Search

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was one of many universities that adopted a test-optional admissions policy for the Fall 2021 incoming cohort. However, unlike many institutions that went to test-optional admissions out of necessity, the decision made by IUPUI faculty and administration was thoroughly considered, data driven, and received the support of constituencies throughout the university community. Before that decision was made, staff in the IUPUI Office of Undergraduate Admissions collaborated with staff in the Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support to: scrutinize the validity of standardized tests for the purposes of admissions; conduct analyses to understand the broader impacts of test-optional admissions; and communicate findings and plans to relevant stakeholders. The process IUPUI followed could serve as a model for other institutions considering adopting test-optional admissions on a permanent basis.

This study examines the use of individual development plans (IDPs) in a structured mentoring program as an effective mechanism for reducing identity-related anxiety for underrepresented trainees and increasing their learner agency. Social cognitive theory served to provide the theoretical framework for our implementation of IDPs and our investigation of the effects of completing IDPs on trainees attaining academic goals and subsequent success in enrolling in competitive PhD programs. Results suggest that IDPs are also an effective tool that can allow faculty mentors to provide the social support necessary for trainees to persist in accomplishing their short- and long-term learning goals. Additionally, trainee self-agency, in the use of the IDP and mentoring, seemed to provide an alternative narrative to ability as a sole predictor of STEM achievement. We also found that IDPs helped foster social support networks, providing stability, predictability, and a sense of belonging. Specifically, IDPs helped foster the emotional and informational support necessary for trainees to persist, despite obstacles, as they strived to attain their learning goals.

This article describes how a large Institutional Research and Decision Support (IRDS) office engaged in efforts to promote culturally responsive and inclusive institutional research (IR) practices that take into account the increasingly diverse student, faculty, and staff populations we serve. We describe how we developed a diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) strategic plan that addressed the following: (a) ensuring our Mission Statement reflects our commitment to diversity; (b) applying an equity lens to our work; (c) supporting campus-wide D.E.I. efforts while helping the campus live out a commitment to D.E.I.; (d) implementing internal office practices to support the recruitment and retention of a diverse team; and (e) ensuring IR professionals have access to and opportunities to learn about current trends in equity and inclusion. Our approach was guided by Kendi's conceptualization of antiracism, and we examine how we have opportunities to make antiracist decisions in various aspects of our work, including how we frame IR, analyze and label data, and interpret results given local contexts and structural inequities.

Purpose: Medications are commonly used during pregnancy to manage pre‐existing conditions and conditions that arise during pregnancy. However, not all medications are safe to use in pregnancy. This study utilized privacy‐preserving record linkage (PPRL) to examine medications dispensed under the national Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to pregnant women in Western Australia (WA) overall and by medication safety category. Methods: In this retrospective, cross‐sectional, population‐based study, state perinatal records (Midwives Notification Scheme) were linked with national PBS dispensing data using PPRL. Live and stillborn neonates born between 2012 and 2019 in WA were included. The proportion of pregnancies during which the mother was dispensed a PBS medication was calculated, overall and by medication safety category. Factors associated with PBS medication dispensing were examined using logistic regression. Results: PPRL linkage identified matching records for 97.4% of women with perinatal records. A total of 271 739 pregnancies were identified, with 158 585 (58.4%) pregnancies involving the dispensing of at least one PBS medication. Category A medications (those considered safe in pregnancy) were the most commonly dispensed (n = 119 126, 43.8%) followed by B3 (n = 51 135, 18.8%) and B1 (n = 42 388, 15.6%) medication (those with unknown safety). Over the study period, the dispensing of PBS medications in pregnancy increased (OR: 1.06, 95%CI: 1.06, 1.07). The strongest predictor of medication dispensing in pregnancy was pre‐pregnancy dispensing (OR: 3.61, 95%CI: 3.54, 3.68). Other factors associated with medication use in pregnancy were smoking, older maternal age, obesity, and prior pregnancies. Conclusion: Privacy preserving record linkage provides a way to link cross‐jurisdictional data while preserving patient confidentiality and data security. The dispensing of PBS medication in pregnancy was common and increased over time, with approximately 60% of women dispensed at least one medication during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good assessment is part of all good learning communities, and this article provides a useful set of best practices for learning community assessment planning: (1) articulating agreed-upon learning community program goals; (2) identifying the purpose of assessment (e.g., summative or formative); (3) employing qualitative and quantitative assessment methods for assessing the most critical outcomes for administrative and instructional team-member decision making processes; (4) employing indirect and direct measures of student learning; and (5) ensuring that assessment results are used and that campus decision makers are equipped with the information required to create high-quality learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of all students. [This article was originally published in: "Journal of Learning Communities Research," 5(1) April 2010.]

National attention is focused on the persistent high failure rates for students enrolled in math courses, and the search for strategies to change these outcomes is on. This study used a mixed-method research design to assess the effectiveness of a learning community course designed to improve the math performance levels of firstyear students. Results suggested that investing resources into learning community programs that help students meet collegiate-level math course demands helps promote academic success in math courses and eases students' college transitions. Participants in the math learning communities reported significantly higher rates of using academic supports, engaging in campus activities, and understanding general education learning outcomes compared to a quasi-control group of students enrolled in the same math courses. Math learning community participants enrolled in introductory algebra courses had higher levels of math performance compared to nonparticipants. [This article was originally published in: "Journal of Learning Communities Research," 5(1). (April 2010).]

Students often participate in a myriad of academic support programs offered during the first year of college. This study is an investigation of the effects of participation in multiple high-impact educational practices on academic success outcomes (cumulative GPAs and persistence rates) among 2,028 first-year students. Results suggest that the synergy of multiple high-impact practices (HIPs; e.g., first-year seminar, learning community with service-learning experiences) contributes to students' academic success more than HIPs in isolation or no participation. Findings also suggest that participation in a summer bridge program, designed to create readiness for HIPs, enhanced the effectiveness of the experiences. Results from an instrumental variable (IV) analysis indicated that the positive outcomes associated with participation in the summer bridge-HIPs intervention were not completely explained by self-selection bias.

This conceptual model emerged from the need to balance multiple purposes and perspectives associated with developing an ePortfolio designed to promote student development and success. A comprehensive review of literature from various disciplines, theoretical frameworks, and scholarship, including self-authorship, reflection, ePortfolio pedagogy, and the psychology of hope and goal setting, set the groundwork for the model. The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis ePortfolio includes 4 domains: (a) increasing understanding of self and others, (b) setting self-concordant goals, (c) developing hope, and (d) shaping education and career plans with a focus on facilitating students' ability to integrate learning to promote meaning making and the development of purpose.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the underlying non-cognitive processes and institutional factors that allowed first-year students to enact effective strategies for attaining academic success and persisting despite obstacles. The varying levels of academic preparation and unique obstacles faced by the student participants allowed for us to employ a constant comparative approach in analyzing the results. A core story of hopeful thinking emerged which interacted with four major themes including: a) generating alternative pathways when encountering obstacles to social and academic integration, b) goal setting and planning, c) active use of peer and academic supports, and d) experiencing a positive institutional context. While this study confirms research about what factors predict the success of students coping with difficult transitions, it also provides new insights. Results suggest that academic hope is an important theoretical framework to guide future research and practice in the area of student retention.

The present research examined the extent to which pre-college characteristics, high school experiences, college expectations, and initial enrollment characteristics were related to graduation from college. Data from admission applications, the "ACT Compass" survey, and initial enrollment measures for Fall 2004 and Fall 2005 first-time students were analyzed. Because almost one-third of the students had missing data, multiple imputation procedures were utilized. Results revealed that several measures of student characteristics, high school experiences, college expectations, and initial enrollment characteristics were consistently related to degree attainment. Other variables were related to a single degree-attainment measure. These results demonstrated that pre-matriculation data can be used to identify at-risk students, identify risk factors, and provide institution-specific benchmarks for evaluating efforts to improve degree attainment.

This study investigated the effects of career development courses on career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE), college adjustment, learning integration, academic achievement, and retention among undecided undergraduates. It also investigated the effects of course format on career decision-making abilities and academic success outcomes and whether CDMSE significantly predicted academic success outcomes among students in the career courses. Results indicated that students reported significantly more adaptive self-efficacy beliefs in all five efficacy domains, college adjustment, and learning integration following the theory-based career courses. Undecided students enrolled in career courses had significantly higher retention rates and GPAs than a comparison group of undecided students not enrolled in career courses. Course format did not appear to have a significant impact on outcomes. The CDMSE domains of self-appraisal, planning, and problem solving significantly positively predicted levels of college adjustment. The domains of planning and problem solving significantly positively predicted levels of learning integration. (Contains 6 tables.)

The widespread popularity of programs for first-year students is due, in large part, to studies showing that participation in first-year programs is significantly related to students' academic success. Because students choose to participate in first-year programs, self-selection effects prevent researchers from making causal claims about the outcomes of those programs. The present research examined the effects on first-semester grades of students participating in themed learning communities at a research university in the Midwest. Results indicated that membership in themed learning communities was positively associated with higher grade point averages, even after controlling for entering ability, application date, gender, and first-generation/low-income status. However, when instrumental variables were introduced to account for self-selection, the effects of themed learning communities on grades were not statistically significant. The results have implications for campus leaders and assessment practitioners who are working to develop methods for understanding the effects of programs designed to enhance the undergraduate educational experiences on their campuses.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) uses a suite of assessment tools to guide and reinforce a cycle of activities that creates an institutional culture of planning and decision making based on evidence. This cycle includes institutional planning (goal setting), implementation of plans, assessment of outcomes, use of findings to improve processes, and then adjustment of plans to reflect progress or lack thereof. Among the surveys used is the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). In this chapter, the authors expand on this cyclical model and illustrate how student engagement data can be used in addressing external requirements for accreditation and accountability and internal needs for strategic planning and program assessment. (Contains 1 figure.)

Many colleges offer a summer bridge program and even more offer learning communities for first-year students. Few, however, link these initiatives. This article will offer brief descriptions of IUPUI's successful bridge, learning community, and themed learning community (TLC) initiatives; examine the links between them; and share assessment data, concentrating on students who are involved in all three initiatives.

This chapter describes how an action research framework facilitates using evaluation and assessment results to improve programs and demonstrate institutional effectiveness. (Contains 1 table.)

Aim: To describe clinical characteristics, outcomes and causes of microcephaly in children whose condition was identified within the first year of life. Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of microcephalic children born between 2008 and 2018 and admitted for any reason during the same period to a tertiary paediatric hospital. Microcephaly was defined as occipitofrontal circumference (OFC) more than two standard deviations below the mean (>−2 SD). Results: Between January 2008 and September 2018, 1083 medical records were retrieved. Of the children, 886 were ineligible and 197 were confirmed cases of microcephaly. Of cases, 73 (37%) had primary microcephaly (at birth) and 72 (37%) had severe microcephaly (OFC > −3 SD). Of microcephalic children, 192 (98%) had congenital anomalies, of whom 93% had major anomalies, mostly cardiovascular or musculoskeletal. Neurological signs or symptoms were reported in 148 (75%), seizures being the most common. Of the 139 children with abnormal central nervous system (CNS) imaging, one or more structural brain abnormalities were identified in 124 (89%). Failure to reach developmental milestones was observed in 69%, visual impairment in 41% and cerebral palsy in 13%. Microcephaly was idiopathic in 51% and 24% had diagnosed genetic disorders. There was no association between developmental outcomes or structural brain anomalies and severity of microcephaly or timing of diagnosis. Conclusion: Our results suggest the need for a systematic investigative approach to diagnosis, including a careful history, examination, genetic testing and neuroimaging, to determine the underlying cause of microcephaly, identify co‐morbidities, predict prognosis and guide genetic counselling and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Babies who are conceived by in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection are twice as likely to have a birth defect as babies conceived naturally. In a study in Western Australia, 9% of the babies conceived by in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection had a birth defect compared to 4% of babies conceived naturally.