Incorporating High Impact Practices into a Political Science Curriculum Susan M. Johnson Political Science Department University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI 53190 johnsons@uww.edu Paper prepared for presentation at the Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, March 22-24, 2012, Portland, Oregon.
Abstract LEAP (Liberal Education America s Promise) was launched by the American Association of Colleges and Universities in 2005 to champion the importance of a twenty-first century liberal education. At the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, an 11,000 student comprehensive university, LEAP has become a guiding principle in curricular and programmatic decisions as well as assessment of student learning. Departments have been encouraged to focus on high impact practices that promote LEAP s essential learning outcomes. To that end, the Political Science Department has introduced or sought to enhance high impact practices in its program and curriculum. This paper presents assessment and student satisfaction data on four of its department s high impact practices. These include a pre-law learning community, internships, the introduction of a first year seminar for majors and the development of writing in Political Science course. While all four have had significant successes, particularly in the area of student satisfaction, challenges remain and additional assessment of student learning is necessary to fully measure whether these practices are meeting the expectations of LEAP.
On college campuses across the country, administrators, faculty and students are being encouraged by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to LEAP toward refocusing higher education around a set of common essential learning outcomes. LEAP (Liberal Education America s Promise) was launched by the AAC&U in 2005 to champion the importance of a twenty-first century liberal education. At the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, an 11,000 student comprehensive university that is part of the 26 campus University of Wisconsin System, LEAP has become a guiding principle in curricular and programmatic decisions as well as assessment of student learning. Departments have been encouraged to focus on high impact practices that promote LEAP s essential learning outcomes. To that end, the Political Science Department has introduced or sought to enhance high impact practices in its program and curriculum. In addition to discussing these efforts, this paper presents assessment and student satisfaction data on these practices. The high impact practices that will be discussed include a pre-law learning community, internships, the introduction of a first year seminar for majors and the development of writing in Political Science course. Essential Learning Outcomes and High Impact Practices The LEAP framework is organized around a set of essential learning outcomes that are best achieved through a liberal arts education that provides an outline to guide students' progress through college (College Learning, 2007). The essential learning outcomes include Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World, Intellectual and Practical Skills (including written and oral communication skills, critical thinking, and quantitative and information literacy), Personal and Social Responsibility (including civic knowledge and engagement), and Integrative and Applied Learning (Taking Responsibility, 2004). The
framework recommends that institutions implement high impact practices based on the essential learning outcomes. These active learning practices have been shown to improve student retention and student engagement (Kuh, 2008). Examples of high impact practices include First-Year Seminars and Experiences, Common Intellectual Experiences, Learning Communities, Writing- Intensive Courses, Collaborative Assignments and Projects, Undergraduate Research, Diversity/Global Learning, Service Learning, Community-Based Learning, Internships, and Capstone Courses and Projects (Kuh, 2008). Departments at UW-Whitewater have been asked to map the essential learning outcomes to their departmental assessment and learning goals and identify high impact practices that help achieve these learning outcomes. Of the high impact practices listed above, this paper discusses four that are utilized by the Political Science Department: First-Year Seminars and Experiences, Learning Communities, Writing-Intensive Courses, and Internships. First-Year Seminars and Experiences bring a small group of students into frequent contact with a faculty or staff member with an emphasis on improving students intellectual and practical competencies in the areas of critical thinking, information literacy, and collaborative learning (Kuh, 2008). Learning Communities are structured so as to encourage integrative learning across courses as well as exploration of common issues/interests. These communities tend to include linked courses and often a shared living component meant to foster greater student interaction and engagement with their classmates as well as with their professors (Kuh, 2008). Writing-intensive courses encourage students to produce and revise different forms of writing for varied audiences (Kuh, 2008). In discipline-specific writing courses, the material is focused on critical thinking and writing in the field as well as writing for courses in the discipline. Internships provide the 2
benefit of direct experiences in a work setting as well as coaching and mentoring from professionals in a field related to students career aspirations (Kuh, 2008). High-Impact Practices in the UW-Whitewater Political Science Department Currently, the UW-Whitewater Political Science Department engages in many of the eleven high impact practices listed above. The four selected for discussion in this paper are ones that the department has paid particular attention to in recent years. Two of them, the first-year seminar and the writing intensive course were part of a curricular redesign, while the other two, internships and the pre-law learning community, were meant to provide a greater focus on professionalization and employment. The curricular redesign in 2009 led to the creation of a first-year seminar, Introduction to Political Science, as well as a new Writing in Political Science course both of which are required for all Political Science majors. The pre-law learning community is in its fourth year. The department s internship program is long-standing but there has been greater attention to assessing its impact and broadening its scope in recent years. Political Science 101 Introduction to Political Science Introduction to Political Science (POLISCI 101) was first offered in fall 2010 to provide a first-year experience to Political Science majors that introduces students to the specialties within the major, outlines academic emphases within the major, and explores opportunities in the field of political science. It is a one-credit course required of all majors. The course has the following objectives: 1) Students will meet political science faculty members and learn about their research and teaching areas of expertise. 2) Students will learn about the five major areas within political science 3
(e.g., American government, political philosophy, comparative politics, international relations, and public policy and administration) 3) Students will learn about academic tracks within the major and associated requirements and opportunities, such as honors, advising, internships, scholarships, and job opportunities 4) Students will develop an initial program plan for their degree including discussion of complementary minors 5) Students will meet other political science majors Class sessions and assignments are designed to meet the course objectives. In addition to lectures on departmental requirements, complementary programs, and academic planning, several guests speak to the class on specific topics. For example, a panel of faculty members discusses their research and teaching interests while a group of students that have completed internships share their experiences as interns. Additionally, students attend a session at the library on research in the discipline and a session at career services on employment and other options for graduates. There is an attempt to link activities in this course with other courses that students will take as majors. This is most notable in the linkages between the library research exercise in Introduction to Political Science and one that is completed later in Writing in Political Science. Student evaluation of the course has been uniformly positive. As Table 1 illustrates, students consistently indicate that the material presented in class is valuable to their understanding of the Political Science program. The two sessions that students felt least positively about were the session at the university library and the session that covered undergraduate research and study abroad programs. The library session was found to be valuable by approximate half of the students, while the study abroad/undergraduate research session was found to be valuable by approximately two-thirds of students. All other items were rated as valuable by over 80 percent of students. One possible explanation for the lower evaluation of the study abroad/undergraduate 4
research presentation is that students new to the university and the major may have not considered those options or see them as something for later in their program. The fact that only half of students favorably evaluated the session at the library, a session specifically tailored to their major with a dedicated online library guide developed for their use, is more vexing. This session is not an English 101 library tour. It is lead by a social science reference librarian and the focus is on conducting political science research. However, as more faculty members in our department have made use of such library visits, we are finding that there is a general resistance among students to that type of instruction. TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE While the department is pleased with the direction of the course and students reaction to it, there are some logical next steps in the course s development. First, there is a need for systematic assessment of the course objectives. Student feedback and the impression of the faculty members is that they are being met, but it is important to conduct assessment in order to show that to be the case. This is particularly important because a goal of the course is to better prepare students to proceed through their major and make plans for their future as early in their educational career as feasible. Second, and related to the point above, as a high impact practice, the expectation is that the course better integrates students into our program and the university thereby increasing student retention and graduation rates. Third, while this course bills itself as a first-year experience, it is often the case that students do not take this course in their first year. This has to do with enrollment pressures, but also with the fact that students change majors or do not declare a major in their first year. Overall, the department is pleased with the direction the course is taking and hopes to devote more resources to further develop the course and conduct meaningful assessment. 5
Political Science 302 Writing in Political Science Writing in Political Science (POLISCI 302) was developed as part of a larger, department-wide effort to improve student writing that began in 2008. The institution conducted a series of Writing Matters workshops where faculty members from all four colleges collaborated on the development of a rubric to assess student writing. Departments were then charged with reviewing their writing requirements and developing discipline specific writing guidelines. Our department created a set of departmental writing guidelines that included the expectation that all of our courses included at least one writing assignment. Additionally, we created standards for what level of writing should be expected at each level (first year, second year, etc.) and adopted a modified version of the Writing Matters rubric for our department. Finally, we agreed to develop a course with a specific focus on writing in the discipline. It is important to note that this was a long and often difficult process. Two concerns were raised by faculty members in the department. First was the issue of losing control of one s freedom to design a course if all faculty members were required to include writing assignments. However, given that there was considerable latitude as to what form the writing would take and that most people already assigned writing in all of their classes, this did not become a major roadblock. The second issue, are we as political scientists qualified to teach writing and should we be required to teach writing, posed a greater challenge. After much spirited discussion and a better definition of what the course would do, it was approved and became a required course for all of our majors in 2010. The course has the following objectives: 1) Students will develop a solid, introductory foundation for writing in the discipline of Political Science 6
2) Students will apply the library research skills acquired in Political Science 101 to course activities and assignments 3) Students will apply the research methods skills acquired in Political Science 301 to course activities and assignments 4) Students will engage in various forms of disciplinary writing (e.g. critical essays, reviews of scholarly research, policy analysis) 5) Students will write a formal research paper To meet the course objectives, students are exposed to various forms of disciplinary writing and are required to complete several writing exercises including peer evaluations and critical analyses of scholarly work. In addition to writing the formal research paper, students must also present it to the class and at a poster session where department faculty members are in attendance. A graduate student writing tutor is assigned to the class. She attends each class, participates in class exercises, provides some lectures, and edits student work prior to submission (if requested). In reviewing the course subsequent to its first offerings, there are ongoing discussions related to assessment of the course objectives as well as its placement in the sequence of required courses for majors. In the area of assessment of student learning objectives, there are plans to embed assessments into various assignments as well as to develop schemes to assess learning in the Introduction to Political Science course as applied in the Writing course. As designed, the course was meant to follow the required research methods course. Students were to prepare a research design in the methods course and then complete the project in the writing course. For a number of reasons, this is being reconsidered and it is likely that the order of the two courses will be reversed so that students complete the writing course prior to the research methods course. Early student and faculty feedback on the course has been positive. Clearly the course aligns with several of the LEAP essential learning outcomes including written and oral communication skills, critical thinking, and information literacy. 7
Pre-Law Learning Community The university introduced learning communities approximately eight years ago. Five years ago the political science department proposed a learning community for pre-law students. In its current form, the Legal Eagles Learning Community is focused on both pre-law and criminal justice. (This change was made to meet enrollment targets for learning communities.) First year students in the learning community live together, take three courses per semester together, and participate in outside activities as a group. These are all meant to promote greater student interaction and engagement with their classmates as well as with their professors. Learning communities have been shown to improve retention from the first to second year. As is illustrated in Table 2 students enrolled in learning communities have higher retention rates. This is true for learning communities overall and for the Legal Eagles Learning Community specifically. In two of the three years where data are available, first to second year retention for Legal Eagles was approximately 10 percent higher than non learning community participants and four to five percent higher than all learning community students. In 2010, Legal Eagle retention dropped significantly. Some reasons for such a precipitous drop in 2010 include the fact that two students were forced to leave campus for financial reasons and three were academically dismissed after the first semester. Given that fall 2011 to spring 2012 retention was 100 percent, we expect the first to second year retention to be back in the same range as 2008 and 2009. TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE First year students in the Legal Eagles Learning Community participate in a number of shared learning experiences throughout their first year and are invited to participate in a multigenerational mock trial course in the spring. During the fall semester, students are enrolled in Law and Society (a political science course), Global Perspectives (a general education required 8
course), and New Student Seminar (a one credit, first year seminar). In addition to their courses, students visit the federal courthouse in Chicago and meet with an assistant district attorney from Walworth County, Wisconsin and a local police officer. The first year students are also given the opportunity to interact with Legal Eagles from previous years. Beyond informal exchanges, more senior Legal Eagles are asked to meet with the first year students to speak about their experiences in internships and other professional settings (such as working as community service officers in the local police department). In the spring, students take Introduction to Criminal Justice (a sociology course), Individual and Society (a general education required course), and Mock Trial. The mock trial is the cornerstone of the Legal Eagles Learning Community. In addition to the first year students it also includes Legal Eagles from prior classes who are invited to participate as mentors to the first year students. We believe that this multigenerational approach is one of the ways that this community stands apart from learning communities on our campus and nationally. The first year students are able to gain valuable advice and mentorship from students who are interested in similar areas. This translates into advice about courses, LSAT preparation, internships, and many other items. The more senior students take a leadership role in the mock trial. Students learn important lessons in teamwork and collaboration as well as a better knowledge of the legal system. Also, because the mock trial includes students at all levels, it is possible to provide a more intellectually stimulating experience than if only first year students were participating. The more senior students, many having completed several constitutional law courses, are able to make more sophisticated legal arguments and submit written briefs that first year students would not be able to do on their own. To accommodate the students more interested in criminal justice, the mock trial includes an 9
investigation phase as well as the trial phase. Students assuming the role of investigators are responsible for interviewing witnesses and providing investigatory assistance to the prosecution. Demand for the course has grown to the point that non-legal Eagles are asking to participate and in spring 2012 it was necessary to have two separate trials. At the present time this is a onecredit course, but there is discussion of either increasing the credits or offering two distinct sections of the course. While mock trial is the most prominent feature of the learning community, there are other aspects of the community that are emblematic of the benefits of high impact practices. The fact that first year students have significant interaction in their classes as well as in a residential setting means that students develop bonds with each other that help the transition from high school to college. That these bonds go beyond the social to include career and professional interests is an added value. Their new student seminar is designed with their career and professional interests in mind and guest speakers and career and internship presentations are directed at those interests. The community coordinator is the chair of the political science department and the pre-law advisor teaches the Law and Society course. These individuals also team-direct the mock trial. The two sociology courses in the community are taught by a criminologist and a forensics expert. The students in the community are able to interact with these people in a way that first year students not enrolled in the learning community are unable to. Retention studies have shown that this level of interaction with faculty members leads to higher retention among first year students. As these communities become more institutionalized through growth and greater support, it is expected that their impact on retention, student engagement, and success will increase. 10
TABLE 3 ABOUT HERE For the first time, in fall 2011, a survey of learning community students was completed at the end of the semester. The results of that survey for all learning community students as well as the Legal Eagles specifically are presented in Table 3. The survey was designed to measure participant satisfaction in several areas that are considered important components of the learning community experience. In the university experiences section which included items on interactions with faculty and staff, interactions with other students, sense of connectedness to the campus, and interest in continuing at UW-Whitewater, the mean responses were generally 3.0 or higher (on a four point scale with four being strongly agree). In the academics section, the lowest mean was 3.11 and the highest was 3.63. The questions in this section measured satisfaction with gaining a better understanding of your major and seeing the connectedness of various courses. The structure of the Legal Eagles and the inclusion of the pre-law advisor and political science department chair as major parts of the program clearly provide students with an introduction to their major that should lead to greater feelings of connectedness. The living section is where the Legal Eagles did most poorly. Only five of the group s 20 participants lived in the same residence hall. This has to do with recruitment and room assignment obstacles. The responses in this section reflect these issues. On time management students were asked whether the learning community improved their time management skills and improved their ability to prioritize and coordinate multiple tasks. The mean on all three items was above 3.0. This is an area that is stressed in their new student seminar course but also in mock trial. Students also responded very positively to the career aspect of the learning community experience. The mean response for whether the learning community helped in developing career 11
skills and enhanced knowledge of career options was approximately 3.4. Given that there is a career component to the community in general and in the first year seminar in particular, this result is not surprising. In regard to overall satisfaction, the mean response for general overall satisfaction and recommending a learning community to a friend was over 3.5. On most of the measures (excluding the living component), the Legal Eagles community scored higher than learning communities in general. Again, this is likely attributable to the high level of faculty interaction in our community. In many of the other communities, students do not have the same opportunities to interact with faculty in their chosen majors. Additionally, given this community s career/major focus, students are exposed to more experiences tied directly to their planned major and career through guest speakers, meetings with other students (including former members of the learning community), and field trips. The learning community program plans to continue using this survey each fall and spring to provide consistent feedback from students on their community as well as to direct programmatic changes. Internships When discussing high impact practices, it is likely that internships are one of the earliest examples. While many of the other items identified as high impact practices such as learning communities and first year seminars are more recent phenomena, internships have been an important part of the college experience for decades. Our department regularly places approximately 50 students per year in political, legal, governmental and business-related internships (see Table 4). The program serves political science majors as well as public administration majors and legal studies minors. Internships are required for students in the public administration and legal studies programs. The department s internship program benefits 12
from Whitewater s proximity to the state capital in Madison, Wisconsin and the state s largest city, Milwaukee, as well as a strong network of alumni working in government and in the legal profession. TABLE 4 ABOUT HERE In addition to the expectations of the internship site, students are required to complete certain academic requirements. Students earn one credit of internship per 50 hours of time spent at the internship. They also must submit weekly reports that include a time long and summary of activity. At the end of the internship, the student is required to write a paper on the internship experience. The challenges to a successful internship program often include providing meaningful internship experiences to students who are not interested in a more traditional internship with a political campaign or with a local attorney and continually expanding the number of sites that will host interns as well as the fact that the students are not compensated for their time as interns. Recent examples of non-traditional internships include students who completed internships with Ballotopedia (a collaborative online encyclopedia on politics) and at a nearby dairy farm (working on OSHA compliance issues). As our programs have grown, particularly the legal studies minor, it has become more difficult to meet the demand for placements. While local judges, district attorneys and court clerks are always open to additional students, placements at law firms have been difficult given their preference for law school students and their reticence to expose undergraduates to their work. However, it is a rarity that a student is not placed in an internship when she/he requests a placement and meets the necessary requirements. The lack of compensation is another hurdle for our internship program. Given that most of our placements are in the public sector, it is not surprising that they are unpaid. In fact, it is likely that most 13
placements would decline to participate in our program should payment be required. However, given that many students travel 30-60 minutes each way to internship sites, the fact that the internships are unpaid can be a burden for some students. Even with these challenges, however, the program continues to thrive and provide our students with meaningful experiential and integrative learning opportunities. In the department s most recent five year review, a majority of students reported in their exit survey that they were pleased with the internship opportunities provided by the department. Discussion As the discussion of each high impact practice has suggested, there are many reasons for the department to be pleased with their integration into the program and curriculum. Both longstanding programs and the newer ones receive strong support from students. Students in the Introduction to Political Science course and the Legal Eagles Learning Community rate these experiences highly. On most measures, students in the Legal Eagles community rated their community experience more favorably that the mean scores for all learning communities. Additionally, Legal Eagles had higher first to second year retention for two out of the three years than both the campus as a whole and other learning communities specifically. However, it is essential to look beyond student satisfaction when measuring the success of programs. Clearly, the higher retention rate for the learning community is a strong assessment measure. Should the 2011-2012 rate rebound from the disappointing 2010-2011 rate and remain consistent for a few more years, one could comfortably state that this particular community has a persistent and positive impact on retention. It will also be interesting to look at four, five and six year graduation rates for students in the community. This year will be the first chance to review 14
four year rates for the first class of Legal Eagles. In regard to the two courses identified as high impact practices, it is going to be important to develop meaningful assessment of learning outcomes to measure whether the courses are meeting their stated objectives and that there is the application of skills learned in the first class in the second class. Student performance in internships is assessed by both the academic supervisor and the professional supervisor. The evaluation submitted by the professional supervisor is in the form of a letter that addresses specific items. This measures student performance more so than student learning however. The department needs to move toward a more systematic method of assessing student learning in a professional setting. Overall, then, the department has been successful in implementing LEAP high impact practices into its curriculum and program. Its assessment of these programs has been less successful, in part because the two courses are relatively new and the Legal Eagles learning community is part of a campus wide program and assessing the program is the purview of others. The department feels strongly that once more assessment is completed, the perceived success of these programs will be confirmed. 15
Works Cited College learning for the new global century. American Association of Colleges and Universities. 2007. Kuh, George. High impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. American Association of Colleges and Universities. 2008. Taking responsibility for the quality of the baccalaureate degree. American Association of Colleges and Universities. 2004. 16
Table 1. Political Science 101 Course Evaluation 1. I found meeting department faculty & learning about their teaching & research interests to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 40% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 53% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 4% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 0% No response 2% 2. I found learning about the academic requirements/programs (such as Honors, Complementary Minors, Certificate Programs) for Political Science majors to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 57% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 40% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 2% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 0% 3. I found the session at the UW-W library to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 13% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 36% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 45% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 6% 4. I found the session on academic advising & academic planning (university requirements, college degree requirements, degree planning guide, four year planning guide) to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 60% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 26% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 13% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 2% 5. I found the session on internships (internship requirements, opportunities, student presentations) to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 53% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 38% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 0% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 4% No response 4% 17
6. I found the session on study abroad/travel study and undergraduate research to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 32% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 36% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 21% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 6% No response 4% 7. I found the session on career services and its programs to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 28% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 60% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 6% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 2% No response 4% 8. Overall, I found this course to be a. Very valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 43% b. Valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 40% c. Minimally valuable to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 15% d. Not valuable at all to my understanding of the Political Science program at UW-W. 0% No response 2% 18
Table 2. Year One to Year Two Retention Rates Year Retention Year One to Year Two Non LC Participants Retention Year One to Year Two LC Participants Retention Year One to Year Two Legal Eagles 2008 77.0% 84.0% 88.2% 2009 77.3% 81.7% 86.4% 2010 76.2% 78.3% 55.6% 2011 (fall only) 100% 19
Table 3. Fall 2011 Learning Community Survey Mean Responses: All Communities (1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Somewhat Disagree; 3 = Somewhat Agree; 4 = Strongly Agree Mean Responses: Legal Eagles (1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Somewhat Disagree; 3 = Somewhat Agree; 4 = Strongly Agree Satisfaction with LC Experiences: All Communities Legal Eagles Overall satisfaction with your learning community experience Satisfaction with the social activities in your learning community 3.31 3.53 3.12 3.47 Would you recommend joining a Learning Community to a friend or prospective student 3.41 3.58 University Experiences: All Communities Legal Eagles My participation in a learning community has improved my sense of belonging in the UWW 3.3 3.32 My participation in a learning community has improved my opportunity to interact with UWW faculty and staff 3.28 3.53 My participation in a learning community has improved my sense of social support at UWW 3.29 3.37 My participation in a learning community has improved my interest in continuing my education at UWW 3.39 3.68 20
My participation in a learning community has improved my adjustment to academic challenges 3.21 3.21 My participation in a learning community has improved the overall quality of my experiences at UWW 3.23 3.21 My participation in a learning community has improved my connections to other clubs and university activities 2.82 2.89 My participation in a learning community has improved my awareness of resources on campus 3.33 3.37 My participation in a learning community has improved my ability to get to know students who have similar interests 3.4 3.61 My participation in a learning community has improved my opportunities to become more involved in community activities 3.08 2.9 My participation in a learning community has improved my communication with professors 3.11 3.37 My participation in a learning community has improved my participation in study groups My participation in a learning community has improved my knowledge of issues and problems facing the world 2.93 3.16 2.8 2.89 21
Learning Experiences Academic: All Communities Legal Eagles My involvement in a learning community has helped me see connections in my classes 3.17 3.37 My involvement in a learning community has helped me see connections between my personal experiences and class learning 3.08 3.16 My involvement in a learning community has helped me better understand the nature of my anticipated major 3.19 3.63 My involvement in a learning community has helped me apply what I learn to real world problems 2.96 3.11 My involvement in a learning community has helped me find support for helping my learning 3.17 3.16 My involvement in a learning community has helped me improve my study skills 3.05 3.21 Leaning Experiences Living: All Communities Legal Eagles My learning community living experience helped me get to know students who have similar interests 3.14 1.32 My learning community living experience helped me adjust to the university environment 3.02 1 My learning community living experience helped me become more active in LC activities 2.86 1.25 22
My learning community living experience helped me participate in study groups My learning community living experience helped me form close friendships 2.65 1.25 3.07 1.25 Time Management: All Communities Legal Eagles My learning community experience improved my ability to manage my time effectively 2.97 3.11 My learning community experience improved my ability to prioritize tasks to be performed for a project 3.02 3.05 My learning community experience improved my ability to coordinate multiple tasks or projects 3.02 3.11 Career: All Communities Legal Eagles My learning community experience helped me develop or improve skills that are needed for my future career 3.04 3.37 My learning community experience enhanced my knowledge of career choices and options in my anticipated discipline or field of study 3.11 3.42 23
Table 4. Number of students enrolled in for-credit Political Science Internships Calendar Year Total 2001 61 2002 59 2003 47 2004 53 2005 68 2006 55 2007 44 2008 57 2009 42 2010 44 2011 62 24