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Western Educational Longitudinal
Study (WELS)
The Office of Survey Research (OSR) and
the Office of Institutional
Assessment, Research, and Testing (OIART) are responsible
for developing and administering the Western Educational
Longitudinal Study (WELS). Currently we are tracking four
cohorts:
For more information about WELS, see
Timeline as well as Goals
and Objectives.
Freshmen Entering Fall 2007
WELS DATA BYTES: Each BYTE focuses on one survey question area. They are glimpses into various areas of interest. Additional BYTES will be published every two weeks.
Fall 2007 Baseline of Incoming Freshmen. Technical Report to be published soon. Excerpts provided below.
Spring 2007 Follow-Up of Freshmen Entering Fall 2005. Technical Report to be published soon. Excerpts provided below.
Spring
2006 Follow-up of Freshmen Entering Fall 2005. The
major focus of this survey was to follow-up on changes
in personal learning traits assessed in the Motivated
Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Separate
subsets of the sample were given questions on
perceived requirement for academic success, academic
self-concept, academic reflection, academic
motivations, study styles, and learning styles. In
addition, questions from previous baseline and
follow-up surveys were included on participation in
first-year programs, student services, and academic
advising and tutorial services; course selection and
registration experiences; attitudes toward GURs, the
culture at Western, and service learning; academic
skills and competencies; academic and social
engagement; academic and personal difficulties; work
experiences; perceptions of the first-year transition;
intentions regarding transferring and graduating on
time; and general attitudes.
Fall 2005 Transitions Survey.
This report presents findings from the
end-of-fall-quarter, 2005, "transitions" survey for
freshmen. Questions were designed to help better
understand the nature of their first quarter
experience with respect to their personal, social and
academic adjustment; the kinds of personal, financial,
and academic pressures and difficulties they
experienced; their use of student services (including
advising) and newly implemented student services
programs (e.g., an enhanced "Western Reads" program);
and their overall satisfaction with Western after one
quarter. Most of these same questions were also asked
of the fall, 2005, incoming transfer students, thus
facilitating comparisons between these two groups,
keeping in mind, of course, that the transfers had
junior standing during this first quarter.
Fall 2005 Baseline of In-coming Freshmen focuses
on initial perceptions and expectations; academic
self-perceptions; college preparedness, concern, and
motivation; high school experiences; and personal
self-perceptions.
Freshmen Entering Fall 2003
Spring 2007 Follow-up of Freshmen Entering Fall 2003. Technical Report to be published soon. See Common Items Chart indicating students' comfort level with academic skills and competencies (2003 baseline compared to Spring 2007 follow-up).
Spring 2006
Follow-up of Freshmen Entering Fall 2003.
This survey focused on the process of declaring and
changing majors, double majors, and minors;
experiences in upper division courses and in their
chosen academic departments; and experiences with or
attitudes toward study abroad opportunities. In
addition, questions from previous baseline and
follow-up surveys were included on students' use of
and satisfaction with student services (including
academic advising and tutorial services); attitudes
toward the culture at Western; academic skills and
competencies; academic and social engagement; academic
and personal difficulties; and work experiences.
Spring
2005 Follow-up of Freshmen Entering Fall 2003 was
administered to a random sample of 1489 sophomores who
were new freshmen in Fall 2003. Topics included:
registration process, major, advising, academic
activities, GURs, work, experiences, difficulties, and
uses of academic and library technologies.
Students and Academic-Oriented Technology: A
Longitudinal Study focuses on student use of email
and comfort level with academic-oriented technology.
Two data sets were used: 1) the end of the first year
follow-up administered in Spring 2004; and 2) the end
of the sophomore year follow-up, administered in
Spring 2005.
Student
Attitudes Toward General University Requirements
(GURs) presents findings related to GUR
expectations and attitudes, pedagogy, overall
satisfaction, and how First-Year Interest Group (FIG)
enrollment relates to these factors.
Student
Contact With Their Academic Advisors presents
findings from the Spring 2004 Follow-up of Freshmen,
specifically about academic advising. These survey
findings were then supplemented with Data Warehouse
findings on high school grade point average (hsgpa),
first quarter Western grade point average, and SAT
scores.
Longitudinal Analysis From 2003-2004 Freshmen Surveys
presents findings from three multi-itemed questions,
plus a fourth single item question, asked in each of
the three survey administrations (above). Two
questions focus on students' transition to Western,
one question focuses on student expectations, and one
asks how well students throughout their high school
experience prepared them for college.
Spring
2004 Follow-up of Freshmen Entering Fall 2003 represents
the third freshmen survey to be conducted during
this cycle. The data from all three reports provide
the most comprehensive, appropriate and complete
information Western has ever gathered on its
incoming students.
Fall 2003 Freshmen Transitions Survey
targeted freshmen in their first quarter at Western.
By exploring prior high school and early college
experiences of new freshmen, patterns in student
characteristics and behavior may shed light on the
problem of first quarter transitions.
Fall 2003
Baseline of
In-Coming Freshmen was
administered in Summer of 2003. This survey
covered students' high school experiences and
activities (both academic and personal), their
expectations for college, and their family and
personal background.
Spring 2007 Follow-up of Transfers Entering Fall 2005. Technical Report to be published soon. Excerpts provided below.
Spring 2006 Follow-up of Transfers Entering Fall 2005.
Similar to the three-year follow-up survey of students
who had entered as freshmen in the fall, 2003-students
who also mostly have junior status-this survey focused
on issues facing third-year students, for instance:
choosing a major, upper division course experiences,
study abroad, and general studies advising. In
addition, the survey included questions from other
time points and cohorts such as questions on academic
advising and tutorial services, general student
services usage, academic skills and competencies, work
and other non-academic activities, academic and
personal difficulties, and perceptions of Western.
Fall 2005 Transitions Survey.
This report presents findings from the
end-of-fall-quarter, 2005, "transitions" survey for
transfers. Questions were designed to help better
understand the nature of their first quarter
experience with respect to their personal, social and
academic adjustment; the kinds of personal, financial,
and academic pressures and difficulties they
experienced; their use of student services (including
advising) and newly implemented student services
programs (e.g., an enhanced "Western Reads" program);
and their overall satisfaction with Western after one
quarter. Most of these same questions were asked of
the fall, 2005, incoming freshmen, thus facilitating
comparisons between these two groups, keeping in mind,
of course, that the freshmen were just entering
college while transfers had junior standing during
this first quarter.
Fall 2005 Baseline of In-Coming Transfers is the
first comprehensive survey of transfer students in
Western's history. Transfers were asked questions on a
variety of topics including previous educational
experiences, transfer student orientation,
expectations about their Western experience, their
major and advising, personal background, and future
plans.
New
Transfer Focus Group Summary. OSR randomly
selected transfers entering Western in fall of 2004 to
participate in a focus group study about students'
expectations and experiences, both academic and
social. The research was designed to explore transfer
students' experiences as they transition into Western,
and focused particularly on the challenges they face.
This information will inform OSR's plans for the WELS
transfer survey, a large-scale study of transfer
entering in fall of 2005.
The WELS timeline consists
of a six-year survey cycle, with a new cycle beginning
every three years. The initial survey of in-coming
freshmen was administered Summer 2003-Spring 2004.
The initial survey of in-coming transfers was
administered Summer 2005-Winter 2006. Follow-up surveys will be administered
throughout each cohorts' careers at Western and
after graduation as alumni.
The goal of WELS
is to stream-line survey methodology, and at the
same time expand the kinds of surveys being administered,
thus increasing the variety and usefulness of data
that are being collected. We want to more fully
respond to Western’s data needs, without
overburdening respondents with repeated surveys
from a variety of sources. We also want to
introduce an energizing flexibility into Western’s
data collection process.
WELS goals and objectives include:
- Providing data that will be more relevant to
program evaluation and improvement, and student
outcomes assessment;
- Aiding departments, offices, colleges and organizations
in exploring issues that are particularly timely
and relevant;
- Enabling issues of retention and graduation efficiency
to be more carefully explored;
- Adhering to Western's Strategic Action Plan,
and connection to evaluation of the four state
mandated accountability measures: Quantitative
and Symbolic Reasoning, Information Technology
Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Writing.
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