Astin’s (1993) “inputs-environments-outcomes” (I-E-O) college impact model provides the conceptual framework for the NSLLP. The model holds that pre-college inputs and elements of the college environment interact to produce a range of outcomes (students’ characteristics after exposure to college).
The constructs of interest for the NSLLP include:
Inputs
Demographic/background
High school achievement
Environments
Individual college characteristics
Peer interactions
Faculty interactions
Residence hall resources
Residence hall climate
Diversity interactions and climate
Co-curricular involvement
Time spent on activities
Future activities
Outcomes
Transition to college
Intellectual abilities
Intellectual growth
Self-confidence
Diversity
Civic engagement
Alcohol use/behaviors
Alcohol-related experiences
Satisfaction and sense of belonging
Academic achievement and retention
Tracing a specific outcome to an environmental factor is complicated by the wide variety of students’ pre-college experiences. The NSLLP controls for this confounding information to determine the relative contribution of the LLP environment in generating student outcomes.