Working with the 21 st century college student

1. Working with the 21st century college student Academic Enhancement Program February 17, 2012

2. Purpose of this AEP • Today we will begin exploring faculty and staff perceptions of our students. We will also review the incoming student surveys that student complete at orientation to better understand how students perceive themselves as they embark upon their college journey.

3. Purpose of this AEP • Learning Objectives: • By the end of this presentation, you will have developed at least one new strategy in working more effectively with our current college-aged students • By the end of this presentation, you will have a better understanding on how to work more effectively with faculty and staff promoting student success

4. Panel • Dr. Kenyatta Rivers, Communication Sciences and Disorders • Mr. Eric Main, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning • Ms. Jennifer Wright, Director, Office of Integrity and Ethical Development • Mr. Josh Wheeler, Coordinator for the Office of First Year Experience

5. We should not assume • That all of our students are categorically the same • That the term and things associated with the “millennial student” are all negative • That we are here to complain about our students • That we have to completely change our approach in connecting with students to obtain positive results • Remember, we were once undergraduate students !

6. We do know • That we experience encounters on a daily basis with creative and curious students • That each student is unique and brings a different history to the University • That as student advocates, we want to work with our students to support academic and personal events that enhance their experiences during their time at the University

7. Ask our panel • What are some of the challenges you have seen/experienced with our current student population? • What are some of the rewards you have seen/experienced with our current student population?

8. Ask our academic advisors • What are some of the challenges you have seen/experienced with our current student population? • What are some of the rewards you have seen/experienced with our current student population?

9. Students tell us • 93% of our transfer students indicate in the entering transfer student survey that they strongly agree or agree that “if I should find myself in a jam, I could think of many ways to get out of it.” • 95% of FTIC students indicate in the entering student survey that they strongly agree or agree that “I am energetically pursuing my academic goals.”

10. Students tell us • 95.8% of our transfer and FTIC students indicate on the entering students survey that they strongly agree or agree that “I am able to meet the demands and requirements of college.” • 95.5% of the transfer students and 92.8% of the FTIC students strongly agree or agree that “ I can successfully manage the demands of my chosen major.”

11. Students tell us • 92.2% of the transfer students and 88% of the FTIC students indicate on the entering student survey that “I can successfully manage and cope with the stress.”

12. What advisors told us • Characteristics of the millennial students • Very dependent on their parents with decision-making; aggressive (demanding); seeking instant gratification; extremely tech savvy • Often stressed, some times impatient, many may want direction instead of options • They expect everything to happen with a click of a button • Don't want to say lazy, but it seems many students don't want to work hard. Since high school was easy to them, they think college should be too

13. What advisors told us • Characteristics of the millennial students • lack of initiative, expects someone else to take the responsibility for them, lack of involvement • pressured, a sense of entitlement, highly motivated, they dream big • Ambitious but passive. • They seem to desire instant gratification and lack basic critical thinking skills. I also have noticed a tendency to have an external locus of control

14. What advisors told us • What challenges have you found in working with the millennial student population? • Want everything well defined; Desire planning through graduation; short attention span because they want to multi-task, e.g., check their e-mail on the cell phone while listening to academic advisor; sometimes set unrealistic goals • Many want good grades, but they don't want to earn them • Students are having a hard-time transitioning to college life on their own as they are used to their parents providing structure in their daily life

15. What advisors told us • What challenges have you found in working with the millennial student population? • Overconfidence, Sheltered (Helicopter Parents & Academic Decision-Making),Achieving (higher sense of entitlement), Pressured (emphasis on grades and for time "Tell me what I need to Know") • sometimes they are unrealistic about the amount of effort it will take to succeed, or about their own skills • The biggest challenge has been helping them understand the investment that they need to make in order to achieve their ambitious goals. Many of them wanted to get thing immediately and with a clear idea of what effort means. So, helping them to understand this has been a challenge

16. What advisors told us • How can academic advisors support the faculty in working with our current students? • By providing clear, concise and consistent information regarding course/program requirements and university policies and procedures to both students and faculty • Explain that there may not be desired structure and they may have to do more work than not; they need to read the Syllabus for each class • As the article suggested, we need to be more collaborative in our approach with students, rather than authoritative

17. What advisors told us • How can academic advisors support the faculty in working with our current students? • expressing the same message, empowering them to take control of their education • If faculty can share with the advisor when a students is having problems with his/her classes, the advisor would help the student • Better understanding of what the faculty expects from the student signing up for their courses (academic background), would help me in letting a student how better prepare for it

18. What advisors told us • What resources/assistance do academic advisors need to be better equipped in working with millennial students on our campus? • Information (resources) on effective strategies for ways advisors can engage & involve the millennials in making their own decisions, and help the students to develop more analytical thinking skills • I would like to see more support given to offices who wish to 'go paperless' -- millennial students expect quick access to information. I believe that making electronic files for our students would allow advisors to help students in a more timely manner

19. What advisors told us • What resources/assistance do academic advisors need to be better equipped in working with millennial students on our campus? • Assistance with ways to empower students to make their own decisions, resources to aid in use of social media, etc. • Better information about student attendance and progress, especially in the first 6 weeks of the semester. More mentoring for at risk student-athletes and more programs to challenge strong students

20. Learning Objectives • By the end of this presentation, you will have developed at least one new strategy in working more effectively with our current college-aged students

21. Learning Objectives • By the end of this presentation, you will have a better understanding on how to work more effectively with faculty and staff promoting student success

22. Your feedback is important to us • Please make sure you signed in so that we have your most current information • You will receive a survey link this afternoon regarding this program. Please complete the survey with your thoughts on the activity we just completed • Thank you