ICAN Informed Consent - English

Dear Parent/Guardian: 
 

This school year, Minnesota West Community and Technical College is working with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) on the Increasing College Access Network (ICAN) project. The ICAN project gave college instructors training and guidance on how their teaching practices can help to develop students’ “growth mindsets,” or their belief that they can grow their ability to succeed in school. AIR is studying the impact of online dual-enrollment courses on student outcomes including attendance, course grades, grade point average, and growth mindsets.  

Your child has been chosen to participate in the ICAN study because they are signing up for an online dual-enrollment course with a college instructor who received ICAN training. The purpose of this letter is to ask for your permission for your child to be included in the following activities for the ICAN study: 

• Taking two, 20-minute surveys, one at the beginning and one at the end of the semester 

• Collecting information from the college related to attendance, course grades, grade point average, and background information (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender).  

• For about 12 of the nearly 120 students in the study this semester, taking part in a 45-minute focus group toward the end of the course 

Your child’s participation in the study is completely voluntary. They may skip any question or withdraw at any time. The information we collect for this study will provide valuable input about students’ beliefs and attitudes about school in general and about their Online dual-enrollment course. This information may influence the training that their college instructors receive in the future and improve the quality of instruction. Your child will receive a $25 Amazon gift card each time they complete a survey or focus group as a token of appreciation. Additional information about the study is provided in the permission form. 

After discussing this study with your child, we would appreciate if you and your child would read, sign, and return the attached consent form to the school proctor at your earliest convenience.   

We hope that you will allow your child to participate in this very important study. 

Sincerely, 

Kristina Zeiser, Study Director 

American Institutes for Research 

Purpose. This school year, Minnesota West Community and Technical College is working with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) on the Increasing College Access Network (ICAN) project. The ICAN project gave college instructors training and guidance on how their teaching practices can help to develop students’ “growth mindsets,” or their belief that they can grow their ability to succeed in school. AIR is studying the impact of online dual-enrollment courses on student outcomes including attendance, course grades, grade point average, and growth mindsets. 
 

Procedures. For the study, AIR will ask students to complete a 20-minute online survey at the beginning and the end of the online dual-enrollment course. The survey will ask about students’ beliefs and attitudes about school and their dual enrollment course. Toward the end of the semester, AIR also will conduct a 45-minute focus group with about 12 of the nearly 120 students in the study this semester to learn more about their experiences in their online dual enrollment courses. AIR will audio-record focus groups to make sure that their notes are correct. As a token of appreciation for their time, each student will receive a $25 Amazon gift card each time they complete a survey or focus group (the student survey will ask students to provide their college email address that AIR will use to send them a $25 gift card). Finally, the study team will receive information from the colleges related to attendance, course grades, grade-point average, and student background information (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity). 
 

Confidentiality and Privacy. The study team will collect students’ college email address only to distribute gift cards for participating in the surveys and focus groups. Individual student responses to surveys will never be shared with school personnel, college personnel, or anyone outside the study team. All information collected for this study will be stored securely and used only for this study. The study reports will summarize findings across all students.  
 

Risks and Discomfort. Whenever personal information is collected, there is some risk that that the information may be lost or stolen. We keep this risk small by using strict data security practices.  
 

Benefits. Students will have the chance to share valuable input about their experiences in school and in their online dual-enrollment courses. This information may influence the training that their college instructors receive in the future and improve the quality of instruction. In addition, students’ participation in the study will contribute to research evidence about whether and how online dual enrollment courses help students’ college and career readiness and growth mindsets. 
 

Freedom to Withdraw.  Participation in the research study is completely voluntary. Students may choose not to answer any question, and a parent or student may choose to stop participating in the study at any time without penalty. 
 

Future Use of Information. No additional information will be collected or shared for research purposes without additional informed consent. 
 

More Information. If you would like more information about this study, you may contact Kristina Zeiser, the Project Director, at AIR at 202.403.6320 or kzeiser@air.org. If you have concerns or questions about your or your students’ rights as a research participant, please contact AIR’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is responsible for the protection of project participants, at IRB@air.org or toll free at 800.634.0797.