data) under-prepared, and 50 percent required remediation in three subject areas. The 2004 cohort improved, with 80.7 percent requiring remediation and 37 percent in three subject areas.

Data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Noel-Levitz College Student Inventory (CSI) provide useful information also suggesting some of the reasons for lower student performance. The results from the 2007 NSSE survey show that on average KSU students spent less than 11 - 15 hours per week studying. In 2003 and 2004, they devoted even less time. It has been a long accepted rule of thumb among faculty that a student should spend 2-3 hours preparing for class for each credit hour. Another indicator of insufficient student engagement with campus academic life is excessive absenteeism. Faculty report that it is the single greatest factor which contributes to poor academic performance. A random survey of attendance in developmental and gateway mathematics classes, for example, reveals that students who receive a grade below "C" usually have unexcused absences three to four times that set by University policy and published in the KSU Catalogue. Why students do not spend more time studying or have excessive absences has a complex answer. Not all of the reasons for students spending insufficient time on or in classes can necessarily be attributed to aversion to studying. The NSSE results reveal that KSU students, freshman and seniors, spend considerably more time than the average NSSE student in providing care for dependents who live with them (whether children, parents, an injured or sick spouse), in commuting to class, and working.

The comprehensive CSI Summary and Planning Reports for fall 2004 through spring 2008 (received by the UNV 101 Coordinator) provide important summaries of the self-reported information shared by the KSU freshmen enrolled in the UNV 101 course. For evaluation purposes, the CSI Summary and Planning Reports for eight semesters were combined to present the percentile scores for 20 factors; the first data presented on the CSI Summary and Planning Report are the scores on four factors labeled "Summary Observations." These scores are derived from the students' responses on other CSI factors, or scales, combined with the demographic information students provide on the survey. The four factors are: (1) Dropout Proneness, (2) Predicted Academic Difficulty, (3) Educational Stress, and (4) Receptivity to Institutional Help. The "Summary Observations" factors are provided to help university staff members identify students who are in serious Educational Stress and in particular need of academic assistance. Each Report actually includes a list of students with a Dropout Proneness score of 65 or higher who are identified as "Students with High Dropout Proneness." The average score for the 456 males at KSU who completed either version of the CSI between Fall 04 and Spring 08 is over 65 – which means that these young men have a greater risk of dropping out of college than 65% of the other young men who completed the CSI across the U.S. during that same period. The scores for young women at KSU were near the national average of 50%, indicating no significant risk, and were not included in the table. Not surprisingly, these young men also report greater Educational Stress than approximately 62% of similar young men across the nation or scales, for the approximately 1,100 KSU freshmen who completed the CSI. The good news is that KSU students report a high level of openness to help. The factor on which the scores of the 1,100 KSU freshmen consistently exceeded the national norm is Receptivity to Personal Counseling. These students are more interested in receiving counseling in personal matters than about 63 percent of the 93,000 students nationwide who completed the CSI—with the young men's scores exceeding those of the young women. This implies that many of the young men and women, who enter the University, come with the realization that they have stressful issues and that someone might be able to help them.

Students leave for personal (sociological/psychological) reasons in addition to academic and

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