Browsing by Author "Wambach, Catherine"
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Item 1999 GC Students with STEM Major Interests(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005) Jansen, Elizabeth; Wambach, Catherine; Franko, JenniferItem 1999 GC transfers to CLA: Retention and Graduation(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005) Jansen, Elizabeth; Wambach, Catherine; Franko, JenniferItem 2002 GC Cohort with STEM Major Interests: High School and College Academic Performance(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005) Jansen, Elizabeth; Wambach, Catherine; Franko, JenniferThis study describes the relationship between high school mathematics and science backgrounds and college math and science performances of 163 students who entered General College (GC) in fall of 2003 with interests in science (STEM) majors. The study found low positive correlations between high school and college performance, but no significant differences in the backgrounds of students who eventually left the college and those who persisted. The study found that over half of the original STEM majors left the college after two years and that over half of the remaining students were not enrolled in STEM majors.Item Are Leavers and Persisters Really Different: A Comparative Study of Issues Reported in GC Advising Files(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005-11-07) Xie, Baozhen; Wambach, Catherine; Franko, Jennifer; Connor, JenniferThe purpose of this study was to examine whether GC leavers and persisters had different issues reported in their advising files. Information from persisters’ files was compared to a prior analysis of leavers from the GC 2003 NHS cohort. It was found that persisters and leavers were not significantly different in frequency and categories of issues reported. Persisters and leavers had similar proportions of issues reported in four categories: student academic, student non-academic, institutional academic, and institutional non-academic issues. Among both groups, academic issues were reported more often than non-academic issues, and student issues were reported more often than institutional issues. Persisters and leavers were also similar in rank orders of frequency of individual issues, although compared to leavers, persisters seemed to have a lower frequency of academic alerts and low motivation issues and a higher frequency of other issues.Item A Brief Report: Gender, Ethnicity, Academic Standing and Student Issues Reported in Advising Files(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005) Xie, Baozhen; Wambach, Catherine; Franko, Jennifer; Connor, JenniferItem A Brief Report: The Relationship between Mid-Semester Grades and Final Grades(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005-03-29) Connor, Jennifer; Franko, Jennifer; Wambach, CatherineItem Characteristics of Selected Lower Division Courses at the Unviersity of Minnesota(University of Minnesota: General College, 1995-11) Wambach, Catherine; Woods, Martie; delMas, RobertThe purpose of this report is to inform the General College (GC) community about the teaching strategies students encounter in non-GC courses. The mission of GC is to prepare students to transfer to degree granting colleges of the University. In order to adequately prepare students for transfer, the faculty and staff of GC must have accurate and upto- date information about the curriculum and courses of other colleges. While much information is available from documents such as bulletins and course guides, detailed information about the specific requirements of courses is less generally available. The study was designed to collect information about the structure and pedagogy of non-GC courses that enroll significant numbers of GC students. The information will become part of an ongoing evaluation of the GC curriculum and provide information about ways in which GC courses should be modified to better prepare students for success after transfer.Item College After Transfer: A Survey of the Curricular Experiences of General College Students Who Transfer Within the University(University of Minnesota: General College, 1994) Wambach, Catherine; Woods, MartieIn the spring of 1994, 241 former General College (GC) students who were enrolled in other University of Minnesota (U of MN) colleges were surveyed about their experiences in courses after transfer. The survey asked students to compare features of their current courses to their GC courses, to describe the skills they currently use in courses, and to offer suggestions for how the college curriculum and advising might be changed to facilitate transfer. Students rated their current courses as more difficult than their GC courses. They reported doing more homework, especially reading, and feeling more challenged in their current coursework. They reported that their current courses required them to read textbooks and other academic materials, take tests, and write papers and reports. The types of reading, test questions, and writing assignments varied across majors. In general, students in engineering majors reported academic experiences that were different from those of other groups and included more computing, group work, and laboratory reports. Students responses to the open ended questions suggested that most students were satisfied with their experiences in GC. However, a significant minority expressed dissatisfaction and recommended curricular changes. Students also stressed the importance of careful course planning and recommended improvements in advising.Item Commanding English Tracking Report: October 2005(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005) Connor, Jennifer; Franko, Jennifer; Wambach, CatherineThis report provides information about the Commanding English Program in General College. Students who entered the program in Fall 1999 through Fall 2003 are tracked, and retention, transfer, and graduation data are reported. This data is compared to students in General College, but not enrolled in the Commanding English Program. It was found that overall Commanding English students transferred at a higher rate and were retained at similar rates or higher rates than other GC students, depending on the cohort and length of time in the program. Most Commanding English students experienced a significant drop in GPA after transferring to another college.Item Computer Access Survey(University of Minnesota: General College, 2003) Franko, Jenniefer; Wambach, Catherine; Mayer, Amy; Hatfield, JenniferItem Confidence and Barriers to Graduation Identified by Graduate and Non-Graduate Participants in the General College Transferred Student Survey(University of Minnesota: General College, 2004-07) Wambach, Catherine; Franko, Jennifer; Connor, JenniferItem Developmental Education in the Big Ten(University of Minnesota: General College, 2001) Wambach, CatherineThe purpose of this report is examine public information about the extent to which Big Ten universities admit students who can be considered underqualified or underprepared, and to describe the programs and services each school has designed to retain and graduate these students. These programs will be compared to the University of Minnesota General College, which provides access to the university for underqualified students. The information should be useful for decision makers who will need to consider whether the level of the universities commitment to access for underqualified students is appropriate and whether the structures and services provided for these students are as effective as they could be.Item Evaluating Freshman Composition: A Multimethod A(University of Minnesota: General College, 1998-05-20) Wambach, Catherine; delMas, RobertThis paper describes 4 studies that were used to evaluate the freshman writing courses offered to basic writers at a major research university. The evaluation was prompted by an institutional decision to eliminate post-admission writing placement and place all freshmen into college level writing courses. The studies investigated course completion rates, performance in subsequent courses, student opinion of course difficulty and analysis of student writing. The studies suggest that the courses are effective in achieving their goals.Item Fall 1999 through Fall 2003: Rates of Intra-University Transfer for General College Students(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005-07) Franko, Jennifer; Connor, Jennifer; Wambach, CatherineItem The General College 1999 Cohort: Persistence and Graduation Five Years After Entrance(University of Minnesota: General College, 1999) Wambach, Catherine; Franko, Jennifer; Connor, JenniferItem The General College 2000 Cohort: Persistence and Graduation Four Years After Entrance(University of Minnesota: General College, 2000) Connor, Jennifer; Franko, Jennifer; Wambach, CatherineItem The General College 2001 Cohort: Persistence and Graduation Four Years After Entrance(University of Minnesota: General College, 2005-11) Connor, Jennifer; Franko, Jennifer; Wambach, CatherineThis report provides retention and graduation data on the fall 2001 NHS General College cohort, as well as predictors of retention. As of summer 2005, approximately 8% of the cohort had graduated and another 47% had enrolled in the 2004-2005 academic year. Differences in retention were examined based on gender and ethnicity. Gender differences were not observed, however there was a difference in retention based on ethnicity. High school rank and ACT composite scores were not significant predictors, but first term GPA was a significant predictor of later retention.Item General College Freshman Satisfaction with Their University of Minnesota Experience(University of Minnesota: General College, 2002) Wambach, Catherine; Hatfield, Jennifer; Merabella, MikeIn spring quarter 1999 the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost conducted a survey of a random sample of university students to assess their satisfaction with various aspects of their University of Minnesota experience. The results of the survey are presented in a report titled The 1999 Student experiences Survey: Students’ Perspectives on Their experiences at the University of Minnesota and Changes Since 1997 (Hendel, 2000). A complete description of the methods used to collect the survey responses is included in that report. The survey asked students to rate their experience on a wide variety of topics - everything from parking to instruction. The respondents included undergraduate and graduate students from the Twin Cities and coordinate campuses. In gathering the data for the survey, the freshmen enrolled in General College were over-sampled. This over-sampling allowed for a separate analysis of GC student satisfaction and comparisons between the satisfaction of first-year GC students and other U of M freshmen. What follows is a description of GC and non-GC freshmen responses to a selection of the survey questions.Item General College Persisters and Leavers: A Comparative Study(University of Minnesota: General College, 2003) Wambach, Catherine; Hatfield, Jennifer; Franko, Jennifer; Mayer, AmyResearch and theory on student retention suggests that it is a complex process influenced by both personal and institutional factors. Since retention and graduation rates are important benchmarks used to evaluate educational institutions, administrators at the University of Minnesota (U of M) are questioning why these rates are lower at the U of M than would be expected given the characteristics of the student body (Improving our graduation, 2001). Research by the U of M office of Institutional Research and Reporting (IRR) suggests that for most U of M freshman admitting colleges, including General College (GC), the predicted graduation rate for students is higher than the actual rate.Item Leaving General College: Interests and Issues Related to Student Departure(University of Minnesota: General College, 2000) Wambach, Catherine; Mayer, Amy; Hatfield, Jennifer; Franco, JenniferMany of the freshmen who begin postsecondary education at the University of Minnesota General College (GC) leave before they complete degrees. The purpose of this study was to describe the patterns of achievement, academic interests, reasons for leaving, and plans after leaving for a cohort of GC leavers. Advising files, the U of M student database, and the General College Student Inventory (GCSI) were used as sources of information. Half of the leavers were found to have academic performance issues. Leavers expressed a wide variety of academic interests on the GCSI, the most common being business and social sciences. There was some evidence to suggest that students with interests in physical science and computer science were more likely to leave, which warrants future investigation. Information in advising files suggested that about 25% of the leavers intended to transfer to another college. Issues that may have been related to leaving that were mentioned most frequently in the files were lack of motivation, physical and mental health concerns, financial problems, and conflicts between family or cultural expectations and the demands of college.