The Division of Student Affairs at New York City’s Ivy League school has selected Slover Linett to conduct a study of the experience of undergraduate students enrolled in Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The research, which is being commissioned for the Center for Student Advising, will look at how Columbia can provide students with the guidance and support to pursue their passions.

The assessment will involve both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the initial phase of the project, we will analyze survey data already collected by the Division of Student Affairs on the undergraduate experience and the role of the CSA. These findings will be examined by key student demographics in order to understand how students’ needs and experiences vary.

That analysis will inform the second phase of the assessment: a qualitative exploration of the student experience in the form of focus group discussions. This qualitative research will delve into how students identify and pursue their academic and life passions, and to what extent they consider the CSA a trusted source of support in those endeavors.

Slover Linett’s work for Columbia will be led by Bill Hayward, who directs the firm’s higher education practice, and will involve a team of researchers from the firm. “We’ve studied issues of student engagement with a variety of academic and co-curricular services at different kinds of universities,” Hayward notes. “But this is a particularly exciting ‘deep dive’ into the extremely important area of academic advising. The Division of Student Affairs has in place a thoughtful assessment plan for the advising office, and we’re very pleased to be collaborating with such a forward-looking group at a truly great university.”

For more information about our work with Columbia University, please contact Bill Hayward by email or at (773) 348-9215.
 

Category: Higher education