In addition to Hope data and research, we utilize faculty expertise, student researchers and our professional staff to conduct community research consulting with non-profit, for-profit and government organizations. Frost Center is home to Institutional Research, data stewardship and assessment for student learning.

Frost Center is named for Dr. Carl Frost, a leader in applied social science research.

Frost Center History

In the late 1980s and beginning with a gift from the Herman Miller Company, then-President Jacobson proposed an opportunity to strengthen undergraduate social science research at Hope College. This research center would be named for Dr. Carl Frost, a leader in applied social science research known for his work with the Scanlon Plan Associates and participatory management. CEOs of several West Michigan companies, Scanlon Plan members with whom Dr. Frost had worked with, provided their financial support in recognition of the importance of Dr. Frost's work in their businesses and support of undergraduate organizational research in the profit and non-profit sectors. Frost Center for Social Science Research began operations in September of 1990.

Frost Center Colloquia

Frost Center Colloquia provide opportunities for the Hope community to learn about and discuss the most recent data analyses, surveys and other research completed by Frost Center. We invite the community to gather two or three times each semester for data sharing, conversation and discussion of how we can use these results to inform our work and continuous improvement for the benefit of our students. Hope staff and faculty, working in small groups, identify how they can use the information shared that day in their own work, how it can be used to continuously inform decisions that benefit our students and Hope College, and how others at Hope would benefit from receiving the information.

Materials from our most recent Frost Center Colloquia are available below.

Upcoming Frost Center Colloquia

• January 14, 2025 – Roger Baumann, this year's Frost Fellow, will be presenting, "Text as Data in the Social Sciences and Humanities"
• March 5, 2025 – Daryl Van Tongeren and Don Friesner will be presenting " Survey Design: Best Practices and Policies"
• April 2, 2025 – Allison Moore, Director of Assessment and Accreditation, will be presenting

Previous Frost Center Fridays

November 12, 2024	Character Forward Grant Discussion Learn more about Hope’s new Character Forward Grant. We’ll discuss the vision of the 3-year project, the various opportunities for faculty and staff, and how this grant support will strengthen the character development efforts across all parts of our campus community. Character Forward Grant Discussion presentation
September 10, 2024	Understanding the Latina/o/x Student Experience at Hope College and its Impact on Belonging This presentation explored the experiences of Latina/o/x students on our campus, focusing on their sense of belonging. It seeks to answer the question: How do different aspects of the college experience affect the sense of belonging among Latina/o/x students at Hope College? Additionally, it will compare the experiences of three specific groups: international students from Latin America (F1), Latino domestic students who identify racially as White (WI), and Latino domestic students who identify racially as non-White or “other” (NWI). The goal is to understand how and under what circumstances these groups' experiences of belonging differ or remain the same. Understanding the Latina/o/x Student Experience at Hope College and its Impact on Belonging presentation
April 18, 2024	First Year Retention Risk Analysis How do we determine students at risk for attrition before they arrive at campus? We know from existing literature, there are four major risk factors (Academic Risk, Low Income Risk, Minority Risk, and First Generation Risk). The model can help us predict future retention based on incoming class attributes. First Year Retention Risk Analysis presentation
February 1, 2024	Frost’s Future Toward Flourishing How the Frost Center can support your work at Hope and promote college-wide flourishing Frost’s Future Toward Flourishing presentation
November 9, 2023	Building Your Grant Writing Skills Building Your Grant Writing Skills presentation
October 5, 2023	Accelerating Your Scholarly Research Program Accelerating a Scholarly Research Program presentation
September 14, 2023	Frost Center Fellowship Research Colloquia Longitudinal Research and Advanced Functions in Qualtrics Exploring Student Residence Hall Ambiance: Consequences and Typologies
March 10, 2023	Critical Thinking Skills among Hope Students An examination of critical thinking skills of first- and senior-year students using results from the ETS Critical Thinking Assessment and NSSE data. Critical Thinking Skills among Hope Students Presentation Critical Thinking Skills among Hope Students discussion and next steps
November 18, 2022	Hope Student Retention and Persistence Hope Student Retention and Persistence Presentation Hope Student Retention and Persistence discussion and next steps
September 30, 2022	Meet the Incoming Class of 2026 Meet the Class of 2026 Presentation Meet the Class of 2026 discussion and next steps
April 1, 2022	National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 2015–2020 NSSE 2015-2020 Data Presentation (April 2022) NSSE Engagement Indicators and High Impact Practices Frost Center Friday discussion and next steps (April 2022)
February 25, 2022	Supporting Academic Success with Data from Hope's Incoming Student Survey Incoming Student Survey Data Presentation (February 2022) Incoming Student Survey Data Summary (February 2022) CIRP Survey Constructs and Items Frost Center Friday discussion and next steps (February 2022)
December 10, 2021	Cross-Cultural Engagement among Hope Students Cross-Cultural Engagement among Hope Students Presentation (December 2021) Frost Center Friday discussion and next steps (December 2021)
October 15, 2021	Culture and Inclusion Pulse Survey: 2021 Staff and Faculty Results Culture and Inclusion Pulse Survey Presentation (October 2021) Culture and Inclusion Pulse Survey Summary and Tables (October 2021) Frost Center Friday discussion and next steps (October 2021)
September 17, 2021	Six Months Out: Results from Hope’s Graduate Survey Six Months Out Graduate Survey Presentation (September 2021) Frost Center Friday discussion and next steps (September 2021)

Dr. Carl Frost

Dr. Carl Frost was a leader in organizational psychology and during his academic career was affilitatied with MIT and Michigan State University. His role at MSU was teaching organizational psychology and providing extension services to rapidly expanding Michigan industries. He did this by bringing his students into the field as he worked with companies in West Michigan. Dr. Frost developed and used the Frost/Scanlon approach. D.J. DePree, the founder of Herman Miller, and CEOs of other major West Michigan corporations were proponents of Dr. Frost's work and approach to participatory management. The Frost/Scanlon EPIC Principles (Equity, Participation, Identity, and Competence) and their associated processes formed the basis of creating better workplaces.

Frost Center Fellowship

Frost Center for Data and Research offers a research fellowship for Hope College faculty members. Frost Center Fellows complete their social science research, or interdisciplinary research connected with a social science, while supporting the center with data analysis, research design, participation in Hope College and community research consulting, or other data and research activities applicable to the fellow’s expertise.

Fellowships are awarded for one or two concurrent semesters and provide:

1. Course release commensurate with the plan of work
2. $2,000 in research funding from the McGregor Fund
3. Support from Frost Center Research Assistants

Eligible applicants include Hope College tenured or tenure-track faculty members and faculty not on a tenure-track with at least four consecutive years in a (non-visiting) faculty contract.

Fellowship proposals are welcomed by January 31, 2025 for the 2025–26 academic year.

Information about the Frost Center Fellowship

How to Become a Student Research Assistant

Interested in data or research? Frost Center Research Assistants are directly involved with survey development and administration, data collection, analysis, creating data dashboards and other projects that support the Frost Center mission. Student Research Assistants work 8 or more hours each week in partnership with our professional staff working on:

• Survey design in Qualtrics
• Data cleaning and organization
• Summary statistics and quantitative analysis using SPSS
• Qualitative data content analysis and coding
• Updating and maintaining accuracy of records in the Assessment Portal
• Creating data dashboards in Tableau

If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing or would like to learn more, contact us at frostcenter@hope.edu or view the Research Assistant position description.