In partnership with RMC Research, Denver, Colorado, the Correctional Education Association, Elkridge, Maryland, and |
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____________________________________________________ This page lists updates for Year 4 of the IES grant, July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011. Year 4 is the third year of data collection and the final year of this project. For Year 1 information, click here. For Year 2 information, click here. For Year 3 information, click here. For an updated Project Summary, click here. For a Project Update, click here. ______________________________________________________ July 9, 2010 Northstar has just returned from the CEA International Summer Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas where they presented on the first year's results from the study. Cohort 2 data collection has just been analyzed and will be ready for distribution within the next several weeks. Data collection for Cohort 3, the final year, will begin August 30 and extend into early October. The schedule for fall site visits can be found here. All seven states are preparing for the fall 2010 semester. MATC classes begin August 31. Registration is now open through August 13. Northstar will be conducting data collection this fall:
August 30, 2010 Wisconsin and Tennessee have withdrawn from the study. Iowa, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Nevada remain for this third and final year of data collection. The research team extends its gratitude to these five states for their faithful contributions. October 6, 2010 Northstar has completed data collection at all 36 remaining prisons. Fall pre-testing and surveys were administered. Several sites participated in recorded focus groups. One more round of data collection visits remains in spring 2011. Preliminary work has begun on the final report which will detail all findings. Once spring data collection is complete, the team will finalize the report and submit it to various periodicals for publication. December 1, 2010 MATC has recently shown interest in improving their services to sites which receive their courses (intervention sites). Bi-weekly calls involving the entire research team (CEA, RMC, Northstar) and MATC administration are addressing such issues as bookstore procedures, teacher-responsivity, transcript requests, general operations, and quality concerns. Additionally, Northstar is now conducting post-release interviews with both Cohorts 1 and 2 gathering data regarding achievement motivation, continuing education, and employment obtainment and retention. January 6, 2011 Spring data collection is just around the corner. Sites are being asked to confirm the travel schedule for Northstar's final visit. All three cohorts (all three years of students) will be post-tested if they are still available. RMC will commence final analyses of data in early May once they have received all spring data. Additionally, Northstar is conducting post-release interviews with both cohorts 1 and 2. Approximately 450 students in the study have been released from these two cohorts. Locating former offenders is challenging. Students are being asked about their continuing education, current employment, and several questions about the quality and applicability of postsecondary programming in the prisons. March 8, 2011 Spring data collection is almost underway. All three cohorts (all three years of students) will be post-tested if they are still available. RMC will commence final analyses of data in early May once they have received all spring data.
Spring data collection includes observing college courses in session at selected case sites; interviewing site coordinators; conducting focus groups, surveys, and post-tests with students. Northstar will be meeting with representatives from the five states remaining in the study in late March at the CEA Forum in Annapolis, Maryland. May 19, 2011 Spring data collection is complete. RMC is compiling and analyzing all data for the three cohorts. Cohort 1 and 2 qualitative analysis is complete. Quantitative data for these two cohorts is nearly complete. Integrated cohort data sets have been developed and the final report for all three years of the study will be completed January 2012. State-specific reports will be delivered to state- and site-level administrators, including descriptive information about students, instructional program characteristics, and student and institutional outcomes using quantitative data from the student survey and CAAP Critical Thinking test. Final follow-up telephone interviews with released inmates will be conducted by Northstar. |