Academic Support Services Assessment PlanSUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Student Life and Experiential Learning
Assessment Plan and Motivations: Office of Academic Support Services
2009-2010 Academic Term
I. The Mission
Office of Academic Support Services
Through its support of the mission of SUNY-ESF, Academic Support Services is
committed to the success of our students by preparing them with holistically challenging student
development opportunities that assist in their current academic pursuits and future personal
goals.
SUNY-ESF Learning Community
This mission of the Learning Community Program at SUNY ESF is to promote, enhance,
and support students’ academic, personal, and professional growth and success through the
development of a residential Learning Community experience.
II. Goals
Office of Academic Support Services
A. To assist students in developing self understanding and acceptance by providing
opportunities to understand their own academic strengths and limitations.
B. To assist students with proper decision making skills that best reflects their own
personal and academic goals and objectives.
C. Motivating students to develop an interest in community development through
academic student-to-student relationships.
D. Provide appropriate institutional specific information regarding policies and
procedures, along with appropriate referrals, to assist in our students’ ability to
navigate the college’s diverse support programs and services.
SUNY-ESF Learning Community
A. Building partnerships among faculty, staff and students to increase overall
interaction, involvement, and learning in and out of the classroom.
B. Facilitating college transitions by fostering smaller communities of students, faculty,
and staff.
C. Connecting the curricular and co-curricular experiences of students to create a
seamless learning experience for all involved.
D. Develop a sense of power and authority in their environment; they will move from
buy-in of the learning community to a sense of ownership.
E. Promoting opportunities for individual students to make more meaningful
connections with members of the SUNY-ESF community.
F. Supporting students’ successful completion of their academic programs.
G. A continuous contribution of enrichment to the institution’s intellectual climate.
H. Fostering students’ active commitment to the college community as students.
III. Motivation for Assessment
The umbrella of Academic Support Services and its vast array of programs such as its
Tutoring Program, the Academic Success Center, and the SUNY-ESF First Year Learning
Community, is committed towards appropriate measurement and analysis of assessment data.
Such a commitment is made to best understand the effectiveness of its programs, possible areas
for improvement, achievement of Academic Support Services goals and mission, and also
understanding the need areas that have yet to be addressed through our initiatives. By receiving
such quantitative and anecdotal information via the strategies mentioned below, the program can
measure the effectiveness of our efforts towards student development while also following the
mission and vision of Student Life and Experiential Learning and the institution of SUNY-ESF
by using the following assessment strategies:
Target Assessment – focus on one initiative during the academic term, using a
variety of assessment methods, to provide meaningful data as to the success, challenges,
and future direction of the initiative.
General Assessment – routine assessment of traditional programs provided by the Office
of Academic Support Services.
Data will be compiled and evaluated for implementation by using two distinct assessment
methods: Solo Evaluation by the Coordinator for Academic Support Services and Collaborative
Evaluation by such groups as Tutors, Tutees, the Learning Community Management team,
Academic Support Services staff and the Student Life and Experiential Learning staff. The
evaluation of such assessment material and determination of appropriate action is determined
with dialogue using the feedback of the groups listed above and takes place either on a semester
or annual basis. Such timetables are communicated specifically below for each individual
assessment strategy.
Throughout this initiative, it is essential to remember that this is an assessment of the program,
and not an evaluation of the performance of individual faculty, program staff, or students that are
associated with such Academic Support Services programs. This assessment is designed to better
understand our programs, their purpose, and to determine how well the program is working to
fulfill its potential.
The reporting of such data is compiled and referred, after appropriate analysis by the Coordinator
for Academic Support Services, to the Dean of Student Life and Experiential Learning.
IV. Academic Support Services – Targeted Assessment Plan
For the 2009-10 Academic Year, the Office of Academic Support Services will target the First
Year Learning Community Retreat via a variety of assessment strategies to measure the
effectiveness of this annual program and provide recommendations for improvement.

ESF Learning Community Retreat Survey – this evaluation will be conducted at the end
of the LC Retreat rotations at the end of September. The survey will be distributed to our
freshmen residents residing in the Sky Halls by our ESF LC Resident Advisors. The
survey will focus on the following areas of the LC Retreat: high ropes course activity,
low ropes course activity, GPS course activity, feedback regarding the overall day’s
activities, Orenda staff performance, and interactions with ESF faculty, staff and fellow
students.
o Results of the survey will be provided in the End of the Year LC Report and
results will be shared with the LC Management Team to determine appropriate
recommendations for changes to future LC Retreat Agenda.

ESF Learning Community Fall Survey – this evaluation will be conducted at the end of
the Fall semester (end of November). The purpose of this survey will be to measure the
impact the LC Retreat has had on our freshmen now that the first semester has concluded
while also gathering recommendations on how to positively improve the GPS event
during the LC Retreat. The survey will also examine the following LC topics: overall
feedback of the LC and its impact on the student’s academic success, feedback about our
3 linked LC courses (Biology, Writing, and Chemistry), Mentor feedback, and
suggestions on the first annual ESF LC Newsletter.
o Results of this survey will be shared with the LC Management Team and the
outcome of these conversations will be provided in the End of the Year LC
Report.
V. Academic Support Services – General Assessment Plan
Tutoring Services and the Academic Success Center (ASC)

Evaluation of ESF Tutoring Services Survey – this method is conducted at the end of
every semester during the months of November and April. It is a survey that is
distributed to our tutors to measure the effectiveness of the Tutoring Program during the
just concluded semester. The survey also includes opportunities to share feedback
regarding the following areas: tutor training workshops from the previous semester,
future workshop suggestions, usage of the Academic Success Center (ASC), ASC space
recommendations, and general suggestions for improvement.

Individual/Small Group and Large Group Evaluation of ESF Tutoring Services Survey –
this survey is conducted at the end of the Fall and Spring semester during the months of
November and April. This survey is distributed to our tutee population and helps to
measure the effectiveness of the tutees’ respective tutor, the overall program, the benefits
or drawbacks of this program towards their respective class they received tutoring in,
their personal usage of the Academic Success Center, and an opportunity for general
comments and suggestions.

Learning Community End of the Year Evaluation – this survey is distributed during April
and asks a variety of questions to our ESF LC freshmen population living on-campus.
For the purpose of the ASC, a question is asked of the students regarding their usage of
the ASC space and what recommendations they have for improving the services provided
by the ASC.
SUNY – ESF Learning Community


GPA, Retention, and Persistence Data – The GPA, retention, and persistence data that is
available at the conclusion of each academic year for our Learning Community student
population is very valuable. Since all freshmen students, except commuters, are a part of
the learning community, there isn’t a sufficient population (control group) to compare
and contrast that academic standing of our students. This process is currently being
explored through the SUNY-ESF Retention Committee with the hopes of having a useful
set of data in the near future.
Learning Community End of the Year Survey – This assessment tool will be conducted at
the end of the Spring semester to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the learning
community’s programs, retreat experience, and academic experience within our three
linked courses (Writing, Biology, and Chemistry). The results of such data will be shared
with the LC Management team to determine appropriate steps for future improvement of
LC programming.
o The results will be available at the conclusion of the Spring semester in the
Learning Community report, included in the Academic Support Services End of
the Year report.

Focus Groups (HED 611) - The Syracuse University Higher Education graduate students
enrolled in the HED 611: Lab in Learning Communities course will provide qualitative
data regarding student satisfaction. These data will help uncover student satisfaction
topics and provide information and suggestions for future plans for the learning
communities currently in Flint and Sadler Halls. In addition, a program evaluation will be
used at the end of the spring semester to assess students’ experiences relative to the
multiple functions of the learning community.

Additional Assessment as Available (i.e. NSSE, NLLP, etc.) - It is often the case that ESF
is invited to participate in a variety of assessment programs. While we cannot control or
determine what opportunities will be available to us, we will make every effort to
participate when given the chance. This part of our assessment will remain ongoing and
informal in nature unless a more consistent opportunity comes about.
2009-10 Targeted Assessment: LC Retreat
I. LC Retreat Fall Survey
SUNY ESF
First Year Learning Community
Fall 2009 LC Retreat Survey
n= 141 freshmen students (51% response rate) - Sky Hall residents
1. How would you rate the Orenda Springs Experiential Learning Center and its staff?
141 Sky Halls
4.26 TOTAL
[1-Poor] 0.00%
0
[2] 0.70%
1
[3-Average] 13.48%
19
[4] 44.68%
63
[5-Exceptional] 41.13%
58
2. The LC Retreat had students participate by rotating between three activities (high Ropes, Low
Ropes, and GPS/Mapping Event) Please rank each activity below.
Total Responses =
Average =
High Ropes Course:
Total Responses =
Average =
[1-Poor]
[2]
[3-Average]
[4]
[5-Exceptional]
141 Sky Halls
4.66
TOTAL
0.00%
0
0.00%
0
7.09%
10
19.15%
27
73.76%
104
Low Ropes Course:
Total Responses =
Average =
[1-Poor]
[2]
[3-Average]
[4]
[5-Exceptional]
141 Sky Halls
3.91
TOTAL
2.84%
4
9.93%
14
11.35%
16
44.68%
63
31.21%
44
GPS/Mapping Event:
Total Responses =
Average =
[1-Poor]
[2]
[3-Average]
[4]
[5-Exceptional]
141 Sky Halls
2.89
TOTAL
16.31%
23
17.02%
24
38.30%
54
18.44%
26
9.93%
14
3. What feedback would you provide for the High Ropes Course activity?
 Fun
 Need more time
 Awesome
 Exciting
 Need more explanation of how to do activity.
4. What feedback would you provide for the Low Ropes Course Activity?
 Fun, a really good time. Learned a lot about my peers
 Teamwork was good, trust.
 Really liked Squirrel activity
 More Time
 Belayers should pay more attention, not talk down to groups.
5. What feedback would you provide for the GPS/Mapping Event activity?
 Confusing
 Fun, good to explore
 Okay
 Boring/Not fun
 Not challenging
 Need more mapping locations.
 Too rushed.
 Got Lost
 Nice to interact with faculty
 GPS didn’t’ work
 Don’t do this next year
6. How would you rank the interaction you had with the various ESF Faculty/Staff members that
were stationed during the GPS/Mapping Event?
Total Responses =
Average =
[1-Poor]
[2]
[3-Average]
[4]
[5-Exceptional]
141 Sky Halls
3.77
TOTAL
2.13%
3
3.55%
5
25.53%
36
53.19%
75
15.60%
22
7. Who did you enjoy interacting the most with during the GPS/Mapping Event?
Total Responses = 73
 Dr. McGee (13)
 Dr. Donaghy (14)
 Leah Flynn (11)
 OL’s (8)
 Dr. Murphy (7)
 Dr. Fierke (6)
 Other Students (5)
 Dean Sedgwick (4)
 Janine (3)
 Professor at the Deep Forest (2)
8. Did you utilize Goldstein Dining Hall for breakfast on the morning of your retreat?
Total Responses
Yes
No
Wasn’t aware it was open
141
80
55
6
Total Percent
56.77%
39.00%
4.26%
9. Overall, how would you rate your LC Freshmen Retreat Experience?
Total Responses =
Average =
[1-Poor]
[2]
[3-Average]
[4]
[5-Exceptional]
141 Sky Halls
4.22
TOTAL
0%
0
4.26%
6
9.22%
13
46.81%
66
39.72%
56
II. From Fall 2009 End of Semester survey:
1. Looking back at the past semester, how would you rate the effectiveness of the LC Retreat in
enhancing you acclamation with the campus, faculty and staff?
Total Responses = 157
Average = 3.73
[1-Poor]
[2]
[3-Average]
[4]
[5-Exceptional]
No response
7 4.46%
6 3.82%
44 28.03%
65 41.40%
35 22.29%
3
III. From Spring 2010 End of Semester survey:
5. Looking back to this past September, did the Freshman LC Retreat help in your transition to
college as a freshmen student at ESF?
Total Responses = 147 Percentage
Yes
106 72.1%
No
41 27.9%
6. How did the LC Retreat help you in your transition (referring to question #5)? (Top 3
responses)
 Made it easy to meet people and make friends
 Increased our comfort level in approaching faculty/staff
 It was a confidence builder
IV. Conclusions/Actions:
After the September 2008 LC retreat, our LC Management Team had some concerns about
whether or not the faculty/staff event during the retreat was really serving its purpose. During
the retreat, our students participate in three activities during the day: high ropes course, low
ropes course, and then a faculty/staff activity to help connect our freshmen to our campus
community.
The September 2008 and 2009 faculty/staff event consisted of a GPS Mapping activity that had
our students split up into smaller groups of about 8 students that would travel the grounds using a
GPS to get them to particular locations on the grounds. The locations they traveled led them
different members of the ESF faculty and staff family, which allowed our students the valuable
opportunity to spend time with their respective professors and staff outside of the classroom
setting.
-
Our targeted assessment found that our students enjoyed the retreat overall, ranking
the retreat with an average 4.22 rating (with ‘5’ being the highest) during our LC
Retreat survey given at the end of September 2009.
-
We also found out that 72% of the students polled during our Spring 2010 LC Survey
believe the LC Retreat helped them in their transition from high school to ESF due to:
the ease of being able to meet people and make friends, increased comfort level in
approaching faculty/staff and overall building of confidence.
-
Our LC Retreat survey also showed that our students rated the high and low ropes
activities during the retreat very high; a 4.66 and 3.91 rating respectively (with ‘5’
being the highest).
-
Lastly, and ultimately hitting home the purpose of our targeted assessment, our
students during the LC Retreat survey only ranked the faculty/staff event with a 2.89
rating (with ‘5’ being the highest) mostly because the activity was too boring. We did
learn though that our students did rank the interactions they had with faculty/staff
during the event at a 3.77 rating (with ‘5’ being the highest).
In conclusion, our target assessment showed our LC Management Team that our students truly
value the LC Retreat experience and enjoy the vast majority of the activities they partake in. The
one event we had concerns about, the faculty/staff event, provided results that proved our
concerns were real. To remedy the situation, our team has decided to remold this particular
activity during our next retreat in September 2010. Instead of having our students trek through
the forest to meet our faculty/staff via a GPS course, we will include guided tours of the grounds,
lawn game activities, and session to discuss the ESF summer book read all in the hopes of
enhancing the student experience while also assisting our faculty/staff recruitment efforts by
providing activities that the ESF campus community will be happy and willing to participate in.
We will plan to re-examine this area via targeted assessment during the 2011-12 academic year.