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College Life 101

Drexel University. 11,500 undergraduate studentsPrivate - 4 or 5 year Urban setting of PhiladelphiaTechnical/Engineering institutionCo-op school. Drexel University Orientation. Fall 2005 - 2500 FreshmenVast majority traditional aged8 freshmen 2-day orientation sessionsApproximately 250

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College Life 101

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    1. College Life 101 Stimulating Family/Student Dialogue Around Adjustment Issues

    2. Drexel University 11,500 undergraduate students Private - 4 or 5 year Urban setting of Philadelphia Technical/Engineering institution Co-op school

    3. Drexel University Orientation Fall 2005 - 2500 Freshmen Vast majority traditional aged 8 freshmen 2-day orientation sessions Approximately 250 students and 250-300 family members per session 2 transfer 1-day orientation sessions

    4. Orientation History Pre-2005 - parents/family only session Vignettes were conversation starter for common and possible student issues Annually parents asked, “Is my student seeing this?” In 2005, family and students viewed the vignettes and had facilitated discussion, but in different ways to respond to different needs

    5. Theoretical Foundation Transition: “Any event, or non-event, that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles…stress the role of perception in transitions…transition exists only if it is so defined by the individual experiencing it.” (Schlossberg et al., 1995, as cited in Evans, Forney, and Gido-DiBrito, 1998, p. 111)

    6. Theoretical Foundation “Transformative education instead places the student’s reflective processes at the core of the learning experience and asks the student to evaluate both new information and the frames of reference through which the information acquires meaning.” (Learning Reconsidered, 2004, p. 9, Merizow and Associates, 2000, Learning as transformation)

    7. Theoretical Foundation “Making meaning comprises students’ efforts to comprehend the essence and significance of events, relationships, and learning; to gain a richer understanding of themselves in a larger context; and to experience a sense of wholeness. Meaning making arises in a reflective connection between a person or individual and the wider world” (Learning Reconsidered, 2004, p. 17)

    8. Vignette Development 2003 - all vignettes were reexamined Issues to address and approaches were discussed Scripts were developed to reflect desired discussion topics and areas of concern Student Life staff wrote and edited all scripts This phase of the project lasted approximately 2-3 months

    9. College of Media Arts and Design Filming and Editing Partnership Student Life approached COMAD to assist with filming and editing An Assistant Dean and a team of students reviewed and refined the script COMAD shot and edited the vignettes This phase of the project lasted approximately 4-6 weeks

    10. Family Facilitation Beloit College Mindset List is shared to gain attention and in seats Energizer precedes this session which includes large group karaoke Dean of Students transitions with questions like: For how many of you is this your first child going to school? ..second? ..most? How many are grandparents? Drexel gear is given to the family who has sent the most students to college

    11. Family Facilitation Dean of Students facilitates discussion to an audience of 250-300 parents/family members Student Life departments are represented by a panel of Deans and Directors Senior Associate Dean of Students Assistant Dean, Counseling and Health Services Director of Residential Living Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs University Judicial Officer Assistant Dean for Fraternity and Sorority Life

    12. Family Facilitation Families ask many (uncensored) questions What time is bed check? Is someone going to call me when my child gets sick? What do you mean both men and women [boys and girls] are on the same floor in the same “dorm”? Will my student’s grades get sent to me?

    13. Training Para-Professional Facilitators Orientation Leaders (OL’s) reviewed the vignettes, discussed responses, were informed about campus resources, and learned how to facilitate conversation Training conducted by Assistant Dean, Counseling and Health Services One 90-minute session OL’s were provided the student resource guide and a facilitation guide

    14. Training Professional Facilitators Professional Staff reviewed the vignettes, discussed responses, were refreshed about campus resources, learned their role, discussed how to have student facilitate conversations Training conducted by the Director of Campus Activities and the Assistant Dean, Counseling and Health Services One 120-minute session Professionals were provided the student resource guide and a facilitation guide

    15. Student Small Group Facilitation Groups of 20-25 orientation students 2 Orientation Leaders were paired up with 1-2 professional staff Vignettes were viewed one at a time with the OL’s leading discussion with the staff person as support following each vignette OL’s were prepped on how to initiate conversation Candy was used as an incentive to get people to contribute

    16. Resource Guides Students receive “College Life 101…A Student Resource Guide” Families receive “Partnerships…Here, Now and Beyond” PDF copies of these resources can be found on www.drexel.edu/oca/professionalresources

    17. College 101 Vignettes A Call Home (5 min) Get Connected (6 min 5 sec) One Night, Two Stories (5 min 45 sec) The Condition of Being Different (3 min 38 sec) The order is intentional based on spurring conversation, delving into issues, and expanding comfort zones

    18. A Call Home Issues to consider Adjustment to campus life Moving from dependence to independence Academic support Academic demands Social pressure/peer influences Campus culture expectations Academic Honesty Roommate Conflict

    19. A Call Home Sample discussion questions: How many of you are the first in your family to go to college? First child to attend? Did you sign the FERPA form or have any questions about the FERPA form? Can you see yourself or your parents in this video? Who would you reach out to if you “failed” something? How would you set some guidelines with your roommate? What are some other resources other than your parents?

    20. Getting Connected Issues to consider Getting involved while on campus Time management Leadership development Persistence and retention Higher level of student satisfaction Over 130 student organizations available to join

    21. Getting Connected Sample discussion points: OL’s share in what organizations they are involved and why. In what kinds of organizations were you involved in high school? Do you anticipate getting involved in student organizations? How do you see getting involved to be a benefit? How do you think you can balance your school/work and involvement on campus? What type of things do you like to do?

    22. One Night, Two Stories Issues to consider Acquaintance rape/date/sexual assault What is it and how does Drexel respond? Supporting the victim and the perpetrator – males vs. females Alcohol and other drugs: The University’s response Drexel University/Internal adjudication and/or City of Philadelphia/external adjudication

    23. One Night, Two Stories Sample discussion questions How do you just feel about what just happened? Was it uncomfortable? What factors did you see play into the scenario? Could this have been avoided? What is rape? What is sexual assault? If this happened to a friend, how might you respond? What are the things to consider when thinking about your security? What are some safety precautions that you can take?

    24. The Condition of Being Different Issues to consider: Drexel celebrates multiculturalism Student Life at Drexel encourages discussions and activities between students from different ethnic groups Philadelphia has a population of over 1.6 million people All undergraduate student organizations are open to all undergraduates regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or ability

    25. The Condition of Being Different Sample discussion questions: How many of you come from a small town? How does it feel to come to a city? How can one go about getting to know someone from a different culture or background? How might the diverse student body impact your experience at Drexel? How do you think you would contribute to diversity on campus? Do you foresee any challenges living on a diverse campus? If so, what? If not, why?

    26. Year-Long Collaboration Determine how these vignettes can be used year-round Resident Assistant/Commuter Assistant staff programming UNIV 101 course and speakers Student Life programming initiatives Don’t Cancel That Class (DCTC)

    27. Assessment NSO student survey* NSO family survey* OL Facilitator Survey Professional Staff Facilitator Survey *results not returned from Institutional Research

    28. Facilitator Survey 1. How did this year go? 2. Were any common questions asked or did any themes emerge over the various sessions? 3. How did the vignettes go over with the students? Any recommendations? 4. Any comments about your specific co-facilitators: Student Life and/or OL's? 5. How were logistics (e.g. information shared with you, location, set-up, amount of time, students, etc.) handled? Any future recommendations? 6. What worked well this year? 7. What would you improve for next year? 8. What recommendations do you have for training for next year? 9. What recommendations do you have for joint facilitation with Student Life professionals and the OL's? 10. Any general comments?

    29. OL Facilitator Feedback “They let us OL's take over the discussion but came to our rescue if we got in a jam and didn't know what to say. Also they used their experience with their departments (RLO and OCA) to help elaborate on topics which was very helpful.” “OL's received a sheet of talking points to go over so that we could stay on focus. This made it a lot easier for me to be mentally organized as well as transitioning topics. Also, working with mainly the same people all the time helped because you got into a rhythm which made me feel less nervous.”

    30. OL Facilitator Feedback “For training, it would be great to have us practice facilitating, or maybe to go over public speaking skills. Get people used to talking in front of a group of students, because I was nervous at the first session.” “College 101 was a great experience for me to be able to facilitate conversations with the new students and to hear what they had to say. Even though the students may not have seen the point of the films right away, at least they have that seed planted in their heads if they need the information presented in the future.”

    31. Professional Staff Facilitator Feedback “Pairings for the most part worked well. Also liked working with the same OL’s when possible.” “Facilitators that struggled a bit more spent much more of their time ‘teaching’ rather than facilitating a discussion.” “Students seemed very hesitant to engage with the topics or acknowledge that they would find themselves in the scenarios.” “[OL’s name] had a lot to say, and sometimes didn't wait for the students to respond.”

    32. Professional Staff Facilitator Feedback “It would be great if we could have some time to develop a rapport with our student facilitators and create a joint game plan for how we want to facilitate the sessions.” “Better facilitation training for the OL's.” “Add a transfer issues vignette for transfer students. Train OLs and Student Staff TOGETHER to avoid inconsistencies in conveying information.” “The fact that we did this at all and the straight up information that OLs gave about some key issues was great.”

    33. Strategies for Implementing at Orientation Have more professional staff than the number of break-out sessions (conference, vacation, and other conflicts arise) Have 2 OL’s lead each session so they can bounce off each other Match OL’s based on strengths and cross-represented demographics Match same OL’s and professional staff each session so that they build facilitation rapport

    34. Strategies continued… Have After Action Review meetings with all facilitators after the first few sessions to address issues, tweak questions, and maintain consistency between groups Have one coordinator of all the details (OL’s, facilitators, TV/DVD, books, candy, etc.) to check on all sessions in progress, coordinate e-mail communication, and manage the schedule. This person should not be a facilitator Coordinate a joint training of OL’s and professional staff so they can get to know each other and learn the same information together

    35. Action Plan Take 5 minutes and write down some initial thoughts Feel free to discuss with others in the room from your institution or from other institutions

    36. Presenter Contact Information Ann H. Wilson Director of Campus Activities ahw22@drexel.edu 215-895-1328 Jon Kapell Associate Director of Campus Activities jdk38@drexel.edu 215-895-1328 www.drexel.edu/oca/professionalresources.html

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