What Are The Three Forms Or Components Of The CPQ And How Do They Work Together?
Our interviews and searches of the literature led us to develop a retention instrument with three components or forms.
The Student Background Information Form provides useful demographic data (e.g., sex, ethnicity) and poses questions that have been associated with attrition at a number of schools. For example, students indicate their parents’ level of education and their academic goals in attending your college or university. Schools may want to add information from the student database, such as high school grades and standardized test scores, to the Student Background Information Form.
The Student Experiences Form is the most important part of the CPQ. As the name implies the Experiences Form assesses the student’s reaction to the collegiate academic and social environments. It measures a wide array of undergraduates’ opinions. These range from their views of the quality of instruction to their assessment of campus social life. Version 2.0 consists of the following ten scales: Institutional Commitment, Academic Integration, Financial Strain, Social Integration, Degree Commitment, Collegiate Stress, Advising, Scholastic Conscientiousness, Academic Motivation, and Academic Efficacy. These indices correspond to variables which the research literature has identified as prominently influencing students’ decisions to continue or discontinue their education. The CPQ scales were generated from a series of psychometric investigations involving more than 6000 students.
The Institution Specific Form was developed because we recognize that no questionnaire can cover all the factors which affect retention at your school. Your staff, faculty, and administrators have a special knowledge of your students that no one else possesses. Institution specific items are suggested by advisors, faculty and policy makers at schools using the CPQ. Students’ responses to these questions may be used along with other CPQ factors to identify at-risk students.
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