THE SECOND YEAR AT EMORY
PROGRAM: ASSESSING A
RESIDENTIAL SECOND-YEAR
INITIATIVE
Ben Perlman
John Lynch
Brett Page
Emory University
15th National Students in Transition Conference
2008
GOALS FOR PRESENTATION
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Explain the basics of building a livinglearning 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
SNAPSHOT OF EMORY UNIVERSITY
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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 preprofessional majors and programs
THE SECOND YEAR AT EMORY
PROGRAM
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Living-Learning Community
dedicated to second-year student
success
4th year of program
Programs
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Career Planning
Academic Advising
Faculty Interaction
Life Skills
Traditions
SYE TIMELINE @EMORY
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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
SOPHOMORE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
MODEL
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Staged model in which second-year students
move through 4 different stages:
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Random Exploration
Focused Exploration
Tentative Choices
Commitment
Student focus on these stages in three areas:
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Peer relationships
Self
Academic choices
Schaller (2005)
SCHALLER (2005)
Friendships
Self
Academics
Stage 1
Random
Exploration
Accepts friendships
as they come, may
be very unhealthy
Wanders through life
choices, not sure of
what to believe
Has not yet
considered
academic/major
choice
Stage 2
Focus
Exploration
Is disenchanted with
friendships,
frustrated with
options
Recognizes
problems within self,
bothered but not
clear what to do
Looking for major or
career idea that
might fit with self
Stage 3
Tentative
Choices
Decides to keep
some relationships
and leave others
Begins to make
statements about
beliefs, desires,
describes self
Found major or
career, but still not
clear how it will “work
out”
Stage 4
Commitment
Makes healthy
choices, “college
buddies”
Firm in description of
self, knows what
wants
Sees how future will
unfold, committed to
career
SCHALLER (2006)
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Implications for Community Colleges
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Financial Issues
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Developmental Education
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Use of credit/loans
Loss of first-year aid
Not directed enough in educational choices to
make a choice of major
Transfer Preparation
EMORY NEEDED TO PURSUE SYE
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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
STAFFING
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2 Buildings
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Woodruff Hall
Clifton Tower
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Full-Time
Post-master’s degree
Live-in
Graduate Student
Hall Director
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Part-time
Live-in
Hall Director Fellow
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Area Director
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Full-time
Post-bach
Live-in
Academic Advisor
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Part-time
Graduate student
Live-in
STUDENT STAFFING
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1 Senior Resident Advisor (Senior)
17 Resident Advisors (Juniors and
Seniors)
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26 to 1 - Resident to RA Ratio
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SEMI-SUITE
STYLE
APARTMENT
STYLE
WOODRUFF SPACES
Smart Classrooms
Exercise Room
Grilling Area
Study Rooms
RA Office
WOODRUFF SPACES
Drop-In Spaces
Professional Staff Offices
Dining Facilities
Academic Advising Office
ASSESSMENTS WE’VE DONE
ASSESSMENTS
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National instruments:
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Educational Benchmarking Incorporated (EBI)
National Study of Living Learning Programs
(NSLLP)
Local instruments:
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Sophomore specific survey
SYE registration form
ResLife Rewards program
Program evaluations
EBI
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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
HIGHLIGHTS FROM EBI
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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”
NSLLP
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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
HIGHLIGHTS FROM NSLLP
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Significantly higher than other LLP
participants in terms of:
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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
SOPHOMORE SURVEY
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Asked about learning, perceptions, and
feedback
Locally developed questions based on
anecdotal feedback
Distributed online
Sent to all sophomores
30% response rate
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SOPHOMORE
SURVEY
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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
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More programming on…
SYE REGISTRATION
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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
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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 decisionmaking/Internships, Academic advising, etc.
How would you contribute to or participate in the
Second Year at Emory program?
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SYE
REGISTRATION
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Interest in professional or graduate
programs
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SYE
REGISTRATION
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Top five majors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Business Administration
Economics
Psychology
Biology
Chemistry
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SYE
REGISTRATION
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Top five programming interests:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Study Abroad
Career Decisions & Internships
Community Service
Planning for Junior & Senior Year
Choosing a Major
ADAPTATIONS OF SYE REGISTRATION
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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
RES LIFE REWARDS
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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
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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
PROGRAM EVALUATIONS
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Distribute online
Normal satisfaction questions (how did
you like this program?)
Learning outcome related questions
USING THE DATA
SHARING AND INTERPRETATION
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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
IDENTIFIED A NEED FOR CHANGE
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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)
DEVELOPED PLAN FOR SYE
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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:
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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
SYE LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Developing Self-Awareness
 Demonstrated self reflection skills
 Identify personal strengths
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Setting Goals
 Articulating their goals
 Choosing a major
 Think about possible career fields
SYE LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Finding Resources
 Identify required classes for their major
 Creating and maintaining a resume
 Identify co-curricular and extracurricular interests
 Identify university resources
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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
ASSESSMENT PARADIGM SHIFT
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Old assessment model:
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Compare students in SYE to students not in
SYE (“experimental group” vs. “control
group”)
New assessment model:
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Use involvement in SYE programs
FUTURE ASSESSMENTS
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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
DISCUSSION GROUPS
CONTACT INFO
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Ben Perlman
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John Lynch
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[email protected]
[email protected]
Brett Page
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[email protected]