No abstract

Campus-specific trend data can provide unique perspectives and guide programming efforts. These trends suggest a need for new intervention strategies on this campus.

Dose--response experiments are crucial in biomedical studies. There are usually multiple objectives in such experiments and among the goals is the estimation of several percentiles on the dose--response curve. Here we present the first non-parametric adaptive design approach to estimate several percentiles simultaneously via generalized Pólya urns. Theoretical properties of these designs are investigated and their performance is gaged by the locally compound optimal designs. As an example, we re-investigated a psychophysical experiment where one of the goals was to estimate the three quartiles. We show that these multiple-objective adaptive designs are more efficient than the original single-objective adaptive design targeting the median only. We also show that urn designs which target the optimal designs are slightly more efficient than those which target the desired percentiles directly. Guidelines are given as to when to use which type of design. Overall we are pleased with the efficiency results and hope compound adaptive designs proposed in this work or their variants may prove to be a viable non-parametric alternative in multiple-objective dose--response studies.

In 2007 Southern Connecticut State University initiated a comprehensive First-Year Experience program to promote student engagement, improve academic competencies, and boost retention rates. The program included a revamped orientation, mandatory learning communities, increased academic support, and increased campus involvement. While all students participated in these components, only 50 percent of students were enrolled in a first-year seminar. Seminar participants demonstrated significantly higher rates of retention, higher GPAs, and more credits earned than nonseminar students. These effects were still evident after three years. This study identified a psychological-educational factor—future orientation—as an important factor for explaining the difference in outcomes.

In 2007 Southern Connecticut State University initiated a comprehensive First-Year Experience program to promote student engagement, improve academic competencies, and boost retention rates. The program included a revamped orientation, mandatory learning communities, increased academic support, and increased campus involvement. While all students participated in these components, only 50 percent of students were enrolled in a first-year seminar. Seminar participants demonstrated significantly higher rates of retention, higher GPAs, and more credits earned than nonseminar students. These effects were still evident after three years. This study identified a psychological-educational factor—future orientation—as an important factor for explaining the difference in outcomes.