Need Institutional Partners

The DETA Research Center has several studies in which we are looking for institutional partners for a fall data collection. Interested in being a DETA Partner? The data collection consists of DETA gathering institutionally warehoused data, most likely from your student information system, and the administration of a survey to your blended, online, or competency-based education students. Please complete this form to show your interest.

Requirements

1) First key aim of the DETA Center is to obtain needed student information from a Data Collection Site to administer a student survey to better understand student success in distance education. In order to accomplish this, the Data Collection Site (DCS) should do the following:

  • Identify a project liaison.
  • Provide an academic calendar which would include course start, course end, drop deadline, student break, and grade release dates.
  • Identify the student information data gatekeeper at your institution to acquire access to the data.
  • Identify distance education courses. Many institutions already have a special code for these courses.
  • Provide a list of students enrolled in those courses (after the institutionally determined “drop date”), including the corresponding distance education Course Name, Course Code, Course Mode, and Student Identifier (e.g., student email) from the student information system in one file. A sample excel file can be provided.
  • Ensure that the coding, definitions, and data align with DETA’s Research Toolkit codebook descriptions.

2) Second key aim of the DETA Center is to deliver the student survey in order to collect student survey data during the current semester. In order to accomplish this and ensure a good return rate, the DCS should do the following:

  • Develop a communication plan (i.e., plans for how to communicate to students to increase rate of survey completion).
  • Assist the DETA staff in administering survey as needed. Coordinate communication to students from faculty.

3) Third key aim of the DETA Center is to obtain needed student demographic and performance data for matching with survey data and cross-institutional analysis. In order to accomplish this, the DCS should do the following:

In a second excel file after the end of the term, provide:

  • Student identifiers (e.g., student email address) to facilitate a matching process with student information system data (institutional warehoused) and student survey response data
  • Student demographics [e.g., gender, age, race/ethnicity, first generation status, pell grant eligibility, disability status (if available), cumaltive GPA, cumulative credits earned] from the student information system to ensure demographics of interest are addressed and accurate for analysis
  • Student outcomes (e.g., course grade, course completion) from the student information system aligning with the student and course for analysis
  • Ensure that the coding, definitions, and data align with DETA’s codebook descriptions

Note:

1.) Student identifiers, email addresses, will be removed and the data will be scrubbed for identifying information once student survey data and institutional warehoused data (demographics and grade data) are merged.

2.) We have data collection procedures in place. You will receive an institutional identifier/code.  This will be sent to us in your data file.  There will be institutional identifying data associated with your student data.  It will be scrubbed and be anonymous.

3.)  We will not analyze your institution’s data.  We can provide you with a data set for your own analysis.  Data will only be analyzed in aggregate forms across institutions.  We would never share any findings specific to your organization.