Emerging and Persistent Issues for First-Year Students
Graham B. Spanier, President, The Pennsylvania State University
Editor's Note: This article is based on a speech presented by Dr. Spanier at the third
annual Professional Development Conference on Academic Advising held at Penn State's
University Park campus in September, 2004. The theme of the conference, sponsored by
Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies, was “What Generation Are We
Advising? Facilitating a Successful Transition to College.”
I am pleased to be here with all of you today, because as president of one of America's
largest and most complex universities, I am deeply committed to higher education's
mission to help students become educated members of society. I know that much of what
I will say involves issues you are already well aware of in your daily work.
Helping first-year students transition to college and aiding them throughout their college
career is vital to their ultimate success as a college graduate. Today, more students are
choosing to go to college than at any time in our history. Across the nation, more than 16
million students are enrolled in public and private two- and four-year institutions.
While those of us in higher education know that a college experience contributes greatly
to human development, cultural advancement, and the quality of life for so many, the
reality is that today, for so many, the decision to go to college is largely based on
economics.
In a recent report, 87 percent of Americans said they believed that a college education has
become as important as a high school diploma used to be. In another study by the
American Council on Education, a full 94 percent of respondents said that the “right
education and training” was an important factor in individual success.
From a strictly economic viewpoint, which is how many of our students see their college
years, lifetime earning power of an individual increases substantially with each academic
degree earned—roughly $1 million more with a baccalaureate degree.
This brings me to an important point about today's college students—they are consumers
who all too often view education as a commodity. More and more students are turning to
rankings, such as those produced by U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton
Review, to help make their college decisions. There is also a growing appeal in earlydecision programs.
Intense competition among students to be admitted to college has resulted in more firstyear students than ever attending a college that is their second or lower choice.
Combined with rising tuition, this competition is driving high-level expectations among
today's students. Incoming students want personal attention, a seamless administrative
system, specialized housing and food service options, easy access to the Internet, their
own bathrooms, microwaves in their rooms, and intense counseling support, to name just
a few amenities. They want top-notch recreational facilities, smaller classes, and what
seems like on-demand contact with counselors, advisers, faculty, and administrators.
It appears sometimes that their parents want even more. Today's students are reported to
be closer to their parents than any generation since before the 1960s. These parents
appear to be overly engaged in their children's lives, and someone in the popular press
has dubbed them “helicopter parents.” For those who don't quite catch the metaphor,
these are parents who “hover”—a lot. I have received letters from some of these parents,
who intervene on behalf of their children to demand a grade change, push for curfews,
ask me to settle roommate disputes, or even to allow drinking in the fraternities. One
mother chastised us for not teaching her son to make his bed.
In advising, I know you see this phenomenon as early as summer registration when
parents, often recounting their own college experiences, tell their children not to take late
Friday classes so they can come home on weekends or suggest they forego a chemistry
class because it may be too difficult. They convince their children that fewer credits—or
more credits—would be a better option, and they may frown on courses that they don't
think provide enough marketable real-world skills.
I heard of one parent who refused to pay tuition for his daughter to go to college and take
“gym classes.” She wanted to be an athletic trainer or physical education instructor, but
her father just couldn't get past the notion of paying thousands of dollars a year for his
daughter to run track, play tennis, or swim, even if that is only a tiny portion of the
courses outlined for that major.
Students navigating the newness of college used to turn to advisers, who acknowledged
their struggles, discussed concerns, and prodded them to think independently and take
responsibility for their own learning. Many students now appear to be turning to parents
for solutions. As you know, the answers are not always best, and often you end up
advising parents and their children.
As advisers, you are working hard to teach students how to take control of their own
lives, how to think more broadly, explore possibilities, and develop learning and life
management skills. There is no doubt that your job is becoming more challenging as you
deal with these new attitudinal shifts and a host of other changes.
Let me quickly tell you a little bit more about the students we are serving, because there
is a wide range of research on those born after 1982, sometimes referred to as the
Millennial Generation.
Just a bit of trivia first—in the very near future you are likely to deal with a large
contingent of male students named Michael, Jason, or Christopher and a host of female
advisees named Jessica, Jennifer, and Ashley. These are the most common names for this
generation.
Despite the repetition of names, however, these students will be the most diverse that we
have ever seen, not just in ethnic and racial makeup, but in other characteristics as well.
They may be older, only attend part-time, and are likely to hold a job. In fact,
nontraditional students dominate undergraduate enrollments nationally today. All of these
characteristics are having a tremendous impact on the advising role. For example,
working students come with their own set of challenges, among them the challenge of
persisting in college as well as taking longer to earn their degree.
Easing these students' transition to college may not be as cut-and-dried as in the past and
may require more time and more effort on our part to help these students adjust. They
may need more individualized attention or our office hours may need to be changed to
match their schedules. At Penn State, we have already instituted a number of online
services to accommodate this technology-savvy generation who want instant access.
Online advances at Penn State include new Web-based placement testing and educational
planning, admissions information, advising-related materials, and the ability to check
academic progress and grades.
We need to continue to think of more ways technology can be used to help first-year
students improve their academic performance.
Demographics are also affecting how we operate. In Pennsylvania, we have already
experienced a dramatic decline in the number of high school graduates across the state.
Competition for in-state students has heated up, and institutions are investing more in
out-of-state recruitment.
In addition, national demographic projections suggest that about 65 percent of the growth
in population through the year 2020 will be in ethnic minority groups, particularly
Hispanics and Asian populations. But this population change will not be uniformly
distributed across the country.
Pennsylvania will remain predominantly white, although certain Penn State campuses in
various areas of the state are predicted to see a significant rise in minority applicants.
These special populations may require more from the advising relationship, particularly
for those who find themselves on a predominantly white campus. Because of their
distinctive position on campus, some of these students may be reluctant to ask for help.
This hesitancy can contribute to academic difficulty and cause students to leave college.
Meaningful contact with faculty members and advisers can make the difference.
Advisers who view students as individuals can encourage them to see their distinction on
campus as a positive force. Research evidence suggests that for first-year minority
students, academic advising can be especially important. Advisers can meet critical needs
by encouraging a positive self-concept, helping them get involved in the community, and
by introducing them to student support services and other resources.
Studies have shown that minority students with low expectations and vague or unfocused
plans are likely to leave school. It is our job to do everything we can to encourage them
to persist.
As with many new students who are far from home, finding a support system is critical to
college survival. The culture of many ethnic groups is to maintain close family
relationships. These students often find leaving home and adjusting to college more
difficult than do majority students. Minority students are often able to persist in college
because of their positive expectations and interactions with advisers and others within the
campus community.
As you know, academic performance is strongly related to satisfaction with college, high
levels of campus participation, and constructive and encouraging relationships with
faculty and other role models.
At my annual convocation for first-year students held at the start of each academic year, I
urge them to become well-acquainted with at least one faculty member. I also tell them
that their academic progress is their responsibility and that they should plan ahead and
seek the advice of advisers. Occasionally, I have heard back from former first-year
students who tell me that those words of advice were some of the best they had received
in their transitional year.
In the area of family structure, there are a number of demographic shifts that have
impacted our students as well, affecting everything from their access to college to the
financial aid they need to additional student services that must be provided.
Students are arriving at the University with a broader array of personal and familial
challenges. Their demands on our health care facilities and our counseling services, for
example, have increased dramatically. Campus mental health facilities are treating a
record number of college students, who are grappling with everything from anxiety
disorders to depression. A national survey of counseling directors reported that about 18
to 20 percent of students who sought counseling were already on medication.
At the University Park campus of Penn State, the number of students seeking assistance
from our counseling staff has more than doubled since the 1980s, rising from 900
students per year to more than 2,000 today. All Penn State campuses now have some
form of counseling available for students.
The rise in mental health problems means changes in other areas of our University,
including advising. Possibly, it's a student's academic choices, living situation, or study
skills that may be leading to more stress.
Students must be our top priority, and this is why I advocate being a student-centered
university. As a learning community, we must put our students and their development at
the heart of all we do.
Here at Penn State, I am pleased to say that we are investing heavily in that idea. Students
today are demanding more upscale living accommodations, more recreational facilities,
and more student space. We are accomplishing this with new student unions, new
libraries, and new multi-sports facilities that grace a number of our campuses.
Both the physical layout and the programming in our residence halls are changing. As an
example, this semester at University Park we opened the Eastview Terrace complex for
junior and senior students. This new cluster of seven residence halls is outstanding. The
complex contains single rooms with attached baths, lots of common space, shared kitchen
areas, microwaves and refrigerators in the rooms, and a shared laundry facility on every
floor.
We continue to introduce more academic programs into the residence halls, ask faculty to
eat in the dining halls, and bring academic advising to our students where they live.
Longstanding data indicate that the residence hall experience is conducive to retention,
especially for first-year students who benefit greatly from joining a community of
scholars. In this community, they can model and observe appropriate study habits, as well
as learn critical time management skills.
I mentioned my annual convocation for first-year students. This is my chance to welcome
them to our learning community and tell them of expectations and opportunities. In
addition to advice on finding role models and taking responsibility, I also counsel them to
avoid high-risk drinking and drug use.
Nearly half of all high school seniors say they have experimented with marijuana at least
once before graduation, and our own data have shown that within their first week at Penn
State, many of our students participate in high-risk drinking. Many become heavy users
of alcohol. As many as 7 percent drop out for reasons related to drinking.
At Penn State, we have attempted to curb this dangerous behavior by providing
alternative late-night programming, additional educational programs, intensive marketing
campaigns, and by working with community members and the Pennsylvania Liquor
Control Board.
As you can see, upon arriving at our doorstep, first-year students encounter a host of
difficulties, but they also bring with them a number of new challenges.
In 2001, the Manhattan Institute reported that only one in three high school students was
minimally prepared for the rigors of college. Retaining academically underprepared firstyear students presents a special challenge for advisers, particularly since the numbers
appear to be increasing.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the proportion of students who
spend an average of one year in remediation has gone from 28 percent in 1995 to 35
percent in 2000.
Students who are underprepared lack basic skills in writing, computation, language, time
management, and study habits, and not all advising practices will be successful for all
academically deficient students. However, research has shown that a trusting studentadviser relationship is a vital step toward helping them gain confidence and the skills
necessary to continue.
One proactive measure we could take to ease the transition to college involves a
collaborative effort with secondary education. Universities need to clearly articulate
expectations and then engage in a partnership so that each party understands the culture
of the other. One example is faculty exchange programs with high schools.
First-year students are in transition, struggling with choices, responsibilities, and
maturation. We need to foster a sense of connection and check for signs of trouble. Being
aware of the needs of our students is a first step to reducing attrition.
As academic advisers, you can help them develop a sense of belonging and see the
university community as inclusive. Your role is to help them discover a suitable identity
as a student.
As academic advisers, you are playing a key role in our transformation to a more studentcentered university.
About the Author
Graham B. Spanier is president of the Pennsylvania State University. He can be reached
at president@psu.edu.
http://www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/041022gs.htm