The University of Michigan Arts Engagement Project, 2010-2015 (ICPSR 38842)

Version Date: Feb 22, 2024

Cite this study |

Principal Investigator(s):
Deb Mexicotte, University of Michigan; Gabriel Harp, University of Michigan

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38842.v1

Version V1

Alternate Title

The Arts Engagement Project

Summary

The Arts Engagement Project is a survey of 4,828 undergraduate students conducted at the University of Michigan (U-M) that asked questions about the impacts, precursors, barriers, frequency, and perceptions of co-curricular arts engagement in college. The study followed the students from their entry into the university through their graduation to create a baseline of understanding about the impacts of arts engagement in college at U-M. The Arts Engagement Project data is intended to provide insights for the design of arts-based experiences in higher education, as well as the impacts of the arts on student learning and engagement.

Citation

Mexicotte, Deb, and Harp, Gabriel. The University of Michigan Arts Engagement Project, 2010-2015. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-02-22. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38842.v1

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Funding

National Endowment for the Arts (1809973-38-18), Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (21500635)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2010 -- 2015

Date of Collection

2010-10-26 -- 2013-11-08

Data Collection Notes

Visit the Arts Engagement Project website to learn more about the initial findings from the study.

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Study Purpose

This study looks at arts engagement experiences before, during and after college. The Arts Engagement Project hopes to answer questions about multiple levels of arts engagement such as family arts experiences, high school and college arts participation, arts attendance, and future expectations.

Questions include:

  • Are students engaging in the arts, and at what level?
  • What types of students are engaging in the arts?
  • How do students feel about their arts engagement and what do they get out of it?
  • What do students gain during their 4 years through college arts engagement?
  • What do students expect of their arts experiences at college?
  • Do students engage with the arts to a greater or lesser degree at college vs. high school?
  • How does engagement in the arts at college translate into careers in the arts?
  • What factors make a student more or less likely to engage in the arts in college?
  • What levels of arts participation have what kinds of outcomes (audience vs. art-making, type of arts interest, etc.)?
  • Do students identify themselves as artists?
  • How does participation in the arts contribute to student learning and development outcomes?

Study Design

There are separate cohort surveys with sections reflecting the various research questions to be explored. They also focus on reflections on different parts of the student's life and experience with the arts - stretching from childhood to their future plans about arts engagement.

Many of the sections/modules are repeated, to look at increased or decreased arts participation and how the students' expectations and experiences change over time. Measurements include student learning, development and self-awareness against the Arts at Michigan Learning Outcomes, and are administered in every survey - tracking personal growth over time through self-assessment.

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort / Event-based

Universe

University of Michigan students aged 18 and older

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

administrative records data, survey data

Description of Variables

Demographic information, arts experiences and reflections, anticipated arts participation, personal characteristics, and student learning through participation in the arts.

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Original Release Date

2024-02-22

Version History

2024-02-22 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Created variable labels and/or value labels.
  • Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.