What Matters in College After College A Comparative Alumnae Research Study Prepared for the Women’s College Coalition www.womenscolleges.org February 24 and March 7, 2012 2 Susan Lennon Women’s College Coalition [email protected] Jim Day Hardwick~Day [email protected] 3 Key Messages A women’s college education… • Proves its value over a lifetime • Develops critical skills for life and career • Enables students to engage with top faculty and resources • Creates leaders, communicators, and persuaders 4 What These Data Are One point in the Coalition’s research agenda to: • Provide a clear base for marketing strategies and initiatives that differentiate the benefits of our sector from other sectors • Provide data on areas where we fall short or have room for improvement and change. 5 Why Does the World Need Women’s Colleges? Defining our Research Agenda From our strategic plan: The Coalition will develop and implement a creative research agenda that provides members and opinion leaders with compelling data and analysis of the effectiveness of a women’s college education and that illuminates the factors that can impede or enhance the well-being and success of women and girls before, during, and after college. Goal 1: Building on the findings of Hardwick-Day, NSSE, and other studies, develop a research initiative that examines the effectiveness of women’s colleges as a sector in achieving specific learning outcomes for our students and alumnae. Goal 2: Facilitate collaborative research initiatives among women’s colleges that produce new knowledge about innovative practices in women’s education and a deeper understanding of factors promoting or impeding women’s the well-being, achievement and success of women and girls. Priority will be given to projects that are fundable, linked to larger national/global discussions and priorities, and likely to raise the visibility of women’s colleges. 6 Implications for Understanding Today’s College Women Are there gender differences in the “impact” of college? 7 The Gender Gap in College Study A: Forty year trends in women’s college population: how have the backgrounds, characteristics, and predispositions of women’s college attendees shifted over past 4 decades. How does the shift compare to women at coed, liberal arts colleges? Study C: Examination of faculty at women’s colleges: what are the characteristics and experiences of faculty at women’s colleges and how does this compare to faculty and similar coed institutions? 8 Study Rationale The Women’s Colleges Comparative Alumnae Research Project is organized around key factors identified by education researchers Alexander Astin, Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini as critical to educational effectiveness, specifically, those elements of the college environment that contribute to students’ positive outcomes: • Interaction between faculty and students • A strong community and peer interactions both inside and outside the classroom • A challenging, active classroom environment Most previous studies assess students at graduation or in the first few years afterwards. This study was undertaken to assess lasting college effects, interviewing alumnae of each class more than 30 years after graduation, from 1970-2006. 9 What Matters in College “Our review indicates two persistent themes in the research literature on college effects. The first is the central role of other people in a student’s life, whether students or faculty. The second theme is the potency of the student’s effort and involvement in the academic and non- academic systems of the institutions they attend.” Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 1991. 10 What Matters: Environment “… although different types of institutions tend to have particular types of environments, … it is the environment created by the faculty and the students … that really seems to matter. Finally, the single most important environmental influence on student development is the peer group.” Alexander W. Astin, What Matters in College? Four Critical Years Revisited, 1993. 11 What Matters: Involvement “The research is unequivocal: students who are actively involved in both academic and out-of-class activities gain more from the college experience than those who are not so involved.” Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 1991. 12 Study Methodology • Study conducted by Hardwick~Day using new Women’s Colleges alumnae interviews and interviews held in an alumni database • 21-24 minute telephone interviews conducted August 30-November 15, 2011 • Women graduates of graduating classes 1990-2006 from four-year institutions Comparisons will be made to 1970-89 graduates when significant and interesting changes have occurred • Interviews are proportioned to be representative of the average enrollment over the study years with: – 178 alumnae of women’s colleges and universities 39 (87%) of the four-year Women’s Colleges are represented Another private college group (excluding the women’s colleges): – 374 alumnae of other four-year liberal arts colleges 178 colleges represented And a public university group: – 164 alumnae of national “flagship” public universities 95 of 118 (81% of the universities) represented 13 Study Methodology • The margin of sampling error differs by group and between groups according to sample size, but can be generally summarized as: – Women’s Colleges and Universities +/-7.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level – Other Liberal Arts Colleges: +/-5.2 – Flagship Public Universities: +/-7.8 • Throughout this presentation, the groups represented in the charts are comprised of graduates from 1990-2006. When there are differences between the decades (1970-89 and 1990-2006), the percentages will be displayed in a box over the corresponding data point. The significantly higher number will be shown in bold type: 1970-89 1990-06 47% 68% 14 Selected Alumnae Characteristics 15 As a Group, Women’s Colleges Alumnae Chose Colleges that Are Somewhat Less Selective than the Liberal Arts Colleges and Flagship Public Universities 5% 9% Less/ Least 32% selective 39% Selective 56% More selective 47% 66% 30% Most selective 9% 4% 2% Women's Colleges' and Liberal Arts Colleges' Alumnae Flagship Public Universities' Universities' Alumnae Alumnae Selectivity of college attended as indicated in U.S. News & World Report 16 Women’s Colleges Alumnae Were More Likely than Public University Alumnae to Have Lived on Campus for Most of Their College Years 100% 80% 80% 75% 60% 40% 29% 20% 0% Women's Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges Flagship Public Universities Universities The Women’s Colleges group is significantly higher than the Flagship Public Universities group and similar to the Liberal Arts Colleges Q.K For most of your college years, did you live (on campus)? Women’s Colleges Alumnae Are More Likely than 17 Flagship Public University Alumnae to Say They Benefited Very Much from a Safe Campus Environment 100% 80% 72% 64% 60% 40% 37% 20% 0% Women's Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges Flagship Public Universities Universities The Women’s Colleges group is significantly higher than the Flagship Public Universities group, and similar to the Liberal Arts Colleges Q.1 Please tell me how much you personally benefited from…? (rating a 5 on a five-point scale, where 1=did not benefit at all and 5=benefited very much) 18 Women’s Colleges Alumnae Were More Likely than All Other Alumnae to Have Graduated in Four Years or Less 100% 87% 79% 80% 60% 54% 40% 20% 0% Women's Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges Flagship Public Universities Universities The Women’s Colleges group is significantly higher than all other groups Q.18 How many years did it take you to complete your undergraduate degree? (Four years or less) 19 Significant Women’s Colleges Alumnae Were as Likely as increase for Liberal Arts Colleges Alumnae to Have Received Women’s a Grant or Scholarship to Attend College Colleges (and L.A. colleges) 100% 1970-89 1990-06 1970-89 1990-06 1970-89 1990-06 49% 74% 58% 76% 48% 55% 80% 74% 76% 60% 55% 40% 20% 0% Women's Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges Flagship Public Universities Universities The Women’s Colleges group is significantly higher than the Flagship Public Universities group, and similar to the Liberal Arts group Q.13 Did you receive a scholarship or grant to attend college? 20 Significant Women’s Colleges Alumnae Were More Likely than Other increase for Alumnae to Have Taken a Loan to Attend College Women’s Colleges 100% 1970-89 1990-06 1970-89 1990-06 1970-89 1990-06 47% 68% 57% 58% 44% 43% 80% 68% 58% 60% 43% 40% 93% say 94% say loans were loans were a good a good 89% say investment investment loans were 20% a good investment 0% Women's Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges Flagship Public Universities Universities The Women’s Colleges group is significantly higher than all other groups Q.14 Did you take out loans to attend college? Q.15a Were the loans a good investment on your part? 21 Significant Women’s Colleges Alumnae Were as Likely as Other increase for Alumnae to Have Worked During the School Year Women’s Colleges (and L.A. colleges) 100% 1970-89 1990-06 1970-89 1990-06 1970-89 1990-06 61% 74% 63% 71% 68% 70% 80% 74% 71% 70% 60% 40% 20% 0% Women's Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges Flagship Public Universities Universities There are no significant differences Q.17 Were you usually working during the college school year? 22 Current Employment Status for Women’s Colleges Alumnae is Similar to Alumnae From Other