iLEAD: A Comprehensive T ransfer E xperience P rogram

1. iLEAD: A Comprehensive Transfer Experience Program with a Focus on Civic Leadership, Engagement and Democracy Katherine Nordyke, MLS1and Amy Carmack, MA, MS2 Missouri State University1, University of Kansas Medical Center2 ABSTRACT This poster presentation describes a program that is based on the need to provide support to transfer college students through a comprehensive transfer experience program, with special focus on increasing knowledge and awareness of civic engagement, leadership, and democracy. • iLEAD • iLEAD (Leadership, Engagement, and Democracy) focuses on cultivating civic engagement skills through civic leadership activities, service-learning, and democratic class instruction. The iLEAD program can be implemented during a one-semester course (Track 1) or a two-semester course (Track 2). • Leadership – Students will gain leadership experience through membership in student and campus organizations, and service-learning projects. Students will prepare self-reflections on the experience and present projects during transfer success workshops (or similar events). Through this program, students will engage in service-learning and leadership programming for one or two semesters. However, educators should note that research suggests students will not make a lasting dedication to civic leadership and engagement if they are not exposed to activities for more than 6 months (Astin, Sax, & Avalos, 1999; Myers-Lipton, 1998). We recognize that many administrators and educators are pressed for resources, and have created two different tracks for implementation. • Engagement – Engagement with campus, community, and national activities is a key element in creating the active citizen. In the iLEAD initiative, students will engage in various citizenship activities that promote diversity, awareness, and active learning. Students will receive introduction to citizenship activities during the course, and self-reflection and transformative learning will be used to process the experience. Civic engagement is vital because it directly impacts academic excellence, leadership development, promoting diversity and understanding, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and moral development (Astin & Sax, 1998; Pascarella, Ethington, & Smart, 1988; Spiezio, Baker, & Boland, 2005). • Democracy– Bok (2006) argues that producing informed, active citizens has been a goal of higher education since the 1960s. However, Bok (2006) also notes that students are less engaged or interested in civic engagement and democracy than past generations. Pairing with the American Democracy project, transfer students will implement and participate in eCitizenship, Constitution Days, and voting procedures on campus. One of the most important skills students will learn is how to take initiative to create, develop, and implement programs and activities to help their communities develop into civic havens for change. Including experiential learning activities will take the ideas of civic responsibility and democracy out of the classroom so students can see democracy in action. • ASSESSEMENT • Start with needs assessment (Schuh & Upcraft, 2001) • PSDA continuous improvement cycle • Pre- and post-test survey to gauge effect of identified student outcomes (such as civic attitudes, GPA) BACKGROUND As reported in Leadership Exchange (Jacobs & Marling, 2011), the National Center for Education Statistics found at least 60% of college graduates will attend more than one institution during their academic career. Transfer students may have familiarity with critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal relationship development from previous education experiences, but they may lack exposure, understanding, and practice with civic engagement, leadership, and democracy. Much of the research on experience programs focus on first-year experiences, courses, and objectives. There is no known research on the impacts or effects of transfer-year experience programs; however, conclusions from first-year experience programs can be assumed because the intent and nature of such programs are remarkably similar. These programs seek to foster critical thinking, develop ethical and moral decision making, and create and nurture peer and professional relationships (Barefoot, 2000). Overwhelmingly, researchers found that students who participated in first-year experience programs showed increased communication, advanced active learning, relationship development, increased grade point averages, and diversity appreciation (Keup & Barefoot, 2005; Lang, 2007; Strake, Harth, & Sirianni, 2001). Additionally, first-year programs that are embedded into the general education curriculum, as this plan proposes, increase civic knowledge and encourage critical thinking through experiential learning opportunities (Camarena, Saltarelli, & Lung, 2006). Moreover, creating active citizenship is an important task for universities. Many institutions are committed to graduating students that are civically minded, engaged in their community, and understand the importance of service. First-time entering freshman are often introduced to these elements in their first-year experience class, but students who transfer may not have begun to develop these essential skills. More important, there is a void in the higher education literature regarding the effect of civic engagement on transfer students. With a growing number of transfer students, it is imperative to explore the needs for this unique set of students. • EVALUATION • Formative and summative evaluations (Schuh & Upcraft, 2001) • Rossi, Freeman, & Lipsey’s 1999 program evaluation model • Interviews or focus groups • Essays/reflections/journals • Likert scale for student and faculty satisfaction • Surveys • CHALLENGES • Administrative and faculty buy-in • Advising partnerships • Implementing if no TYE program exists • Budgeting • Semester designation (1 v. 2) • FUTURE PLANS • Implementing sections at Missouri State University • Business department requested special section • Looking for 5 other facilities to implement • Go beyond transfer students REFERENCES American Association of State Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). American Democracy Project. Retrieved from http://www.aascu.org/programs/adp/about.htm Astin, A. W., Sax, L. J., & Avalos, J. (1999). Long-term effects of volunteerism during the undergraduate years. The Review of Higher Education, 22(2), 187-202. Barefoot, B. (2000). The first-year experience: Are we making it any better? About Campus, 12-18. Bok, D. (2006). Our underachieving colleges. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Camarena, P., Saltarelli, A., & Lung, J. (2006). Expanding the role of required out-of-class experiences in FYE: Lessons from personal development and student development projects. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 18(1), 61-84. Hamrick, F. A., Evans, N. J., & Schuh, J. H. (2002). Foundations of Student Affairs Practice (pp. 181-214). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Jacobs, R. C., & Marling, J. L. (2011). Transfer students: How SSAOs can ease the transition process. Leadership Exchange, 8(4), 10-15. Keup, J. R., & Barefoot, B. O. (2005). Learning how to be a successful student: Exploring the impact of first-year seminars on student outcomes. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 17(1), 11-47. Lang, D. J. (2007). The impact of a first-year experience course on the academic performance, persistence, and graduation rates of first-semester college students at a public research university. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 19(1), 9-25. Myers-Lipton, S. J. (1998). Effect of a comprehensive service-learning program on college students’ civic responsibility. Teaching Sociology, 26, 243-258. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and American College Personnel Association. (2004). Learning reconsidered: A campus-wide focus on the student experience. Washington, DC: Authors. Pascarella, E. T., Ethington, C. A., & Smart, J. C. (1988). The influence of college on humanitarian/civic involvement values. The Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 412-437. Schuh, J. H., & Upcraft, M. L. (2001). Needs assessment and program evaluation. In R. B. Winston, et al (Eds.), The Professional Student Affairs Administrator. New York: Taylor & Francis. Spiezio, K. E., Baker, K. Q., & Boland, K. (2005). General education and civic engagement: An empirical analysis of pedagogical possibilities. The Journal of General Education, 54(4), 273-293. Starke, M. C., Harth, M., & Sirianni, F. (2001). Retention, bonding, and academic achievement: Success of a first-year seminar. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 13(2), 7-35. RESEARCH Project 1: The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore leadership development in transfer students enrolled in iLEAD. Project 2: The purpose of this quasi-experimental survey study is to examine the impact iLEAD has on transfer student retention and academic success (GPA, number of hours enrolled, number of hours completed, etc.). Project 3: The intent of this concurrent mixed methods study is to discover the civic attitudes of transfer students. Using interviews and the Civic Attitudes Survey, we will examine the relationship between iLEAD students and civic attitudes, and compare the civic attitudes and civic involvement to transfer students not participating in iLEAD.