What is the College Success Factors Index (CSFI)?
The College Success Factors Index (CSFI) is a survey that a student takes to assess their patterns of behavior and attitudes in areas that have been proven by research to effect student outcomes for success in higher education. These areas include:

1. Responsibility vs. Control
2. Competition
3. Task Precision
4. Expectations
5. Wellness
6. Time Management
7. College Involvement
8. Family Involvement

Where can I learn more about the test?
The full test, the description of the eight factors that the test is based on, the background of how the test was constructed, bio of the authors, the schools currently using the test, and the schools in the norm group can all be found through the links on the left. Click on any of these links to find

You may also want to attend an online training session for the CSFI and other Wadsworth College Success resources. To find a list of dates and times for our online training, please click here.

How long has the test been around?
The test was created 12 years ago by Ed Hallberg, Kaylene Hallberg, and Loren Sauer and has been used by hundreds of schools around the country in various departments such as Counseling Services, Career Services, and College Success programs.

How will the CSFI website help both higher education institutions and their students?
There are two ways that the CSFI can help schools and students: (1) Professors and schools are always asking for statistics that prove that the college success course is making a difference. When the school has the students take the assessment twice in a year, they can build those statistics at their own school. (2) Students want to know what they need to do to succeed in college. If students can take a scientifically, validated assessment that shows them exactly what areas they need to work on to succeed as compared with other students, they are more than likely to take the correct steps to succeed.

How can a school or student receive a password for the test?
Students can purchase a password with any new Wadsworth textbook to gain access to the CSFI test. Instructors can receive their school's password through their local Wadsworth representative. *The CSFI must be ordered when you order the class textbooks.

How do instructors and schools get a student's results?
Schools or instructors who order the test will register on our website and set-up their own access password so that they can run reports that show an individual student's score, a course's score, or the score for the entire school.

Is the assessment correlated with our books?
Yes, the eight factors are correlated to the following Wadsworth College Success books:

• Gardner/Jewler: Your College Experience, 8th Edition
• Santrock/Halonen: Your Guide to College Success, 5th edtition
• Wahlstrom/Williams: Learning Success, 3rd Edition.

Can a school get this assessment from other book publishers?
A school cannot bundle this assessment in any form paper or electronic with any other publisher. Wadsworth has the exclusive rights.

What is the advantage of using the website version verses the paper version of the CSFI assessment?
The website version and the paper version are identical in the questions and in how the student is scored. However, there are three main differences: (1) The website is ultimately cheaper for the school to use because the school won't have to purchase a license for the software. (2) The website version is easier to administer because the students can take it at home or in a lab and don't have to take it during class time. (3) The website version provides immediate feedback for both the student and school.

How does this assessment differ from the assessments on Wadsworth's College Success CD-ROMs?
The CSFI differs from the assessments on the CD-ROM in three ways: (1) The self-assessments on the CD-ROM were written to correspond to each of the book's chapters and not according to the major factors that predict success even though some chapters overlap with the factors used in the test. (2) The self-assessments on the CD-ROM are not scored in order to enable a student to see themselves as compared to other students. They only see which exercises in the book would be helpful for them to do. (3) The self-assessments on the CD-ROM do not show schools and instructors the aggregate score for a class or for the entire school. Thus, the self-assessments on the CD-ROM cannot be used to show improvement in the student or retention trends.

What is the difference between the CSFI and a Learning Styles Inventory?
The CSFI is not a Learning Styles Inventory. It does not test on how a student learns, whether they are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc. The CSFI looks at the student characteristics that have been proven to correlate with college success. Ideally, a college success student takes both the CSFI and a Learning Styles Inventory. Another way of looking at the CSFI is that the characteristics being tested are areas that students can improve. A Learning Styles Inventory indicates the natural tendency of a student that will not likely change. For instance, if a student is a visual learner they will not change and become an auditory learner. In contrast, if a student has a problem with being precise with tasks or having internal locus of control, they can learn ways of overcoming these habits and do better in college.

How can I see a demo of the CSFI test?
Click on the section Product Tour for a complete demonstration of the assessment tool and website.

If I have used the assessment last semester but want to use it again this semester, do I have to fill out the instructor registration form again?
No you don't! Simply go to Instructor Login and when you get into the Instructor Central page, click on "Register a class."

I filled out the instructor registration in the past, but I can't remember my username or login, what do I do?
Click here to fill out a password retrieval request form.

Can my students log into the website as many times as they would like?
Yes, they can look at past test scores or access the student advice pages as many times as they like. They can only take the actual assessment twice.

I am not a counselor and don’t know how to address some of these topics, is there any place I can go to get advice?
Yes, when you look at your students’ result graphs, you will find hot links to each of the vectors. Click on each of these links to find campus interventions, counseling interventions, questions to ask your students and steps for improvement for each area.

We also have published a text to accompany the CSFI called Making the Dean's List. Click here for more information on this textbook.

Where can I find answers to questions not listed on this FAQ?
For any additional questions you may have, please e-mail csuccess@wadsworth.com.