Research & Evaluation
Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) is committed to conducting extensive, ongoing research and evaluation in support of systemically improving instruction and smoothing the transition from high school to post-secondary education.
What Research Do We Do & Why Do We Do It?
Through regular evaluation efforts, our research and evaluation team collects and compiles information about what students, teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and faculty think about their experiences with SUPA. We collect information by sending surveys out to our constituents and compiling the feedback into reports.
These reports help us assess different aspects of SUPA such as:
- Teacher performance
- Courses
- Recognition results for credit-transfer requests
- Summer professional development seminars for teachers
- How SUPA graduates’ concurrent enrollment experiences compare with their current university courses
- Overall effectiveness of our programs and services
We analyze all of these results to continuously improve our programs and maintain our long tradition of providing students with the opportunity to earn university credit for coursework completed during high school.
A Comprehensive Suite of Evaluations & Studies
Course Evaluations. Every fall and spring, we request that students evaluate their instructors, the courses (its materials, text, structure, content, etc.), and their own engagement and effort.
Post-Graduate Evaluations. Once a year, we send surveys to our most recently graduated high school students who took an SU course(s) through SUPA. These surveys request that students share their current academic status, whether they attempted to gain recognition for their SU coursework, and the results of any such attempts. We also ask about their overall learning experiences in SUPA.
Student Impact Study. Every five years we send targeted surveys to students who are four years past the date when they took their last SU course through SUPA and whom we anticipate are close to completing university (or have already done so) by the time the surveys reach them. These surveys request that students share their current academic/vocational status and future plans; the results of any recognition requests they made for their SU credits; how taking an SU course through SUPA influenced their academic skills and success in college; and their overall perceptions of their SUPA experiences.
Teacher/Administrator Impact Study. Every five years we send out targeted surveys to teachers, principals, and guidance staff from schools that participate in SUPA. We ask each constituent group about their perspectives on the impact SUPA has on their schools, their students, and their jobs. In particular, we ask them about its influence on curriculum, teaching, advising, and student preparation for college, as well as their overall experiences working with SUPA.
