Data-Driven Decision Making in Addressing Study Abroad Barriers

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

Higher Education Under Pressure

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


“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


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

Our core

message:

Engaged

Learning

What is Elon For? – Engaged Learning

Theme 1 - An unprecedented university commitment to diversity and global engagement


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.


6. Implement international recruitment strategic plan, including partnership with American Language Academy to continue increasing international enrollment at Elon.


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?

Q & A

Contact

Woody Pelton: [email protected]

Paul J. Geis: [email protected]

Rod Springer: [email protected]

Steven House: [email protected]