Appendix E2). The propensity to volunteer increased significantly after taking a service-learning class. The faculty focus group in the Curtis study also reported increases in student commitment to civic participation and sense of duty to the community, as well as an intensified connection to and responsibility for the community.

Most students felt that the service-learning experience enhanced the class and helped them better apply course content. The faculty focus group noted that upper-division students found service-learning to be especially valuable in terms of establishing "real world" connection to academic material. They also reported that students achieved new and deeper connection with faculty via service-learning. Service-learning increased students' perception of their own marketability. The service activity made students more aware of career opportunities in the nonprofit sector, and nearly 20% indicated a change in professional or educational goals as a result of the experience.

While the magnitude of the effect on personal development varied, once again, most students reported this effect to be favorable. Differences can be attributed to the type of assignment (e.g., team or individual) as well as the nature of the contact between the student and the community-based organization (working with staff versus working with clients). The faculty focus group indicated that service-learning improved teamwork skills and led to an increase in critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Some of the most significant results relate to an increase in awareness of community needs and the propensity to volunteer. All three studies indicate that there is at least a 50% increase in the intent to volunteer as a result of taking a service-learning class. Thus the results of these studies, involving over 1,000 students from a variety of courses, clearly attest to the positive nature of service-learning for Fresno State students.

FIELDWORK AND INTERNSHIPS

Recent informal survey reports describe the impact of fieldwork/internship experiences on student learning. Two of these focus on teacher preparation (Table E3).

Table E3. Reports of the impact of fieldwork/internships in teacher education.

Internship enrollees responding to the Acevedo survey reported that internship pre-service training made a difference in class management (64%) and that they were able to learn from university supervisors (80%) and from cooperating teachers (88%). Students reported benefiting from Saturday professional development workshops (58%) and from substitute days for professional development (58%).

Student teachers still have much to learn. Master teachers responding to the Chiero survey reported that less than half of the student teachers maintained effective classroom learning environments (38%), planned developmentally appropriate lessons (46%), responded to diverse K-12 student learning needs (43%), used a variety of appropriate techniques in assessing student learning (32%), or understood subject matter content (28%). However, more than half understood and were prepared to meet required competencies (55%), engaged in reflection or self-evaluation (55%), responded to feedback from others (75%), and adhered to high standards of professional conduct (69%).

Two surveys of university-wide programs provide evidence of the impact on students of field placements (Table E4).

Table E4. Studies of the impact of fieldwork/internship in university-wide programs.

The Solutions Center is a project-based interdisciplinary academic program that involves hands-on learning while providing both students and faculty an opportunity to answer research questions and solve problems posed by a community sponsor. A WASC Steering Committee member reviewed student feedback survey forms from the 26 projects completed since 1997. Students reported gaining much from actual work experience, saw practical application of classroom theory, reported acquiring collaborative problem-solving skills, and felt more qualified to enter the work place. They indicated that their "real world" experiences prepared them for productive employment, and frequently reported being offered jobs upon completion of their projects.

The Community Service Scholarship Program is a university-wide program in which participants are required to perform 150 hours of service with a nonprofit organization while receiving a $1,500 scholarship. Overall ratings of the experience by students ranged from 6.6 to 7 on a seven-point scale, where 7 indicated "Excellent." Students reported that their service experience had related to academic studies or career preparation (82% assigned a 6 or 7 rating) and improved teaching skills (50%). A substantial number of participants also reported increased skills in communication (87%), confidence (76%), decision making (70%), problem solving (67%), leadership (64%), and ability to influence others (61%). Employers surveyed reported positive impressions of student academic learning through increased ability to apply skills and knowledge, as well as personal growth through the ability to communicate more effectively in providing needed services.

The Survey of Student Educational Experiences (Appendix A2) provides self-reported evidence of the extent to which community-based experiences enhanced student learning. Well over half (58%) of respondents indicated that they had previously or were currently participating in volunteerism , community service, or service-learning (Table E5). Very few responded that, taken overall, the university's emphasis on engagement with the community is too high. Students who had participated in service-related activities were more likely to express an opinion about the appropriateness of the university's emphasis on engagement with the community, and that opinion was likely to be positive.

Table E5. Student responses to the question, " Taken overall, the university's emphasis on engagement with the community is ." categorized by their indication of current or previous service activity at Fresno State.

More than half (53%) of students who had participated in service-related activities indicated that t heir experience substantially or very substantially enhanced their educational experience (Table E6).

Table E6. Extent to which students who had participated in service-learning or community service indicated that this activity enhanced their educational experience.

CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

•  One of the university's strengths in educational effectiveness is its commitment to community service, service-learning, and other forms of community-based experiential learning. Student participants provide consistently positive reports on programs in these areas.

•  There is a need for better data and better coordination of the collection of data on program efficiency and effectiveness. It was difficult for the writing team to generalize or make comparisons across programs because of inconsistencies in the collection and analysis of data.

Recommendations

•  The university should increase efforts to communicate the importance of and support for faculty and staff in the collection of information about and assessment of student engagement efforts.

•  The positive impact of community-based learning documented in this report adds further support to the recommendation from the preparatory report for the formation of a Center for Community-Based Learning (Appendix E3). Such a center would provide a single contact point for faculty, students, and community members; coordinate training and support activities; provide assistance with and coordination of assessment activities; and help with dissemination of information concerning community-based learning activities.

F. How Productively is the university engaged with the community?

California State University, Fresno's commitment to engagement with the community is deeply embedded in both its Vision "to be one of the nation's premier interactive universities ." and mission:

The university serves the San Joaquin Valley while interacting with the state, nation, and world. The university is a center of intellectual, artistic, and professional activity. Through applied research, technical assistance, training and other public service activities, the university anticipates continuing and expanding partnership and linkage with business, education, industry, and government.

California State University, Fresno is extensively engaged with the community. Nearly 50 centers and institutes originating in all of the schools and colleges facilitate interaction with the community. The capacity of the university in this area was described in some detail in the Preparatory Report. Very recently, the university's commitment to stewardship was recognized when it became one of four campuses nationally to receive a "Making Place Matter" grant from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Alliance for Regional Stewardship. The proposal for that grant (Appendix F1) provides additional evidence of the extent of the university's engagement with the community, the total annual impact of which is estimated to be $348 million (Houser, 2002; document room).

The sheer scope of university-community interactions is overwhelming; therefore, the current essay showcases a selected cross-section in order to illustrate the breadth and depth of California State University, Fresno's sustained engagement with its stakeholders. Guidelines on university engagement with communities (Boyer, 1996; Holland, 2001; Spanier, 2001; Votruba, 2002) were used to organize this review, which examines how the university deploys four broad categories of human and physical resources (Student Human Resources; Applied Research and Technical Assistance; Education and Training Programs; and Cultural, Artistic, Intellectual, and Entertainment Events) to meet a range of community needs.

STUDENT HUMAN RESOURCES

In 2001-2002, approximately 4,800 students performed a total of 193,000 hours of service in the community. These figures, aggregated across many programs (Appendix F2), represent a total economic impact of nearly $3.2 million, not including the significant contributions to the community provided through student clubs and organizations.

Several dozen nonprofit community partners responding to a survey from the Students for Community Service office reported using students from a variety of community service programs and were highly positive about the assistance students provided in meeting community needs (Table F1).

Table F1. Community Service-Learning (CSL) Survey Responses of Community Partners.*

*7- point scale, where 1 indicates "Strongly Agree" and 7, "Strongly Disagree" Source: California State University, Fresno. Students for Community Service Office.

Curtis (2003) analyzed community-based agencies' ratings of the value of the university's service-learning programs:

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of the community representatives reported that they had attended training or seminars related to service-learning. Over 90% of those reported that they were somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience.
• All respondents (100%) reported that the service provided by students was helpful to their organization.
• Almost all (92%) of the agencies who utilized service-learning students felt that the experience strengthened their relationship with the university.

Impact data are available for a number of community-based programs. A 2002-03 survey of 166 agencies participating in the Community Service Scholarship Program found that 85% felt that the students' impact on the agency's ability to provide services was significant, while 89% found that the student's ability to apply skills and knowledge to this assignment were better than most. The Craig School of Business tracks business student internships . In 2002-03, 240 students took part in internships with 134 different business, government and nonprofit agencies. Over 80% of employers rated the student skills as good or very good (Young, 2003; document room).

Liberal Studies Senior Projects (EHD 115) involve after-school one-on-one, supervised tutoring on a semester-long basis. Emphasis is on reading, writing, spelling, comprehension, social skills and self-image building for the at-risk children involved. In fall 2003, 211 students were enrolled in the course, with involvement at six elementary schools. Each student provided approximately four hours of tutoring per week. Support letters from 24 teachers and administrators praised the program for its production of positive gains in children's academic skills and behavior.

Jumpstart Fresno and Fresno READS provide high-quality tutoring programs to pre-kindergarten and K-6 children respectively. Together, these programs annually provide approximately 23,000 hours of tutoring to area children. Studies of the Jumpstart Fresno program clearly indicate that it enhances the academic preparation of preschool children in our area (Appendix F3).

Stone Soup Fresno , a local nonprofit organization, and California State University, Fresno began a partnership in 1993 that has transformed one of the most disadvantaged and crime ridden neighborhoods in the city of Fresno. According to the 1990 census, the El Dorado Park neighborhood, which is located just west of the Fresno State campus and is the focus of Stone Soup, was heavily populated with refugees from Southeast Asia and was home to the largest concentration of children living under the poverty level in the entire state. Now some of those children are graduates of Fresno State who contribute to this community's continuing revitalization efforts . While significant challenges still exist, many positive changes have resulted from the collaborative efforts of Stone Soup and the university. For example, in the early to mid 1990s this crime-ridden area had the highest number of calls for police assistance in the entire city of Fresno. A dramatic reduction in crime and gang violence has helped transform this area into a stable and productive community. Stone Soup is the number one user of Fresno State volunteers, with over 300 students and approximately 70 faculty and uncounted staff members who take part in Stone Soup service efforts each year (Appendix F4).

APPLIED RESEARCH and TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

California State University, Fresno has 45 centers and institutes that are responding to local and regionally identified needs of the business, education, government, and nonprofit sectors.

The University Business Center (UBC) operates a number of programs that have a substantial impact on the local economy in the form of small business startups, development, and expansion. Two of the current programs operated under grants are the Small Business Development Center (< http://www.ccsbdc.org/frames.html >, and the AcceleratorOnline Program (<http://www.acceleratoronline.com>).

• The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) (2002) offers services and training for business start-up and expansion, marketing, accounting, loan packaging, and entrepreneur assistance. In 2002, the center arranged for 48 equity financings for a total of $2,046,394 and 92 loans for $12,452,170. These financings involved 29 business start-ups, in addition to business continuations and expansions that resulted in retaining 362 jobs and creating 246 new jobs. On the training side, the SBDC provided 277 workshops, courses, and other types of training sessions (8,961 total hours of training) attended by 2,595 individuals, including 1,500 minority individuals and 1,657 women.
• AcceleratorOnline Program is a two-month, instructor-assisted, online business plan development and launch initiative designed for those who are traditionally disenfranchised from university programs. Graduates are provided with ongoing consulting to ensure successful launch of their business. The program now has an e-commerce component, and an export planning component was added in the spring of 2004. During 2001-03, 148 participants completed the program. Ninety-one started their own business, with 22 now generating revenue ranging from $20K - $100K.

The Center for Research, Education, and Dissemination (CREAD) was established in 1999 and provides research, data analysis, and evaluation services to school districts, postsecondary institutions, private foundations, grant projects, and other agencies requiring professional services. For example:

• In 2002-03, the center undertook an evaluation of the effectiveness of Fresno County schools in promoting the importance of agriculture career opportunities and integrating agriculture awareness activities in K-8 classrooms.
• CREAD evaluated the effectiveness of the 2002 Summer Bridge Program to influence positively those participants who expressed an interest in agriculture or science.
• CREAD carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Program run by the Fresno Unified School District. The focus of the 2002 study was to determine the effectiveness of PAR and Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment programs in integrating new teachers in the classroom.
• The center conducted an evaluation and statistical summary of after-school program (2001-02) outcomes for Fresno County, involving 8,772 students as well as teachers at 51 school sites.
• CREAD became the Intermediate Intervention for Under Performing Schools for eight schools in the Hanford Elementary School District in 2001-02, and continued to work with them in 2003-04. Similar services were provided to two Fresno Unified School District schools in 2002-03.
• With funding support from the National Science Foundation, CREAD developed a new certificate in program evaluation. This program responds to a need identified in both K-12 and postsecondary contexts for evaluators for externally-funded programs, for core curricula evaluations, and for educational reform efforts.

The Fresno Family Counseling Center provides low-cost services to families in the Fresno Unified School District who otherwise would not have access to needed professional care. Counseling is provided by university graduate students under supervision of licensed faculty via remote television. The district contributes $30,000 under the MOU and the university contributes $60,000 worth of services, while leveraging another $27,000 in external funding. Although the MOU calls for 1,500 hours of services, the district received 2,500 hours ; considering the market value of the counseling, the school district saved $146,960 in AY 2001-02 (Appendix F5).

The Central California Center for Health and Human Services is a dynamic and fast growing research, training, and outreach organization that provides administrative and operational support for externally funded projects that respond to community needs. AY 2003-04 funding exceeded $3.9 million in grant awards, atop $5.4 million the year before (Appendix F6). The center currently has 11 established programs (including three institutes, a center, and an academy). Its newest initiative is the formation of an interdisciplinary "Air Quality Resource Group" to help address a serious health issue in the San Joaquin Valley. The project has been strongly promoted by the local newspaper, The Fresno Bee, since the region has been rated second worst in the nation for air pollution by the Environmental Protection Agency.

EDUCATION and TRAINING PROGRAMS

The Young Writers Conference (YWC) is a full-day creative writing conference for area high school students and their teachers. It includes an annual literary magazine, Spectrum, featuring work by attendees; writing awards for students, writers, and teachers; a keynote address by a published writer; and small writing workshop sessions.

The YWC has been held each spring on the Fresno State campus for 24 years, organized and sponsored by the MFA Program in Creative Writing, the Department of English, and the College of Arts and Humanities. Each year, 350 to 400 students from 15 to 20 schools participate in the conference. Approximately 30 Fresno State graduate students are involved each year, helping to organize the conference, edit the annual conference literary journal, judge contests, and lead writing workshops.

State Curriculum Projects are collaboratives involving professional preparation faculty, academic faculty and area public school teachers and administrators. They are focused on providing teachers with the latest developments in research, methodology, and best practice. Typically, they include summer institutes for teachers, which in turn are followed throughout the school year by workshops and meetings that provide assistance in the implementation of innovative and more effective teaching strategies.

The Kremen School of Education and Human Development currently houses five state curriculum projects: Writing (since 1985), Mathematics (since 1989), Science (since 1994), History/Social Science (since 1997), and Reading and Literature (since 1998). One example of the effectiveness of these projects is provided in a brief summary of the accomplishments of the San Joaquin Mathematics Project. Since its inception, this project has been responsible for the following:

• Over 1,000 K-12 mathematics teachers have participated in residential summer institutes, Saturday workshops, leadership development retreats, district partnerships, and online forums for teachers and university faculty.
• A weekly newsletter, the California Online Mathematics Education Times (COMET), which now has over 2,000 subscribers, keeps teachers professionally current and thus more knowledgeable, resourceful, confident, and effective.
• Since 2002, the project has sponsored 102 partnerships, institutes, and workshops while serving 500 teachers (60% from low-performing schools), and has provided professional services to a total of 158 schools (56% of these, low-performing schools).

CULTURAL, ARTISTIC, INTELLECTUAL, and ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS

The university's most public face is through the numerous and varied cultural entertainment events produced by departments throughout the campus. Further, the recent opening season of the Save Mart Center , with its accompanying influx of high-profile acts and events, has brought to the region an exciting new arena that serves as a strong drawing card for major sports, cultural, and entertainment events. According to Pollstar Magazine , in the first half of 2004 more than 170,000 tickets were sold for events other than competitive sports events, making the Save Mart Center the tenth busiest such venue in the world.

In the area of overall university entertainment, the heaviest volume of attendance is for athletic events. Within the last year, 670,400 people attended games played by our NCAA teams. In ticket sales alone, athletics generated 1.3 million dollars. When profits from concessions, souvenirs, and off-premise sales are also considered, the economic impact of athletic events is clearly significant.

The College of Arts and Humanities sponsors over 300 public events, with an annual attendance exceeding 200,000. In addition to its 172 public performances, the Department of Music also sponsors clinic/workshops for students, amateurs, and professionals from across the state. Performances include the annual Central California Flute Festival, Day of Percussion, Wind Ensemble Festival, and Choral Invitational. In 1954, the 70-member Fresno State College Orchestra became the Fresno Philharmonic. The music faculty and students, including the new on-campus University High School , are involved in performing groups throughout the area.

The California State University Summer Arts Program has achieved record participation and attendance since moving to the Fresno State campus five years ago. Last summer 64,000 people attended 40 performances by the 500 students and instructors during the four-week program.

Main stage productions by the Theatre Arts department attract another 60,000 patrons. In addition to on-campus performances, the department tours elementary schools throughout the valley. Since 1968, Theatre for Young Audiences has brought live theatre to 15,000 students annually. Its productions emphasize scripts that represent a variety of cultures and the perspectives of the ethnically diverse populations found in the surrounding areas. Recent productions have used bilingual scripts, nontraditional casting, and audience participation as ways to reach a broad multilingual audience. Productions have also sought to link the shows produced to the current elementary curriculum and state standards.

A valley tradition for 46 years, the Department of Communication's Peach Blossom Festival spotlights oral interpretation skills, attracting 5,000 K-6 students and utilizing over 400 student volunteers. A new opportunity for school children is the four-year-old Downing Planetarium . With its 30-foot dome and 74-seat theatre, the planetarium is already visited by 30,000 people annually.

It will soon be easier for both campus and community audiences to learn about upcoming events, as the university is adopting web-based scheduling software that will make it possible to publish and maintain online a master calendar of events.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

Overall, the evidence indicates California State University, Fresno is extensively and successfully engaged with the community in addressing needs and having an impact appropriate to its vision of being a "premier interactive university."

1. Although the writing team struggled to bring together information from scattered sources, it is clear that the university is broadly engaged with the community, and that students, faculty, and staff members across campus participate in service activities.
2. The university is addressing a wide spectrum of community issues, involving both the private (business/industry and not-for-profit organizations) and public (educational districts and government agencies) sectors through a variety of collaborative modes ranging from contracts, grants, and memoranda of understanding to more informal associations.
3. The university clearly is meeting important needs of community constituencies, as evidenced by satisfaction feedback and performance evaluation surveys, repeat attendance/business, extended relationships, renewed partnerships, and continual funding support.

Recommendation

The university should take full advantage of the opportunity provided by the Making Place Matter project to reexamine the alignment between university activities and community needs; explore means of increasing community understanding of the university's capabilities; and increasing the capacity to assess and disseminate the results of university-community interactions.