Using the Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Assessment (SDTLA) for Individual and Program Assessment in First-Yea

1. Using the Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Assessment (SDTLA) for Individual and Program Assessment in First-Year Courses Pete Wachs Dan Friedman Appalachian State University Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience Phoenix, Arizona February 6, 2005

2. Appalachian State University • Located in Boone, NC • Public, Masters-Level University • In 2002: • 13,185 students • 2,419 freshmen (~10,000 applicants) • Avg. SAT = 1111 • One year retention rate = 84%

3. Freshman Seminar • Began in 1987 (modeled after USC program) • Extended orientation course • 3 hour, graded elective • 22 students per class • Reports to Academic Affairs • 62 sections • 59 connected as a Learning Community

4. FS Goals • Develop intellectual and academic competence • Establish and maintain interpersonal relationships (build community) • Manage Transition • Broaden Horizons & Personal Development • Discover Appalachian

5. SDTLA • Three Developmental Tasks • Establishing and Clarifying Purpose • Developing Autonomy • Mature Interpersonal Relationships • Two Scales • Salubrious Lifestyle • Response Bias

6. Establishing and Clarifying Purpose • Career Planning (Goal 4) • Awareness of and preparedness for the work world and one’s commitment to career choice • Educational Involvement (Goal 1, 4) • Engagement in academic life as an active learner and selection of a suitable major • Lifestyle Planning (Goal 4) • Consideration of personal/ethical/religious/relation-ship/vocational factors in one’s future plans • Cultural Participation (Goal 5, 1, 4,) • Participation in cultural activities and events in one’s leisure time

7. Developing Autonomy • Emotional Autonomy (Goal 3, 4) • Self assurance and confidence in one’s decision-making abilities • Interdependence (Goal 2) • Responsibility to one’s institution and the larger community • Academic Autonomy (Goal 1) • Achievement of one’s personal goals through effective time management, self-discipline, satisfactory academic performance and willingness to seek academic help • Instrumental Autonomy (Goal 3, 4) • Ability to meet daily needs and responsibilities independently

8. Mature Interpersonal Relationships • Peer Relationships (Goal 2, 3) • Relationships with peers and the extent to which one’s friendships are open and honest • Tolerance (Goal 2, 4, 5) • Acceptance of those of different backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, races, lifestyles and appearances

9. Scales • Salubrious Lifestyle (Goal 4) • The extent to which one’s lifestyle is consistent with good health and wellness practices • Subscales • Drug and Alcohol • Fitness and Nutrition • Response Bias • An indicator of the validity of the results

10. Freshman Seminar and Development • Freshmen were measured at the beginning of their first semester and the beginning of their second semester • 1437 Freshmen took the pretest and posttest SDTLA • 52% were enrolled in Freshman Seminar • 60% were women • Posttest SDTLA subtask scores for men and women participating in Freshmen Seminar were compared with those who were not enrolled • Controls • Pretest levels on subtasks • SAT Scores • HS GPA and HS class rank

11. Freshman Seminar and Development • Students who participated in Freshman Seminar scored significantly higher in: • Career Planning • Lifestyle Planning • Instrumental Autonomy

12. Freshman Seminar and Development • More of those who participated in Freshman Seminar made gains in the following Career Planning areas: • How to find out about employment prospects after college (Q90) • Spending time discussing and researching a major (Q98) • Achieved more clarity regarding the job situation they would find after graduation (Q109)

13. Freshman Seminar and Development • More of those who participated in Freshman Seminar made gains in the following Lifestyle Planning areas: • Involvement in activities that help them determine what to do with the rest of their lives (Q2) • Clearer picture regarding the role marriage has in their future (Q104) • Clearer picture regarding the establishment of a family in relation to other life goals (Q142) • Clearer sense of how their present course of study will impact their future goals (Q145)

14. Freshman Seminar and Development • More of those who participated in Freshman Seminar made gains in the following Instrumental Autonomy areas: • Following a systematic plan to make a decision (Q3) • Completing important daily tasks (assignments, room cleaning, eating, sleeping) (Q22) • Student in Fr. Sem. stay about the same and control group got worse • Organizing time to get most things done (Q92) • Student in Fr. Sem. stay about the same and control group got worse • Making a plan to get things done and sticking to it (q119) • Most everyone stay the same but control group had more students who got worse

15. Affect of Freshman Seminar on Development Across Four Semesters • Freshmen were measured at the beginning of their first semester and the beginning of their fifth semester • 982 Freshmen took the pretest SDTLA • 285 took it as Juniors • 41% were enrolled in Freshman Seminar • 68% were women • Posttest SDTLA subtask scores for men and women participating in Freshmen Seminar were compared with those who had not been enrolled • Controls • Pretest levels on subtasks • Cumulative GPA at end of fourth semester

16. Affect of Freshman Seminar on Development Across Four Semesters • No significant differences between juniors who took Freshmen Seminar as freshmen and those who did not on any of the tasks or subscales.

17. Assessment of the SDTLA as an Individual Assessment Tool • Results from online survey: • Questions were easy to understand 78% • Results were easy to understand 82% • The results were helpful 71% • Links to campus services were helpful 63% • Found the experience “helpful” or “very helpful” 80% • Comments from focus groups: • “It’s too long” • “It made me feel bad” • “I know I am intolerant, so what?” • “It’s too repetitive”

18. Summary • SDTLA addresses important developmental goals of first-year programs. • Pretest/posttest is necessary if you want to assess the impact of the program. • Individual assessment is available on the Web but it should be built in as part of a discussion of student development.