The Second Year at Emory Program: Assessing a Residential Second-Year Initiative

1. Ben Perlman John Lynch Brett Page Emory University The Second Year at Emory Program: Assessing a Residential Second-Year Initiative 15th National Students in Transition Conference 2008

2. Explain the basics of building a living-learning community for second-year students Understand the history of Emory’s program Learn about different ways to assess your new initiative Identify implications for student affairs practice Goals for presentation

3. Private, selective, research university w/an undergraduate population <6,000 2-year live-on requirement Undergrad students admitted to liberal arts college Some students pursue education in business or nursing school after 2nd year of college Many of our students are interested in pre-health or pre-professional majors and programs Snapshot of Emory University

4. Living-Learning Community dedicated to second-year student success • 4th year of program • Programs • Career Planning • Academic Advising • Faculty Interaction • Life Skills • Traditions The Second Year at Emory Program

5. Nov 2002: support and approval of the Campus Life Committee of the Board of Trustees • Nov 2003: SYE Committee formed • Fall 2004: began pilot program in predominately sophomore hall • Summer 2005: extensive renovation of Woodruff, home to the program • Fall 2005: official start of the program • Fall 2007: Incorporation of second residence hall • Fall 2008: Expansion to all of second-year housing SYE Timeline @Emory

6. Staged model in which second-year students move through 4 different stages: • Random Exploration • Focused Exploration • Tentative Choices • Commitment • Student focus on these stages in three areas: • Peer relationships • Self • Academic choices Schaller (2005) Sophomore Student Development Model

7. Schaller (2005)

8. Implications for Community Colleges • Financial Issues • Use of credit/loans • Loss of first-year aid • Developmental Education • Not directed enough in educational choices to make a choice of major • Transfer Preparation Schaller (2006)

9. Gap between wealth of services for first-year students and absence of services for upperclassmen Concerns about students transferring and satisfaction issues New second-year living requirement Emory needed to pursue SYE

10. Staffing • 2 Buildings • Woodruff Hall • Clifton Tower • Area Director • Full-Time • Post-master’s degree • Live-in • Graduate Student Hall Director • Part-time • Live-in • Hall Director Fellow • Full-time • Post-bach • Live-in • Academic Advisor • Part-time • Graduate student • Live-in

11. 1 Senior Resident Advisor (Senior) 17 Resident Advisors (Juniors and Seniors) 26 to 1 - Resident to RA Ratio Student Staffing

12. Semi-Suite Style APARTMENT STYLE

14. Woodruff Spaces Smart Classrooms Exercise Room • Grilling Area • Study Rooms • RA Office

15. Woodruff Spaces • Drop-In Spaces • Professional Staff Offices Dining Facilities Academic Advising Office

17. Assessments We’ve Done

18. National instruments: • Educational Benchmarking Incorporated (EBI) • National Study of Living Learning Programs (NSLLP) • Local instruments: • Sophomore specific survey • SYE registration form • ResLife Rewards program • Program evaluations Assessments

19. Measures resident satisfaction and perceptions of learning experiences and climate Distributed online 3,000 undergraduate residents sampled 25% response rate EBI provides an in-depth statistical analysis accessible online and in paper format EBI

20. Sophomores in SYE residence halls were much more satisfied than sophomores not in SYE residence halls Sophomores in SYE residence halls reported higher perceptions of learning than sophomores in other SYE residence halls Students, in general, reported higher satisfaction and learning when they reported going to programs “often” Highlights from EBI

21. Relatively new national instrument • Uses the I-E-O model of assessment • Measures input variables, environmental factors, and learning outcomes • Distributed online • Compares students in living-learning programs to students not in living-learning programs • 17% response rate • NSLLP provides a statistical analysis accessible in paper format NSLLP

22. Significantly higher than other LLP participants in terms of: • Influences on signing up for program: wanted to live in a specific residence hall • Perceived growth in cognitive complexity • Perceived confidence in college success • Confidence in problem-solving ability Highlights from NSLLP

23. Asked about learning, perceptions, and feedback Locally developed questions based on anecdotal feedback Distributed online Sent to all sophomores 30% response rate Sophomore Survey

24. Second-Year students want more support from Residence Life • Where students live as a second-year greatly impacts their perception of and participation in SYE. • Programming for and interactions with second-year students must be different from those with first-year students • Second-Year students want a stronger cohort identity/community Highlights from Sophomore Survey

25. More programming on… Highlights from Sophomore Survey

26. Locally developed • Originally used as an “application” into the SYE program • Online • All rising sophomores were required to complete the form if they wanted to live in the SYE designated buildings: Woodruff and Clifton • 85% participation SYE Registration

27. Name, student ID # • Please mark if you are interested in any business or graduate school programs: Pre-BBA, Pre-Health, Pre-Law, PhD or Master’s, Pre-MBA • Please mark any majors you are currently pursuing or are interested in: (60 majors listed) • Please mark the topics you would be interested in learning about at future SYE programs: Choosing a major, Health and Wellness, Career decision-making/Internships, Academic advising, etc. • How would you contribute to or participate in the Second Year at Emory program? SYE Registration

28. Interest in professional or graduate programs Highlights from SYE Registration

29. Top five majors: • Business Administration • Economics • Psychology • Biology • Chemistry Highlights from SYE Registration

30. Top five programming interests: • Study Abroad • Career Decisions & Internships • Community Service • Planning for Junior & Senior Year • Choosing a Major Highlights from SYE Registration

31. Require all rising sophomores to complete form as part of their housing sign-up process Make some questions more specific Ask about extracurricular involvement Use the form as a tool to get students to think about their sophomore year and future plans Adaptations of SYE Registration

32. Stemmed from our finding that more engaged students generally were more satisfied and reported higher levels of learning • Attendance at events is carefully tracked • For every six programs a student attends he/she receives a reward • Water bottle, hydro-clock, t-shirts, journals, etc. • Analyze what types of programs students are interested in • Analyze demographics and residence hall location associated with high attendance at programs • Eventually we will analyze differences associated with high engagement versus low engagement Res Life Rewards

33. Distribute online Normal satisfaction questions (how did you like this program?) Learning outcome related questions Program Evaluations

34. Using the Data

35. Share data with RA’s and Hall Directors for programming and Coke Conversations Share aggregate data with other offices (particularly the Career Center, Business School, and Academic Advising) to assist them in their own planning Ask students and RA’s to interpret the data Sharing and Interpretation

36. Sophomores felt left out of SYE programs Students did not have a clear sense of the purpose of SYE Students wanted more support and programming Residents felt disconnected from their student staff (Coke Conversations felt awkward) Identified a Need for Change

37. Form partnerships with more campus offices • Offer programs and services that all sophomore residents can utilize • Offer programs and services that support student development so that the students: • Develop greater self awareness • Define goals for their Emory experience • Utilize campus resources • Connect with others through meaningful relationships • Use assessment to plan and evaluate programs and show what learning occurs as a result of participation in SYE programs Developed Plan for SYE

38. Developing Self-Awareness • Demonstrated self reflection skills • Identify personal strengths • Setting Goals • Articulating their goals • Choosing a major • Think about possible career fields SYE Learning Outcomes

39. Finding Resources • Identify required classes for their major • Creating and maintaining a resume • Identify co-curricular and extracurricular interests • Identify university resources • Connecting With Others • Displaying social skills necessary to live and work • Forming meaningful relationships with students, staff, faculty, and alumni • Feel stronger ties to the university SYE Learning Outcomes

40. Old assessment model: • Compare students in SYE to students not in SYE (“experimental group” vs. “control group”) • New assessment model: • Use involvement in SYE programs Assessment Paradigm Shift

41. Research project: long term outcomes of the SYE program Development of a pre- and post- test survey instrument for sophomores Connecting assessment with 1st year program and upperclassmen experience to do a longitudinal analysis Future Assessments

42. Discussion Groups

43. Ben Perlman • ben.perlman@emory.edu • John Lynch • jwlynch@emory.edu • Brett Page • btpage@learnlink.emory.edu Contact info