Citation
Arcario, P., Clark, J., & Klages, M. (2007). Developing core skills in the major. In M. Smith & B. Williams (Eds.), Learning communities and student affairs: Partnering for powerful learning. Olympia, WA: Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, Evergreen State College.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of participation in one of three first-year academies (Allied Health, Business/Technology, or Liberal Arts) on course failure rates and course attrition rates at LaGuardia Community College in New York City.
- The study design was unclear: the authors might have used a pre-post design or a simple mean comparison. The authors did not specify the data source.
- The study found that failure rates in basic skills and discipline-area courses declined by 7.7 percent for academy students, and attrition in basic skills and discipline-area courses declined by 8 percent for academy students. The authors did not report information on the statistical significance of these findings.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not establish that there were no observable differences between the treatment and comparison groups at baseline nor did they adjust for any differences. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to first-year academies. Other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
First-Year Academies
Features of the Intervention
New York City’s LaGuardia Community College offered three first-year academies to basic skills students (the college later expanded the program to all students). Students chose to participate in one of three academies based on their majors: the Allied Health Academy, the Business/Technology Academy, or the Liberal Arts Academy. The first-year academies’ goals were to (1) contextualize basic skills instruction; (2) include co-curricular experiences; (3) foster a sense of community; and (4) provide a framework for advisement, orientation, and professional development activities. Incoming academy students received orientation and advising and attended special registration sessions. During the school year, academy students took a new student seminar and a cooperative education course, received specialized advising, and attended events organized by their academy.
Features of the Study
The empirical strategy was unclear: the authors might have used a pre-post design or a simple mean comparison. The authors did not specify the data source but it appears to be school administrative data from four semesters (2004–2006). The study did not provide information on the number of participants, eligibility criteria, or demographic characteristics. In addition, the authors did not discuss how they formed the treatment and comparison groups.
Findings
- The study found that failure rates in basic skills and discipline-area courses declined by 7.7 percent for academy students.
- Attrition in basic skills and discipline-area courses declined by 8 percent for academy students.
- The authors did not report information on the statistical significance of these findings.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
It is unclear if the results for the outcomes of interest involved a comparison group; they could be results from a pre-post contrast. If a comparison group was involved, the study was unclear whether the group was composed of LaGuardia Community College students who were not first-year academy students or all LaGuardia Community College students.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not establish that there were no observable differences between the treatment and comparison groups at baseline nor did they adjust for any differences. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to first-year academies. Other factors are likely to have contributed.