Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Project and Consortium

Uses of UCUES

SERU Home | SERU Consortium & AAU Invitation | SERU Research Team | SERU Project Summary | UCUES | UCUES Data | Reports & Papers | In the News

CSHE > Research > The Research University > SERU > UCUES > Uses of UCUES

The UCUES instruments and methodology have enabled construction of key indices of student engagement and satisfaction, whose full use depends on an ongoing survey process and the continued tracking of those who participated in the initial administration. It also requires financial support for analytical work that furthers institutional needs and promotes scholarship.

Already, UCUES has been integrated into policy discussions at the University of California. Our hope is to soon expand and bolster scholarly use of UCUES both through the larger SERU project, and through collaborations with interested faculty and other academics.

Institutional Research

The following provides an outline of current and potential institutional uses of UCUES data.

• Campus and Departmental Accreditation: UCUES data and findings were recently integrated into the WASC accreditation of the Berkeley campus. We sense that UCUES, if continued, will provide an integral part of all UC campus accreditation visits.

• Academic Department Program Review: A proposal at the Berkeley campus advocates integrating UCUES into academic department and program reviews.

• Analysis of Admissions Policy and Outcomes: UCUES data can prove valuable in assessing campus admissions processes. The University of California’s admissions committee (the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools) has noted interest in a study using UCUES to assess student academic engagement in relation to admissions policies, and a similar study will likely be pursued by the Berkeley campus’ admissions committee.

• Information Source for Student Orientation: UCLA has used UCUES data and findings in freshman and transfer student orientation to show the characteristics of those who succeed academically at the campus, e.g., the relation of time spent studying to university grades.

• A Resource for Reflection and Discussion Among Facially and Administrators: UCUES data have been presented to a wide variety of forums and consultations at both campus and systemwide levels. Such presentations have helped advance reflection on institutional issues and on the ways campus policies intersect with the student experience.

We anticipate that UCUES and the larger SERU project will have other important uses within the University of California, and for broader studies on the nature and future of undergraduate education within research and comprehensive universities. The project may provide important information and analysis useful for the following policy areas:

• An Assessment of University Undergraduate Education Objectives and Student Experiences,
• The Use and Efficiencies of Instructional Technologies,
  Campus Climate,
• Analysis of Student Services,
• Institutional Research,
• Development of New Accountability Measures.

Scholarly Research

As noted, a major objective of the larger SERU project is to develop collaborative research projects involving academic and institutional researchers, and utilizing UCUES data and sample surveys. SERU offers a research design (including the four research domains) and on-line survey infrastructure that can support innovative research on the undergraduate experience and education.

The purpose of the SERU Project, which shapes the content of UCUES, is to develop a scholarly research agenda. Preliminary discussions with interested scholars and institutional research directors have identified the following policy areas for research under the umbrella of SERU:

• Understanding the relationship of demography to campus cleavages – race, class, ethnicity, gender.
• Examining and interpreting civic engagement among today’s students.
• Student satisfaction and learning experiences by major.
• Experience and success of transfer students.
• Student political interests.
• Uses of IT.