writing, and math.
6.20 5.85 / 1.37 0.35 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Table 5.13: AU Students More Satisfied Than Peers With Academic Support Services
2011 Adult Student Priorities Survey
According to the responses in the Fall 2011 Adult Student Priorities Survey, Antioch students are satisfied with the support services they receive. On a 7-point scale, Antioch students rate the importance of academic support services at 6.44, and rate their satisfaction at 5.93. These scores are higher than the national average among adult students (Importance = 6.33, Satisfaction = 5.52), and the gap between importance and satisfaction for Antioch students (0.51) is smaller than that for students nationwide (0.81), which means Antioch students are more satisfied. In addition,Antioch University students have indicated that they receive the help that they need to improve their basic academic skills such as reading, writing, and math
(Table 5.13).
Subcomponent 3.D.3. The institution provides academic advising suited to its programs and the needs of its students.
As a learner-centered institution committed to student achievement, academic advising is a core aspect of faculty engagement in student learning. Academic advising – regardless of location or program – is highly customized, offered in an individualized manner, and faculty members are the primary providers. A student’s advising needs are typically identified both by the faculty advisor and by the students themselves.
The small classroom and faculty-to-student ratio discussed earlier in the chapter and andragogical orientation support frequent
contact between faculty and students. Regardless of program, all students are assigned a faculty advisor who works with them on their study plans and their academic progress. As a baseline, advisors meet with students minimally once per term, but the reality across the programs is that advisors meet with students far more frequently. Program approaches to advising encourage frequent opportunities for students and advisors to meet one-on-one via appointment, or as a result of unscheduled drop-ins. To provide adult learners maximum flexibility that accommodates personal schedules, multiple lifestyles, and divergent work regimes, students also receive advising at a distance via phone/Skype, Google+, email, and the like. Programs also utilize
quarterly lunches, book clubs, community teas, and other informal means of supporting student needs.
Antioch University students are satisfied with the advising they receive. Four questions on the 2011 Adult Student Priorities Survey addressed availability and general advising services. In all of these cases, Antioch University students assigned both greater importance and greater satisfaction to academic advising services than did adult students nationwide(Table 5.14). The gap between these measures is much smaller for Antioch University students than it is for adult students across the country, as well. Our students have confirmed that academic advising is available to them at times and by communication modes that
Antioch University National Adult Students
Item Import Satis / SD Gap Import Satis / SD Gap Mean Difference 8. My academic advisor is
available at times that are
convenient for me. 6.41 5.81 / 1.48 0.60 6.29 5.52 / 1.59 0.77 0.29*** 11. My academic advisor is
concerned about my success as
an individual. 6.64 5.98 / 1.47 0.66 6.37 5.48 / 1.63 0.89 0.50*** 19. My academic advisor
is knowledgeable about
requirements in my major. 6.72 6.13 / 1.32 0.59 6.54 5.77 / 1.48 0.77 0.36*** 28. My academic advisor is
accessible by telephone and
e-mail. 6.56 6.21 / 1.29 0.35 6.44 5.82 / 1.49 0.62 0.39*** Table 5.14: AU Students More Satisfied Than Peers With Academic Advising
2011 Adult Student Priorities Survey
are convenient to them. In addition, because Antioch University advisors are usually Antioch University core faculty, they are knowledgeable about the requirements of the students’ programs and are concerned with their students’ success.
Subcomponent 3.D.4. The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites, museum collections, as appropriate to the institution’s
offerings).
Antioch University provides students and faculty with the infrastructures and resources to support teaching and learning, with some, such as library and clinical practices sites, being strong. The institution’s technological infrastructure is an area of continued attention and investment.
Technological Infrastructure
Antioch University has invested heavily over the past five years to improve the technological infrastructure to support effective teaching and learning. While the actual investment and planning is discussed more fully in Criterion 5, this section
describes the infrastructure and its adequacy as well as plans for improvement.
To support effective teaching and learning, Antioch University provides various software tools and services for student and instructor
use. Sakai is regularly used for course delivery models at Antioch (face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses) including delivering and archiving materials such as readings, links, and media resources, online discussions or group spaces, syllabi and assignment submission.
The AU portal is the primary system for providing a single entry point for access to all resources, including e-communication and the learning management system. The portal also hosts access to various support and training materials available to all students and instructors for Antioch’s technology tools (particularly in the Academic
Technology area). Furthermore, the portal is home to the faculty and student resources, such as the Virtual Writing Center, the IRB process, and Antioch University Library System pages, that provide instant access to writing and research assistance, as
previously discussed.
A variety of web-based applications are in place and available for general communication, as well as class,
administrative, and departmental meetings. These tools include Adobe Connect, Fuze Meeting, Google Apps, and Skype.
The AU Media Server is a secure place to host and share video content for all members of the Antioch learning community. Various other tools are also supported, including library databases, campus-wide wireless networks, computer labs on all campuses, GIS software for environmental
studies students, SPSS statistical software for academic use, technology enabled classrooms, and smart boards.
Library
As already discussed, the Antioch University Library System provides world-class access to academic resources for students and faculty. A full description of the library services such as central catalog, physical and digital holdings, library consortia, and digital document delivery fare presented earlier in this chapter, in the AU Library System Profile, and documented in such evidence as the We Deliver Annual Report AY11-12. As previously discussed, Antioch students and faculty rank the library service very high, as acknowledged in the surveys. There is no question that the AU Library System provides a powerful example that an integrated University improves services to students and is cost efficient.
Clinical Practice Sites
Given that Antioch University is committed to “heightening our students sense of power and purpose as practitioners,” a number of degree programs require clinical placements, as described in the Program Profiles, which are all available in the Virtual Exhibition Hall Electronic Resource Room. Antioch University assures that all students who have required clinical practice, student teaching, and internship and practicum experiences have access to sites that support applied learning experiences for students.
For example, all five campuses have teacher education programs that lead to teacher licensure or certification. These programs arrange for student teaching placements, according to the standards set by state requirements, and in the case of Antioch University Midwest, national accreditation (NCATE/CAEP), as verified in the Listing of Student Teaching Placements.
Another example is in our psychology and counseling programs, all of which require field placements. The programs must ensure that these placements are consistent with the requirements of state boards (such as the Board of Behavioral Science in California) and professional accrediting bodies (such as American Psychological Association and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs), as verified in the Listing of Field Placement Experiences. Several other programs have collaborative relationships that expand the resources available to our students. For example, AU Seattle’s contractual agreements offer students access to expanded course offerings. As presented in the Summary of Learning Collaboratives, the Freehold Theatre provides studio and lab space for students who develop their degree program around the performing arts. In addition, the Pratt Institute provides studio arts space and courses for Antioch University Seattle students.
Each program and Chief Academic Officer is responsible for ensuring that there is adequate oversight of the student
placement offered by that campus, that the student has appropriate supervision during the placement, and that the quality of educational experience meets or exceeds program and University standards. All programs have a designated individual who is responsible for identifying, establishing, and coordinating with the organizations and locations that serve as clinical practice and student teaching sites. Written agreements between Antioch University and the placement sites are signed and responsibilities of both parties are clearly defined. Students consult with their advisors, faculty member, or director of field/student teaching placement regarding the most appropriate site, given students’ interests, professional goals, and skill levels. All student placements are finalized according to the protocol established in the written agreements.
Students are assigned primary field supervisors who meet with the students throughout the placement. Meetings occur on site as well as on campus. In addition, the field supervisors observe students’ performance at the placement site through direct observation, audio or video recordings, review of progress and process notes or records, or by other means deemed appropriate by the supervisor. Antioch University assures that all students conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner and assists in the resolution of any concerns, complaints, or grievances that may emerge during the field experience.
Finally, the sites themselves are reviewed each term for their ability to provide the appropriate levels of professional practice opportunities and supervision. Sites that do not meet Antioch standards for student placement are removed from the list of eligible locations.
Subcomponent 3.D.5. The institution provides to students guidance in the effective use of research and information resources.
Antioch University strives to provide sufficient guidance to students in the effective use of research and information resources through a blend of University- sponsored and campus program-based activities, which are generally led by or offered via the AU Library System and the campus-based librarians.
AU’s Library System ensures that services and resources support the overarching themes of excellence in Antioch’s teaching and learning, heightening students’ capacities as socially engaged scholars, practitioners, and global citizens involved in experiential and transformative learning for professional preparation. To do so means to provide students with information literacy, including the effective use of research and information resources.
AU librarians provide instruction to students to gain fluency in the tools needed to refine research interests, cultivate research skills, locate and evaluate information sources, manage information, and to consider the
social and ethical context of information in society today. Through information literacy instruction, our academic librarians educate students to appraise and understand information critically: its creation, evaluation, ownership, exchange, and organization. This requires varying degrees of critical thinking and comprehension, an ability and willingness on the part of students to seek out, judge, select, and use information resources, and apply those critical skills when developing research methods.
Librarians offer one-on-one research instruction and advising to students. The nature of this instruction varies with campus, degree level, and program. The fullest rendering of the strong presence and significant work of our campus libraries of providing students with instruction is available in the Antioch University Library System Profile.
Guidance and information regarding Fair Use of materials, copyright, and plagiarism can be found on the University portal site or via librarian consultation. Specific training on plagiarism and fair use is also offered in collaboration between the program and the librarian. The University’s Student Academic Integrity Policy (6.105) provides very specific examples of plagiarism violations to guide student work as well. All students are informed about these policies at orientation, and academic integrity is mentioned on every syllabus, along with the URL to the University policies web pages.
As noted previously, the University-wide and campus Institutional Review Boards (IRB) assure that all research involving human participants conducted by Antioch researchers is reviewed and approved to safeguard the rights and welfare of human participants in any research activity. The IRB Policy Manual and application process are available online. In addition, all Principal Investigators and faculty advisors are required to complete training in research ethics process through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) modules.
Component 3.D. Summary Antioch University provides excellent support for student learning and effective teaching. With almost 50 years of serving adult learners, Antioch University understands and accommodates the needs of adult commuter students. Faculty members provide students with highly individualized attention to develop customized learning plans. Strong academic support services are provided to students by the University, coupled with services on site. Our Library System and services are outstanding. In addition, we provide excellent education and support to assure ethical and appropriate research and applied learning experiences for our students. There are some areas in which we can still improve. For example, given our history of semi-autonomous campuses in geographically distant regions, campus variations of support services mean uneven experiences for students. In addition, as we move forward with providing complete online support services, as envisioned in the Road Map, Antioch will need to change some processes and systems to serve all students, anytime and anywhere. But, it will do so while preserving the personalized attention that this institution is known for and that our students expect.