Student Engagement Retreat:
The Sophomore Student
November 18, 2011
1
What is Student Engagement?
Student engagement represents the time and
effort students devote to activities empirically
linked to the intended outcomes of college and
what institutions do to both provide these
activities and induce students to participate in
them (Kuh, 2009).
2
Positive Outcomes of
Student Engagement


Student engagement is generally considered to be among the
better predictors of learning and personal development (Carini,
Kuh, & Klein, 2006)
“Educationally purposeful” practices produce the following
student outcomes:
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
Investing time and effort
Interacting with faculty, staff, and peers about substantive matters
Experiencing diversity
Responding to more frequent feedback
Reflecting and integrating learning
Discovering relevance of learning through real-world experiences
(Brownell & Swaner, 2010)
Student Engagement Project

Initial planning to address pressing issues:
–
–


4
Middle States
No Freshman Cars
Planning would engage faculty, staff and
students in retreat “teams”
Planning would continue for all four years of
a student’s time at Ramapo
Student Engagement for the First-Year
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 1: Academic Engagement
Interaction, participation and interest in gaining skills and
increasing knowledge. Seeking ways to relate learning inside the
classroom with life outside the classroom.
5
Outcome 1: Students will apply classroom knowledge to current
experiences and future goals.
Outcome 2: Students will explore their own and other cultures,
beliefs, and practices.
Outcome 3: Students will use college-level discourse in speaking
and writing both individually and in groups.
Outcome 4: Students will conduct research and use technology
responsibly and effectively.
Student Engagement for the First-Year
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 2: Social Engagement
Interaction, participation, and interest in socializing with others
within an active community. Seeking activities that facilitate
positive relationships with others.
Outcome 1: Students will explore opportunities for involvement in
campus activities.
Outcome 2: Students will establish connections with their peers,
faculty, and staff.
Outcome 3: Students will embrace being a member of the
Ramapo College community and celebrate college pride.
6
Student Engagement for the First-Year
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 3: Personal Engagement
Interaction, participation, and interest in knowing self and self in
relation to the world. Reflection on one’s place on the campus, in
the community, and in the world. Understanding one’s strengths
and weaknesses and using this knowledge to reach one’s goals.
Outcome 1: Students will demonstrate their ability to identify and
utilize campus resources when needed.
Outcome 2: Students will take responsibility for their personal
development and construct a plan to achieve it.
Outcome 3: Students will become self-reflective and challenge
their current view of the world and their place in it
7
Student Engagement for the First-Year
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 4: Campus/Civic Engagement
Interaction, participation and interest in the social, cultural, and
leadership aspects of the College. Building the skills necessary to
become active, engaged citizens who make the College, the
nation and the world better places to live, learn, and work.
Outcome 1: Students will understand their roles, rights and
responsibilities as citizens of the Ramapo campus.
Outcome 2: Students will understand their roles, rights and
responsibilities as local, national and global citizens
8
Student Engagement for the First-Year
Criteria for Key Points of Engagement



9
A structured opportunity designed for all first-year students;
A structured opportunity open to all first-year students; and
A high-impact activity or an activity leading to a high-impact
activity, meaning that it is:
– A substantive interaction, in class and out of class, with
peers, faculty, and staff or
– A common experience that deepens understanding of self
and others or
– An opportunity to connect in-class and out-of-class learning.
First-Year Map
KPE
Academic
1.1
1.2
1.3
Social
1.4
Orientation
Summer
Reading/Convocation
2.1
x
x
x
Personal
2.2 2.3
x
3.1
3.3
4.1
x
x
x
AlcoholEdu
x
x
x
Arching and First Year
Assembly
Maroon Madness
x
x
x
x
Choices and
Consequences
Green Dot
10
3.2
Campus/Civic
x
x
LollaNoBooza
x
Club Fair
x
FYS/Peers
x
Advising
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
4.2
Continued work on First-Year
Student Engagement



Overseen by the First-Year Experience
Board
Developing KPEs where there are noticeable
gaps in outcomes (service, diversity,
international)
Continued Assessment of KPEs and
adjusting for AY12-13
Charge for the Sophomore-Year
Retreat Participants
12
As part of Ramapo College’s Student Engagement
Project (SEP), retreat participants will help the Student
Engagement Steering Committee develop plans for the
sophomore year. Specifically, participants will:
 Identify the specific needs of sophomore students;
 Review best practices for addressing the specific
needs of sophomore students;
 Review the sophomore student engagement goals
and outcomes to ensure that they match the
developmental needs of sophomore students;
Charge for the Sophomore-Year
Retreat Participants





13
Identify existing activities that potentially match the
needs of sophomore students;
Recommend and design new activities where gaps
exist;
Align activities to the sophomore student
engagement outcomes;
Develop assessment plans and other documents for
the activities; and
Create a communication plan for the activities.
Who Are Our Sophomore Students?
If we define sophomores as students who have earned 32 to 63
credits, we can say the following about our sophomore students:
61% came to Ramapo College as freshmen
 36% are transfer students
 60% live on campus
 The top three majors for sophomore-students in descending
order are psychology, undeclared (12%), and communication
arts.

14
Who Are Our First-Year Students?
If we define first-year students as students who have earned 0-31
credits, we can say the following about our first-year students:
89% came to Ramapo College directly from high school
 11% are transfer students
 79.9% live on campus
 The top three majors for first-year students in descending order
are undeclared (18%), nursing, and biology

15
Research on Sophomore Students


16
Academic Impressions Webinar on engaging
sophomores (8/3/11)
Hunter, M.S., Tobolowsky, B.F., Gardner, J.N.
(2010). Helping Sophomores Succeed:
Understanding and Improving the Second-Year
Experience
Understanding the Needs of
Sophomores
Overview
Sophomore Slump
 Search for Purpose
 Academic Self-Efficacy and Major Selection
 Career Development
 Academic Engagement

17
Understanding the Needs of
Sophomores
Sophomore Slump
Let-down from the structured support and activity of
the first-year experience
 Boredom and apathy
 Alienation and dissatisfaction

18
Understanding the Needs of
Sophomores
Search for purpose
Motivation
 Identity and self-reflection
 Values and spirituality
 Social integration and involvement

19
Understanding the Needs of
Sophomores
Academic Self-Efficacy and Major Selection
Academic self-efficacy as a predictor of student
academic success
 Declaring a major requires an attachment and
commitment to ideas, interests and a group of faculty
 Positive impact of being clear and decided about
major

20
Understanding the Needs of
Sophomores
Career Development
Developmentally undecided vs. chronically undecided
 Major selection and career decision do not
necessarily go hand in hand

21
Understanding the Needs of
Sophomores
Academic Engagement
Contact with faculty is one of the strongest predictors
of persistence, engagement and success
 Substantive, educationally meaningful faculty-student
interactions are critical (feedback, mentoring,
advising, research, co-curricular activities, etc.)
 Importance of active/engaged learning
 Effort and time on task

22
Best Practices for
Sophomore Students
Overview
Help Sophomores Make the Transition
 Help Sophomores Engage with Academics
and Others
 Help Sophomores Make Life Decisions and
Develop Purpose
 Help Sophomores See the World and Make a
Difference

23
Best Practices for
Sophomore Students
Help Sophomores Make the Transition
End-of-First-Year Event
 Sophomore Convocation, Retreat, and/or Common
Reading

24
Best Practices for
Sophomore Students
Help Sophomores Engage with Academics and
Others
Living-Learning Communities
 Mentorship Programs
 Faculty-Student Research

25
Best Practices for
Sophomore Students
Help Sophomores Make Life Decisions and
Develop Purpose
Academic Advising
 Career Exploration
 Spirituality Programs

26
Best Practices for
Sophomore Students
Help Sophomores See the World and Make a
Difference
Study Abroad
 Internships
 Service-Learning
 On Campus Employment

27
Discussion of Proposed Sophomore
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 1: Academic Engagement
Interaction, participation and interest in gaining skills and
increasing knowledge. Seeking ways to relate learning inside the
classroom with life outside the classroom.
28
Outcome 1: Students will apply classroom knowledge to current
experiences and future goals.
Outcome 2: Students will explore their own and other cultures,
beliefs, and practices.
Outcome 3: Students will use college-level discourse in speaking
and writing both individually and in groups.
Outcome 4: Students will conduct research and use technology
responsibly and effectively.
Discussion of Proposed Sophomore
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 2: Social Engagement
Interaction, participation, and interest in socializing with others
within an active community. Seeking activities that facilitate
positive relationships with others.
Outcome 1: Students will participate in campus activities.
Outcome 2: Students will interact meaningfully with faculty, staff,
and peers and reflect on those interactions.
Outcome 3: Students will actively serve or participate in the
Ramapo College community.
29
Discussion of Proposed Sophomore
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 3: Personal Engagement
Interaction, participation, and interest in knowing self and self in relation to
the world. Reflection on one’s place on the campus, in the community,
and in the world. Understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses and
using this knowledge to reach one’s goals.
30
Outcome 1: Students will utilize campus resources when needed.
Outcome 2: Students will engage in self-reflection and develop a sense of
purpose.
Outcome 3: Students will reflect on their current view of the world and
their place in it.
Outcome 4: Students will reflect on their academic performance,
strengths, and interests in order to identify an appropriate major.
Outcome 5: Students will explore opportunities for career development.
Discussion of Proposed Sophomore
Goals and Outcomes
Goal 4: Campus and Civic Engagement
Interaction, participation and interest in the social, cultural, and
leadership aspects of the College. Building the skills necessary to
become active, engaged citizens who make the College, the
nation and the world better places to live, learn, and work.
Outcome 1: Students will engage actively as responsible citizens
of the Ramapo campus.
Outcome 2: Students will understand their roles, rights and
responsibilities as local, national and global citizens.
31
Discussion of Proposed Criteria for
Sophomore KPEs



32
A high-impact activity or an activity leading to a high-impact
activity, meaning that it is:
– A substantive interaction, in class and out of class, with
peers, faculty, and staff or
– A common experience that deepens understanding of self
and others or
– An opportunity to connect in-class and out-of-class learning.
An opportunity, either designed for or beneficial to sophomore
students, that meets their developmental needs.
An opportunity that fosters self-reflection and leads to personal
development.
Inventory of Existing Activities that
Meet or Could Meet KPE Criteria
33
Proposed Criteria for
Sophomore KPEs



34
A high-impact activity or an activity leading to a high-impact
activity, meaning that it is:
– A substantive interaction, in class and out of class, with
peers, faculty, and staff or
– A common experience that deepens understanding of self
and others or
– An opportunity to connect in-class and out-of-class learning.
An opportunity, either designed for or beneficial to sophomore
students, that meets their developmental needs.
An opportunity that fosters self-reflection and leads to personal
development.
Identification of Gaps and Potential
New Sophomore Activities
35
Closing Remarks
36