Southwest Tennessee Community College Entering Students to be Surveyed on College Experience

[Memphis, TN]—What constitutes quality in the community college experience? Research shows that for many groups of students, the more actively engaged they are, the more likely they are to learn, to persist with their studies, and to attain their academic goals. Student engagement, therefore, is a valuable measure for assessing the quality of colleges' educational practices and identifying ways they can help more students succeed. Southwest Tennessee Community College is joining in this effort.

Beginning in mid-September, students in randomly selected classes at Southwest and many other community colleges across the nation will have the chance to share their views by participating in the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). The survey generally takes 45 minutes to complete. Survey items focus on students' first impressions of the college with "front-door" experiences like registration, assessment, and orientation; the nature and quality of their earliest interactions with instructors, advisors, and other students; and how the college supports their learning in the first few weeks of the term. Results from the survey will be used to help Southwest understand students' critical early experiences and improve institutional practices that affect student success in the first college year.

Additional information about SENSE is available at www.enteringstudent.org. To speak with the SENSE representative at Southwest, contact Dr. Cynthia Calhoun, Executive Director, Student Retention and Graduation, 901-333-5950, ccalhoun@southwest.tn.edu.

###