Reining in student comments: a model for categorising and studying online student comments

A growing body of research has investigated the comments by students on websites that offer evaluations of college faculty. This corpus includes both quantitative and qualitative studies that each use a different scheme for classifying/analysing student comments, which makes the comparison of findings across studies impossible. The present study used a grounded theory method to develop a model for classifying the content of student comments on faculty rating sites that can be applied across studies. The multi‐dimensional nature of the model allows for the representation of the interconnected nature of the topics addressed by students in their comments and allows for comments to be categorised with varying degrees of specificity. Future research is needed to test the validity of the model for addressing various research questions.     

The Relationship Between Institutional Mission and Students' Involvement and Educational Outcomes

Although institutional characteristics are assumed to influence student learning and intellectual development, this link has not been confirmed empirically. This study examined whether institutional mission, as represented by Carnegie classification, is related to student learning and development. After controlling for student background characteristics, no meaningful differences were found in students' perceptions of the college environment, levels of academic and social involvement, integration of information, or educational outcomes by Carnegie classification.     

Examining the Relationship between Student Learning and Persistence

Using data from the 2006 cohort of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, we examined the relationships between three approaches to measuring student learning outcomes (direct-assessment learning gains, self-reported gains, and college grades) and student persistence from the first to second year. Results from a series of logistic regressions indicated that students’ grade-point averages had the largest explanatory power in student persistence, followed by self-reported gains. Direct-assessment learning gains had the least power in explaining persistence. The findings have implications for the national conversation on student success in college.