Presentation by Dr. Gale Stewart, Director of Assessment for Student Affairs and Research Associate Lauren Ratliff from the Office of the President. Explains SERU and importance of student participation.

1. 2011 Student Experience in the Research University (SERU): The Ultimate Student Survey A project sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, and the Division of Student Affairs 1

2. Background Developed by UC-Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education Administered online in the UC from 2002-present Focused on understanding student experience at large research universities Designed as longitudinal study using census of all undergraduates 2

3. Recent History Research institutions outside UC began participation in 2008 Other institutions include: Rutgers, U Florida, U Michigan, U Minnesota, U Oregon, U Pittsburgh UT Austin first participated in 2010 3

4. SERU at UT Austin Sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, and the Division of Student Affairs UT joined the project late in 2009 Did not have as much time to prepare as we would have liked UT signed a 3-year contract with UC-Berkeley AY 2010-2011 is Year 2 4

5. Spring 2010 SERU Pilot Results 21% of students answered initial questions (n=7,365), however only 15% of students persisted through the entire instrument Representativeness Good representation by ethnicity and college Over-representation of females Under-representation of Freshmen 5

6. Spring 2010 SERU Pilot Results Website for results: www.utexas.edu/seru Areas covered include: Time allocation Academic and Personal Development Academic Engagement Evaluation of the Major Cost of Education Background Information Campus Climate for Diversity Family Education Levels 6

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10. Spring 2010 SERU SampleFindings 58% of students often* raised his/her standard for acceptable effort due to the high standards of a faculty member 59% often* communicated with a faculty member by email or in person 43% often* interacted with faculty during lecture class sessions 32% often* talked with the instructor outside of class about issues or concepts derived from the course *Often = somewhat often + often + very often 10

11. Spring 2010 SERU SampleFindings 83% were satisfied* with the variety of courses available in their major 92% were satisfied* with the quality of upper division courses in their major 91% were satisfied* with their access to faculty outside of class Most important factors in deciding on their major: (1) Interest in subject area (2) Intellectual curiosity (3) Preparation for a fulfilling career *Satisfied = somewhat satisfied + satisfied + very satisfied 11

12. Spring 2010 SERU SampleFindings 91% agree* that they feel they belong at this campus 90% are satisfied** with their overall academic experience 86% are satisfied** with the value of the education for the price they’re paying 86% say that faculty provide prompt and useful feedback on student work (% “yes”) *Agree = somewhat agree + agree + strongly agree **Satisfied = somewhat satisfied + satisfied + very satisfied 12

13. Plans for 2011 Launch date was Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Over 35,000 undergraduate students will be invited to participate via email Non-respondents will be re-contacted weekly Some by contacts within Colleges/Schools Response rates will be updated regularly and posted online College Competitions planned We hope to end data collection after Spring Break 13

14. Response Rate Getting a much higher response rate is critical Higher response allows us to drill down to the academic program level Higher response allows us to follow individual students longitudinally through their UT careers 14

15. Marketing Kick-off planned the first week of February Banners and tables scheduled periodically throughout the first six weeks Student support via SG and Senate Articles in Daily Texan Facebook and Twitter Videos on TV monitors Incentives: iPad, $250 toward books x 4, and tickets to basketball, baseball games 15

16. YourHelp Is Important Encourage your students to complete the survey Enlist student participation via your department’s newsletter and/or email system Tell your colleagues about the survey Talk about the college competition – keep track of college response rates (www.utexas.edu/seru/responses.html) Talk it up! Contact us for results or for more information 16

17. For More Information Website for 2010 results: www.utexas.edu/seru Lauren Ratliff, Research Associate, Office of the President Lauren_ratliff@yahoo.com (512)232-8280 Gale Stuart, Ph.D., Director of Assessment, Division of Student Affairs Gale.Stuart@austin.utexas.edu (512)232-9608 Thank you! 17