Entering Students Assessment (ODU TCI)
After more than 10 years of development and testing with thousands of students, the developers of the Transition to College Inventory (TCI) invite other institutions to use the TCI to identify and treat first-year students at risk for academic difficulty and subsequent attrition.
The Transition to College Inventory (TCI) is a noncognitive measure designed to enhance the predictions of academic performance based only on cognitive (high school GPA, SAT / ACT scores) and demographic (gender, race, first-generation) factors. The TCI is a self-report of attitudes, personality characteristics, and behaviors while in high school, along with predictions about performance and involvement in college. Incoming first-year students complete the TCI as part of the new student orientation process.
Responses to the TCI are analyzed to produce scores along the following factors:
- College Involvement - the extent to which students intend to actively participate in a variety of in- and out-of-class activities and experiences during college.
- Influences on College Choice - how important a variety of external factors, people, and college characteristics were in making the decision to enter this particular college.
- Student Role Commitment - the extent to which the student ascribes to behaviors and attitudes associated with being successful in college.
- Athletic Orientation - the student's intention to devote a significant amount of time to organized sports and/or a personal exercise program while in college.
- Personal / Academic Concerns - the extent to which the student expresses a variety of personal and academic concerns that can interfere with their success in college.
- Self-confidence - the student's level of confidence in a variety of academic and personal skills and abilities.
- Institutional Commitment - the extent to which the student is committed to attending and graduating from this particular institution.
- Socializing Orientation - the student's inclination to participate in social activities of the type and to the extent that they could negatively affect his/her academic performance.
- Independent Activity Focus - the student's inclination to participate in activities and pastimes that do not involve active interaction with others.
Certain scores on these factors are affiliated with higher levels of risk for students finishing their first semester at Old Dominion University in academic difficulty (<2.0 GPA). Individual scores can be used to inform discussions between students and advisors when planning the student's academic career
Contact
If you would like further information, please contact Megan Corbett.