Results from the MAP-Works Survey of First-year Undergraduates: Fall 2009 -- Executive Summary

Philip Batty, Office of Institutional Analysis

GVSU Participated in the MAP-Works program in the Fall semester of 2009. �MAP-Works is a student retention tool consisting of an online survey that triggers a customized student feedback report and diagnostic information for university advisors.� In principle, the survey collects indications of students� risk for dropping out of college at an early stage (3-4 weeks into the fall semester) that will allow students to change their trajectory with proper support.� Following is a summary of initial findings from the survey of first-year students.

Comparison to Other Institutions:� Comparisons are possible between GVSU students� response and those of students at other institutions that participated in the Fall 2009 MAP-Works. In general, GVSU students elicited higher ratings than peers on measures of academic preparedness, confidence, and diligence.� Our students also indicate less distress related to homesickness, and our commuter students were more satisfied with their living arrangements than commuters elsewhere.� These differences were small but statistically significant.

	GVSU	Others
Self-Assessment: Communication Skills	5.06	4.98
Self-Assessment: Analytical Skills	5.29	5.10
Self-Assessment: Self-Discipline	5.76	5.71
Self-Assessment: Time Management	5.24	5.17
Self-Assessment: Health and Wellness	4.45	4.34
Commitment to Higher Education	6.88	6.82
Basic Academic Behaviors	6.05	6.00
Academic Self-Efficacy	5.23	5.17
Homesickness: Distressed (higher means less distress)	5.72	5.65
Off-Campus Living: Environment	6.20	5.97

GVSU students scored similarly to peers on measures of �advanced� academic behaviors, commitment to the institution, and overall satisfaction.� However, GVSU�s first-year students scored slightly but significantly below peers on several measures of social satisfaction and integration:

	GVSU	Others
Peer Connections	5.50	5.55
On-Campus Living: Social Aspects	5.08	5.27
On-Campus Living: Environment	5.71	5.75
Social Integration	5.48	5.54

These results point to a need to address issues related to students social adjustment to college, while maintaining their strong emphasis on academic engagement and growth.

Predicting Academic Performance:� The MAP-Works survey data lend a considerable boost to our ability to identify students� risk for attrition or propensity for success.� Many of the questionnaire items are correlated strongly with fall grades, fall-to-winter retention, or both.� Furthermore, several of the MAP-Works variables serve to explain and predict grades and retention significantly better than the previously available data.� In particular, fall grades are related most strongly to performance on the �Basic Academic Behaviors�, and Academic Integration� scales.� Retention was strongly related to the �Commitment to the Institution� factor (which essentially asks students �Are you planning to come back?�) and the �Homesickness: Distressed� scale.�� Students� overall satisfaction is best predicted by their �Social Integration� and ��Commitment to the Institution�, followed by �On-Campus Liiving: Environment� and �Academic Integration�.

More detailed analysis is available at http://reports.ia.gvsu.edu/mapworks/firstyear_2009_report_020310.htm