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Annotated Bibliography Co-curricular Transcripts

Benefits of Student Involvement


Astin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal
of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529.
Astin defines student involvement as the amount of physical and psychological energy
that a student devotes to the academic experience, and includes time spent studying, interacting
with faculty and participating in student organizations as examples of this involvement. The
author contends that faculty members should not treat a student as a black box with inputs and
outputs, but instead should stimulate student involvement in the learning process to increase the
energy they expend. The most finite resource students have is time, therefore, administrators and
faculty must find ways to get students to devote their limited resource to their academic
experience. How they use their time is important, as students who spend all of their time on
academics succeed academically, but do not develop personally or grow friendships on campus.
Astin concludes that the more effort and time students allocate to the university experience, the
greater their learning and student development. Administrators and faculty should create an
environment that fosters both academic and extracurricular involvement in campus life.
Zacherman, A., & Foubert, J . (2014). The Relationship Between Engagement in Cocurricular
Activities and Academic Performance: Exploring Gender Differences. Journal of Student
Affairs Research and Practice, 157-169. doi:10.1515/jsarp-2014-0016
The authors of this study recognized that previous research showed that students who
were involved in campus activities outside of the classroom performed better academically than
students who did not. However, there was limited research on the effects of over-involvement.
The researchers also noted that previous studies had shown the curvilinear effect employment
while in school had on the students GPA. There was a positive increase in GPA for students
working up to 15 hours per week, but a decrease in GPA for students working over 30 hours per
week. Zacherman & Foubert used a random sample of 20% of respondents to the 2006 National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in an attempt to see if: 1) successively higher numbers of
hours per week involved in cocurricular activities have a significant relationship with
undergraduate GPA, and 2) if men and women differ in the pattern of their relationship between
involvement and GPA. They found that students who participated in 1-5 hours of cocurricular
activities had an increased GPA of approximately 0.1/4.0, but that the relationship was
curvilinear and that involvement of more than approximately 20 hours per week was more
detrimental than no involvement at all. Zacherman & Foubert also found that both male and
female students saw similar increases from 0-5 hours of involvement, but that over involvement
had a more drastic negative affect on male students than female. A major limitation of this study
is that GPA was based on students responses to the NSSE survey question What have most of
your grades been at this institution up till now?, which is vague and self-reported, meaning that
students may have mis-reported their GPA.
Co-curricular learning
Foubert, J . D., & Grainger, L. U. (2006). Effects of Involvement in Clubs and Organizations on
the Psychosocial Development of First-Year and Senior College Students. NASPA
Journal, 43(1), 166-182.
The researchers of this study used Chickering and Reissers seven vectors to examine the
connections between a students level of club or organization involvement and their psychosocial
development. Chickering and Reissers seven vectors are: developing competence, managing
emotions, moving through autonomy toward interdependence, developing mature interpersonal
relationships, establishing identity, establishing and clarifying purpose, and developing integrity.
Foubert & Grainger had students complete self-assessments at the start of their freshman year,
start of their sophomore year and end of their senior year. They found that students who were
active organization members or leaders had significantly higher psychosocial development by
their senior year in comparison to peers who were not involved. Particular areas of improvement
were purpose, educational involvement, career planning, life management and cultural
participation. The authors conclude that the findings show the importance of making these types
of opportunities available to students.
Kuh, G. D. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student
learning and personal development. The Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123-155.
Kuh idendified that previous studies confirmed that college graduates see many benefits
in increased knowledge in many academic and social skills from in and out of class activities. He
notes that little research existed on which types of extracurricular activities have a larger
contribution to skill development. He seeks to answer the question through a series of qualitative
interviews with graduates from eight institutions. Respondents identified out-of-classroom
experiences that required them to use leadership and organizational skills as most beneficial
(such as leading student government or organizations), followed by interacting with peers
(increasing interpersonal competence, humanitarianism and cognitive complexity) and academic-
related activities (applying classroom knowledge to real world experiences). Kuh concludes that
future employment opportunities will require interpersonal skills (communication, leadership
skills, teamwork) and out-of-classroom experiences provide the opportunities to build those
types of skills. Colleges should create conditions that promote out-of-classroom activities and
encourage students to participate.


Kuh, G. D. (2009). What Student Affairs Professionals Need to Know About Student
Engagement. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 683-706.
Kuh begins by stating that student engagement is related to the time and energy that
students expend on activities in college and how the institution gets students involved in these
activities. He references several studies that show that students who are more engaged have
better rates of persistence, development of psychosocial skills, and higher GPAs, amongst other
factors. Kuh summarizes a large amount of previous research and states that it shows that
students who are more engaged, particularly students who are less prepared for college, will have
a better college experience if they are engaged in campus activties. He also asserts that students
who work up to 10 hours per week on campus have a higher self-reported GPA. The author then
presents five questions he believes still need to be researched, including: How do institutions
increase the number of students engaging in programs? How do we engage students involved in
online learning? How do institutions benchmark and assess the benefits of engagement? The
author concludes with some observations on who is resposible for increasing this engagement
and finds that academic and student affairs professionals need to work together to develop
involved curriculums, but that students also need to take a lead and see the benefits of their own
involvement.
Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J ., & Gonyea, R. M. (2008). Unmasking the effects
of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of
Higher Education, 79(5), 540-563.
The authors of this study used student engagement as a key component of determining
first-year students anticipated grades and whether or not they continued to their sophomore year.
Student engagement was measured through results taken from students who responded to
questions in the NSSE survey from 18 different institutions and included time spent studying and
time spent participating in co-curricular activities. Kuh et al found that student engagement in
educationally purposeful campus activities had a net effect of raising a students GPA by
0.04/4.0. They also found that engagement had a more positive effect on raising GPAs of
students who entered college with lower standardized test scores and had a higher effect on
raising GPAs of Hispanic students. The authors also found that students who engaged in
educationally purposeful activities were more likely to persist to their second year of studies at
that institution.
Involvement and Sense of Belonging
O'Keeffe, P. (2013). A sense of belonging: improving student retention. College Student Journal,
47(4), 605-614.
OKeeffe starts by identifying that current attrition rates for first year students at
American universities is between 30-50%. The cost of non-completion is felt by institutions,
governments and the students themselves. He mentions that ethnic minorities, students with
disabilities, academically disadvantaged students, students from low socioeconomic status,
probationary students, part-time students and first generation students are at most risk for non-
completion. The author identifies a students sense of belonging on campus as an important
factor in determining their persistence, which he states is the students feeling that the institution
cares about them and their success. To create the sense of belonging and feeling of being cared
for by the institution, OKeeffe recommends that faculty and staff foster positive relationships
and programs that show the institutions concern for the students success.
Tieu, T.-T., Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., Gallander Wintre, M., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., Polivy, J .,
& Adams, G. (2010). Helping out or hanging out: the features of involvement and how it
relates to university adjustment. Higher Education, 60(3), 343-355.
The authors believed that the quality and structure of students extra-curricular activity,
which they defined to be activity that was well organized and had established learning outcomes,
is more significant to student adjustment to campus life and skill development than participating
in unstructured activities. The authors developed an instrument, the Activity Structure Instrument
(ASI) to measure the amount of structure in student activities and hypothesized that student
participation in more structured activities would increase the effectiveness of the transition from
high school to university. The researchers surveyed a group of students at 5 different Canadian
universities in November and March. They found that students who participated in more
structured extra-curricular activities, such as Residence Council or Athletic competitions, were
better able to adjust to university life than students who participated in loosely structured extra-
curricular activities, such as going out dancing and working out in the gym. It was theorised that
students in high quality extra-curricular activities found as much importance in those activities as
they did from classroom activities.
Suggestions of Creating Co-curricular Transcripts
Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J . A. (1996). Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education.
The Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239.
The authors of this study would like to see a reemphasis on the dignity to the scholarship
of service by institutions of higher education, noting that universities have great resources, in
students, faculty, and facilities, that can help enhance learning and improve the communities
around the institutions. They feel that service based learning can take place as curricular and
extracurricular community service activities, which they identify as student organizations,
student leadership groups and campus religious organizations. They note the benefits of
experiential learning and the fact that students can develop skills through their service activities
outside of the classroom. Bringle & Hatcher continue on to propose a Comprehensive Action
Plan on Service Learning in which an entire institution would make a commitment to become
involved in service learning, including the administration, faculty and students. As a way of
recognizing student involvement in activities, they recommend either creating service learning
academic courses, or implementing co-curricular transcripts to record the experiences that would
not be shown on a traditional academic transcript. They also suggest that additional research
should be done on what other student outcomes may come from service experiences.
Gabelnick, F. (1997). Educating a Committed Citizenry. Change, 29(1), 30-35.
The author begins by describing a paradigm shift needed in education in order for the
American education system to build citizenship among graduates. To Gabelnick, a committed
citizenry will be developed by shifting society and universities from a culture of competition to
one of collaboration. The author suggests multiple ways to increase civic values amongst
students, particularly service learning, in which students, together with faculty members, are
involved in projects based around helping the environment or alleviating hunger in their
community. To track the student's involvement, Gabelnick notes that a new concept of a co-
curricular transcript could be utilized. Co-curricular transcripts, she notes, are used at the time by
three small colleges to track how student involvement in civic and social activities are a part of
the student's academic accomplishment. Students gain competencies through this type of
engagement that can be brought to a work situation to create professional achievement, which is
why it should be recorded. She concludes that higher education institutions will build 21
st

century leaders by creating individuals with a civic virtue and social commitment.
Developing Skills Employers Seek
Ellis, M., Kisling, E., & Hackworth, R. G. (2014). Teaching Soft Skills Employers Need.
Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38, 433-453.
doi:10.1080/10668926.2011.567143
The researchers performed an analysis of Office Technology courses offered at South
Carolina Community Colleges (SCCC) and compared the soft skills taught in the courses to the
soft skills employers in the state were seeking in Office Technology courses. It was noted that
many studies showed that employers sought soft skills in addition to hard skills, but that there
was little research to see if those soft skills were being taught. The authors then compare several
studies conducted by researchers, governmental departments and private groups, and found that
all of the studies revealed similar soft skills that were sought: teamwork, interpersonal skills,
communication/language proficiency, self-discipline, problem solving, conflict resolution skills.
It is stated that Community Colleges and Universities serve the role of preparing a workforce to
maintain strong regional and national economies, and that many employers are finding that
current graduates are not prepared to fulfill that role with the shortfall of qualified workers
expected to grow in the future. The researchers conclude that the SCCCs are teaching adequate
soft skills to the graduates of the Office Technology courses.

Kretovics, M. A., & McCambridge, J . A. (1998). Determining what employers really want:
Conducting regional stakeholder focus groups. Journal of Career Planning &
Employment, 58(2), 25-28.
The authors of this study met with employers from manufacturing companies, service-
sector companies, small businesses and large metropolitan area businesses. Through 90 minute
interview sessions, they determined the most important skill employers were looking for are first
off hard technical skills in the chosen field, as shown by coursework or work experience. After
that, employers look for communication skills, teamwork skills, coachability skills, leadership
skills, sales skills, problem-solving skills, organization skills, crisis management skills, and
presentation skills. Employers are also looking for candidates with personality attributes that
show that they are responsible, self-starters, flexible/adaptable, imaginative, change agents,
lifelong learners, motivators, self-confident, street smart and quick thinkers. The authors
conclude that GPA is important, but not the sole factor employers look at when hiring. They also
recommended that campus involvement in student organizations is viewed by employers as an
indicator of a students ability to manage multiple priorities successfully.
Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today's
Workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453-465.
doi:10.1177/1080569912460400
The author identified that prior research showed that employers saw a candidates soft
skill abilities, defined as character traits, attitudes, and behaviorsrather than technical aptitude
or knowledge the intangible, nontechnical, personality-specific skills that determine ones
strengths as a leader, facilitator, mediator, and negotiator, accounted for 75-85% of their
prospect of succeeding in the workplace. This is a shift from hard skills being more important,
which has been caused by the North American economy moving from a manufacturing one to an
information and management one. The researcher asked a group of business executives in his
community to list soft skills that they deemed important in employees. After compiling a list of
skills and grouping them in to like categories, a second survey was sent to the same executive
asking them to rank their top 10 soft skills sought using a 5 point Likert scale. The executives
ranked the skills as such: Communication, Courtesy, Flexibility, Integrity, Interpersonal Skills,
Positive Attitude, Professionalism, Responsibility, Teamwork, and Work Ethic. Robles
concludes that hard skills will get a graduate an interview, but soft skills will allow them to keep
the job. Currently most employers surveyed in other research stated that recent graduates do not
possess the required soft skills. The author believes Higher Education Institutions need to do a
better job of preparing graduates with these soft skills.



Velasco, M. S. (2012). More than just good grades: candidates' perceptions about the skills and
attributes employers seek in new graduates. Journal of Business Economics and
Management, 13(3), 499-517. doi:10.3846/16111699.2011.620150
The author of this study surveyed recent graduates in Spain and asked them what skills
they believed their first employer after graduation was looking for in them. The respondents self-
reported that the skills/attributes their employers sought included enthusiasm/hard-working,
positive personality, interpersonal abilities/teamwork, work ethic/integrity, and
computer/technical literacy. Good academic qualifications and knowledge of own field were
ranked 6
th
and 7
th
, respectively. Velasco identified that these results were similar to results found
in surveys of employers on the same subject.


















Works Cited
Adams, S. (2013, October 11). The 10 Skills Employers Want in 20-something Employees. Forbes
Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills-
employers-most-want-in-20-something-employees/
Astin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of
College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529.
Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education. The Journal of
Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239.
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2013). Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements
Through 2020. Washington: Georgetown University. Retrieved from
cew.georgetown.edu/recovery2020
Ellis, M., Kisling, E., & Hackworth, R. G. (2014). Teaching Soft Skills Employers Need. Community College
Journal of Research and Practice, 38, 433-453. doi:10.1080/10668926.2011.567143
Foubert, J. D., & Grainger, L. U. (2006). Effects of Involvement in Clubs and Organizations on the
Psychosocial Development of First-Year and Senior College Students. NASPA Journal, 43(1), 166-
182.
Gabelnick, F. (1997). Educating a Committed Citizenry. Change, 29(1), 30-35.
King, J. M., & Anderson, D. M. (2004). A Practitioner's Guide to a Learning-Centered Co-Curricular
Activities Program. College Student Affairs Journal, 24(1), 91-100.
Kretovics, M. A., & McCambridge, J. A. (1998). Determining what employers really want: Conducting
regional stakeholder focus groups. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, 58(2), 25-28.
Kuh, G. D. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and
personal development. The Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123-155.
Kuh, G. D. (2009). What Student Affairs Professionals Need to Know About Student Engagement. Journal
of College Student Development, 50(6), 683-706.
Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M. (2008). Unmasking the effects of student
engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5),
540-563.
National Center for Educational Statistics. (2012). Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
(IPEDS), Fall 2001 and Spring 2007 through Spring 2012, Graduation Rates component.
Washington: U.S. Department of Education.
O'Keeffe, P. (2013). A sense of belonging: improving student retention. College Student Journal, 47(4),
605-614.
Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today's Workplace.
Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453-465. doi:10.1177/1080569912460400
States News Service. (2012, September 14). Campus Engagement Network COUGSYNC Tops 11,000
Users. Pullman, WA, USA. Retrieved from
http://www.lexisnexis.com.mutex.gmu.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=56K7-PH11-
DYTH-G0XN&csi=8058&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true
Tieu, T.-T., Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., Gallander Wintre, M., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., Polivy, J., & Adams, G.
(2010). Helping out or hanging out: the features of involvement and how it relates to university
adjustment. Higher Education, 60(3), 343-355.
Velasco, M. S. (2012). More than just good grades: candidates' perceptions about the skills and
attributes employers seek in new graduates. Journal of Business Economics and Management,
13(3), 499-517. doi:10.3846/16111699.2011.620150
Zacherman, A., & Foubert, J. (2014). The Relationship Between Engagement in Cocurricular Activities
and Academic Performance: Exploring Gender Differences. Journal of Student Affairs Research
and Practice, 157-169. doi:10.1515/jsarp-2014-0016

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