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College students nationwide show little improvement in their critical and analytical thinking in their first two years of college, according to a recent report based on the College Learning Assessment (CLA).
For students at the University of Maine and across the country, the findings raise questions about the value of an education.
More than 3,000 students on 29 campuses participated in the study, which showed little or no gain in learning among 45 percent of students after their first two years of college.
Ted Coladarci, director of the UMaine’s Office of Institutional Studies, warns against drawing conclusions from these numbers. He explained the CLA is a voluntary assessment that requires constructed responses and takes time to complete. Students were not rewarded for participating and it cannot be assumed they put their best effort into the survey.
“When you give a test of achievement to students, and there are no consequences for doing poorly or doing well, it raises validity questions, especially when you want to make conclusions about how students are doing first-year versus second-year,” Coladarci said. “One conclusion is that they didn’t try that hard when they took the test and another one is that students don’t learn much from the first year to the second year. Either conclusion could be right — it’s probably a little bit of both.”
The Office of Institutional Studies collects and analyzes data about this campus to inform decision-making by university administrators. Some of these statistics suggest that academic success improves with each year spent in school at UMaine.
The average student’s cumulative GPA climbs steadily with each year spent in full-time study. Traditional first-year students have an average GPA of 2.61, second-year students a 2.81, third-years a 2.92 and fourth-years a 3.10.
Coladarci said that it takes time for some new college students to settle in at UMaine, including choosing a major program of study.
“As you change your major you could find that you settle in to a major that agrees with you, and that too could explain what we see in the GPA data,” he said.
Second-year psychology student Liz Cloutier remembers that her undecided peers struggled in classes that didn’t suit them during their first year. Having a course of study is now paying off for her, because she can choose classes that interest her and fit her learning style.
“I still have to take some [general education] classes that are tough to get through,” Cloutier said.
Cloutier is better equipped to handle difficult classes this year, as she has learned to study more effectively.
“Last year I might not read the book and only go to lecture,” she said. “Now I read the book before I go to class, so the professor is reinforcing things I’ve already learned. Changes like that make a difference.”
The GPA data may not be based solely on improved learning among students. One must consider that many students who are less motivated or successful in their classes choose to leave school after their first or second year. Coladarci said there is a pattern to who drops out and who stays in school to complete a degree.
“It’s not a random process,” he said. “The people who leave probably aren’t as motivated as the people who stay.”
At UMaine, 79 percent of first-year full-time students return as second-year or continuing first-year students. Following their second year, an additional 10 percent of the original group leaves school.
These numbers are comparable to the retention rates of other universities with similar features and demographics to UMaine, like Montana State University, University of Idaho and North Dakota State University. These statistics were gathered using the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the industry standard for this type of higher education benchmarking.
Coladarci said the difference in GPA between first-year students and those who have been in school longer is due to a number of factors, including the elimination of less successful students and academic gains among those who remain.
The average full-time college student surveyed spent only 7 percent of their time studying — between 11 and 12 hours per week.
Residence Life Graduate Assistant Molly Schenck “wasn’t that surprised” by those results.
“Since first-year students live in the halls, there’s so much time to socialize,” she said.
Schenck said the Division of Student Affairs is especially active in educating incoming students on the academic resources at UMaine and teaching them study skills. She said many first-year students have trouble adjusting to the demands of college-level education.
“You go from having teachers you see on a regular basis and parents to help you along to being on your own,” Schenck said.
Extracurricular activities can be a significant part of the first-year experience, according to Schenck.
“I really think it comes down to sudden freedom,” she said. “The lessons you learn — in your first semester even — outside of the classroom are just as important in terms of time management and studying.”
First-year undecided student Kara Capossela said that though she went to a large high school, college has been a shock for her.
“I think having big lectures and being graded only on your test scores is very different,” she said. “It’s definitely a big adjustment and I play a sport, so doing both is hard.”
For Capossela, being involved outside of the classroom in athletics has helped her to study more effectively.
“I think it has taught me time management,” she said. “I have to work around it and I can’t let myself procrastinate.”
Sarah Gagnon, a second-year marketing student, has learned to use all the resources available to her, including textbooks, notes, slides and online materials.
“I used to study the night before and now I know I need to study a week ahead, a little at a time,” Gagnon said.
Coladarci hopes that the upcoming National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE), which involves several hundred universities, will shed some light on student experiences on campus. All first-year and fourth-year students will be encouraged to complete the survey. UMaine administered the survey before in 2007, but did not have enough return from students to draw conclusions from the data.
The survey will be conducted completely online, and the first e-mail invitation will be sent on Jan. 31, with additional prompts to follow. Unlike the CLA, this is an attitude or opinion survey that will take little effort to complete. Coladarci emphasized that student participation is key in making the NSSE a success.
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