The Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin recently released the findings of its national Community College Survey of Student Engagement. South Texas College scored higher than the national average on each of the five benchmark scoring areas, including active and collaborative learning, student effort, academic challenge, student-faculty interaction, and support for learners. The college’s full-time and part-time students rated the college based on these areas and determined that they are more highly engaged in learning than 90 percent of students in all community colleges and 99 percent of students in extra-large community colleges.

“This is a major accomplishment and speaks to the quality of education we offer the students of STC,” said Juan Mejia, vice president for instruction at STC.

More than 2.6 million students from community colleges across the nation participated in the survey, providing feedback to help colleges like STC understand how students are engaged in learning through their college experience.

Nationally, 57 percent of students felt they were challenged to synthesize and organize ideas and information in their courses, whereas 65 percent of STC felt this was a key concept taught in their courses. Also 49 percent of students nationally believe that instructors focused on helping them make their own judgments about the value of information and arguments, whereas 55 percent of STC students felt this was an important value taught by instructors.

“We scored well above the national average in key areas such as academic advising, the empowering of students to make their own judgments about the value of information and arguments, and the assistance to students to synthesize and organize information. One key reason STC is being recognized as a premier institution of higher learning is the importance we place on the student as an individual rather than as a number,” added Mejia. “We continue to analyze data to identify potential obstacles to student success and strategize to identify solutions. These findings validate initiatives that have been established as part of the ongoing improvement process.”

In terms of academic advising and planning, 43 percent of students nationally turned to college faculty for advisement, whereas 51 percent of STC students seek advisement and guidance from their instructors.

“We feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg in faculty advisement,” said Paul Hernandez, dean of Counseling and Advising at STC. “Our Beacon Advising Program, which is being modeled by other community colleges across the nation, is the tool that is making the difference. We have trained more than 200 faculty to provide academic advisement and that number is increasing each semester. These faculty are paired with between 10 and 15 students and track their progress during the semester and are available to answer their questions and help them solve issues. It’s just another way we are working to ensure student success and positive experiences.”

STC ranked high in other areas. Nationally, 28 percent of students said they were challenged to give classroom presentations, whereas 51 percent of STC students responded that this was an integral part of their classroom experience. Only 21 percent of students nationally reported working with other classmates outside of the classroom, whereas 37 percent of STC students say they collaborate with other students. Lastly, only 45 percent of students nationally said they are asked to work with other students on projects during class. At STC, 56 percent of students were asked to collaborate on an in-class project.

“These figures further support the value STC faculty place on having students utilize critical thinking to communicate ideas, challenge or defend concepts, and make informed decisions,” added Mejia. “The ‘traditional’ course lecture by faculty can be effective. However the engagement of students through an environment of free flowing communication, integration of technology, and high academic expectations should be a hallmark of an institution committed to student success.”

To view the full results of the CCSSE Report visit http://www.southtexascollege.edu/~research/CCSSE.html  For more information about STC’s results contact the college’s Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness at 872-5584.

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