Tracking Student Progress within a Framework of Curricular Change. AIR 1997 Annual Forum Paper

This study at Portland State University (Oregon) combined information from a student database and survey responses to develop an information system for student information, including student experiences, retention, progress toward graduation, and post-graduation experiences. Following implementation of a new curriculum designed to improve student retention and degree completion, the university sought to understand how the student experience had changed. The initial research focused on the development of a descriptive portrait of students in four cohorts: two before and two following implementation of the new curriculum. A survey of entering freshmen was initiated beginning with focus groups in 1991. Annually, a sample of 1000 first-time freshmen and transfer students was surveyed. Input variables included ethnicity, gender, age, student type, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and high school grade point average. The data showed that the demographic composition of the student body had not changed but that changes in course-taking patterns, attendance, student satisfaction, and academic integration suggest subtle improvement related to the new curriculum. (JLS)