Clarion Transitions Five-Year Program Review 2007

 http://www.clarion.edu/admin/academicaffairs/transitions (Faculty and Staff website)
or
http://www.clarion.edu/student/transitions/ (Student website)

Background

Clarion Transitions comprises programs in the first year (Orientation, Discovery, and Exploration), the sophomore year (Focus), the junior/senior/early alumni years (Academic Mentoring) and support across all four years for parents through the Transitions-affiliated Parent and Family Services Office. Since planning began in 1999 (in response to a steady decline in second year retention), over 400 faculty, students, and staff have participated in focus groups, roundtables and task forces to identify student retention needs, create strategies to meet the needs, develop specific implementation steps, estimate implementation dates, and allocate necessary resources. They have also helped to outline how existing structures, programs and resources could be used for implementation, as well as processes for assessing learning outcomes, satisfaction and overall efficacy.

Clarion Transitions is a partnership between the Division of Academic Affairs and the Division of Student and University Affairs through which new university-wide, cross-divisional, and collaborative planning, implementation, and outcomes assessment are shaped within an overall goal of student retention. Clarion Transitions is coordinated by the Transitions Coordinator, and co-chaired by the Director of Campus Life (Division of Student and University Affairs) and the Associate Academic Vice President (Division of Academic Affairs). A Clarion Transitions team, now numbering 13 members, comprises key staff from the Student and University Affairs division (career services, residence life, campus life) and key faculty from the Academic affairs division (assessment, academic enrichment, university governance, enrollment management).  This team serves as the advisory board for the Transitions Coordinator and provides recommendations regarding implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement.

Goals of Clarion Transitions

The goal of Clarion Transitions is to help students stay in college and develop permanent ties with Clarion University through co-curricular programming and activities that:

 1)      Cement students' and families' commitment to Clarion University

 2)      Forge positive and active relationships among students, and among students, faculty and staff.

 3)      Guide family members as they support their students during the transition from home to college and from college to work.

 4)      Ensure that students are informed self-advocates who accept personal responsibility for their education.

 5)      Engage students in productive co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

The goals of Clarion Transitions reflect the national literature on retention factors over the past 20 years, and they support Clarion University's unique mission, vision, and core values.  Specifically, Clarion Transitions supports the university mission which:

• acknowledges that learning requires a "partnership demanding hard work by students, faculty, and staff, and that learning extends beyond the classroom,"

• expresses a belief in "the learning potential of all our students who are willing to invest hard work in the pursuit of their education,"

• values the individual relationship between student and faculty as central to the learning process, and

• recognizes the contributions of staff in providing the necessary support for that endeavor.  

Following from the university's mission, four major themes are threaded throughout Clarion Transitions: 

1. Students must accept responsibility for their education,
    

2. Students must develop relationships with each other, faculty, and staff,
    

3. Students must be engaged in Clarion University, and
    

4. The sequencing of activities must be timed so that each activity occurs when it is most needed by students, rather than in a "front-loaded" fashion
    

5. Each component of Clarion Transitions has multiple student learning outcomes cross-referenced to the goals. 

 
Guiding Principles

 The following principles form the foundation for Clarion Transitions retention planning and assessment: 

1. Since retention is the responsibility of everyone at the university, all Clarion Transitions retention efforts are planned, implemented and assessed with full university-wide leadership and active participation.  Particularly important to this concept is the commitment to university-wide leadership, not just participation. 
    

2. Students are the primary drivers of information about retention strategies that might work at Clarion University, and student learning outcomes provide continuous formative and summative assessment.
    

3. Student learning outcomes and acceptable levels of performance are developed first, after which strategies for achievement and assessment are developed.
    

4. All retention initiatives are co-chaired by key personnel in the Student and University Affairs Division and key personnel in the Academic Affairs Division.
    

5. Whenever possible, the implementation of Clarion Transitions initiatives makes use of existing personnel, with units refocusing goals, services, and activities to achieve specified Clarion Transitions retention outcomes.
    

6. Student needs and strategies to meet the needs are identified by students, faculty, and staff across all divisions, not by the Transitions Team.
    

7. Student needs and strategies to meet the needs are informed by national literature.
    
8. A "can-do" approach characterizes Clarion Transitions.  Necessary resources and staffing are allocated or re-allocated to meet identified needs and to accomplish accompanying implementation strategies. 
    

9. All activities and programs have clearly identified student learning outcomes and acceptable levels of performance that can be measured.
    

10. Student learning outcomes from all activities are measured via student assessment data that is interpreted by the Clarion Transitions Team and others across campus.
     

11. Student satisfaction is measured distinct from student learning outcomes.
     

12. All aspects of Clarion Transitions represent a partnership between the university's division of Student and University Affairs and the division of Academic Affairs.
     

13. Formative assessments of Clarion Transitions are implemented by analyzing data provided by students at the end of specific activities.
     

14. Summative assessments of Clarion Transitions are implemented by exploring  statistically significant correlations between completion of Transitions activities and students' academic performance. 
     
1. Students' academic performance is defined in terms of Fall, Spring, and cumulative GPA; credit hours attempted and earned; probation or suspension placement; second semester retention; and second year retention.
2. Summative data analyses attempt to mitigate the impact of students' incoming demographic variables by statistically controlling for the following variables -  high school GPA, high school position (high school rank divided by high school size), and SAT total scores.

The Planning Process

The planning, implementation, assessment and continuous improvement processes for Clarion Transitions initiatives for each year of matriculation have followed the chronological sequence noted below with unwavering tenacity. 

1.      A comprehensive literature search is distributed to the university community by the Transitions team.

 a.     Literature search for first year of college

b.      Literature search for second year of college

c.       Literature search for junior/senior years of college

d.      Literature search for senior and early alumni years of college

2.      Student focus groups comprising students from all of the colleges discuss what would most help them stay in school, with the results distributed to the university community.  

a.       Initial student focus groups for first year of college

b.       Initial student focus groups for second year of college
 Initial survey of seniors regarding retention during their sophomore year (PDF)

c.       Initial student focus groups for junior/senior years of college

3.      Faculty, staff, managers, and students attend roundtables to confirm Clarion University student retention needs, brainstorm strategies to meet the needs, and then prioritize the strategies.  Roundtable results are distributed to the university community.  Student focus groups comprising students from all of the colleges discuss the results of the roundtables to determine if they are appropriate, and to add clarity.  Results of these student focus groups are added to the roundtable results and a final list of prioritized strategies is distributed to the university community. 

a.      Roundtables for first year of college - faculty and staff
Roundtables for the first year of college - students

b.      Roundtables for second year of college - faculty and staff
Roundtables for the second year of college - students

c.   Roundtables for junior/senior/early alumni years of college - faculty, staff and students

4.      Task Forces are created and charged to develop implementation and assessment plans for the prioritized strategies.  Each task force, focusing on broad areas identified in the roundtables, is co-chaired by a Student Affairs and Academic Affairs representatives, and each includes staff from all divisions, faculty, managers, and students.  Draft implementation and assessment plans are distributed to the university community, input from the university community is incorporated, and a final implementation and assessment plan (Goals and Outcomes) is distributed to the university community. 

a.      Implementation and assessment plans for first year programs - Goals and Outcomes for Orientation
Implementation and assessment plans for first year programs - Goals and Outcomes for Discovery Weekend
Implementation and assessment plans for first year programs - Goals and Outcomes for Exploration  

b.     Implementation and assessment plans for second year programs - Goals and Outcomes for Focus

c.      Implementation and assessment plans for junior/senior/early alumni years (not completed yet)

5.      Programming and outcomes assessment for each year of the program are first implemented as a pilot with a small group of students.  The Transitions team makes changes based on the outcomes assessments, and full implementation occurs during the second year.  For each year of full implementation, formative student learning outcomes, summative student learning outcomes, and satisfaction outcomes are measured, from which the Transitions Team makes recommendations for changes that are discussed and implemented as approved.  Final reports are distributed to the university community.  Links to formative and summative assessments can be found later in this document in the summaries for each Transitions program, under "Clarion Transitions Programs."

At this time, the planning process has been completed for first and second year programs. The first year programs have been piloted, and are in their third year of full implementation, the second year programs are being piloted, and planning is in process for the junior/senior/early alumni years. 

 Clarion Transitions Programs

Clarion Transitions comprises cross-divisional, discrete programs that are designed to meet the retention needs of students during each of their years at the university.

First-Year Programming

Orientation

First year programming begins with a one-day Orientation for all new (freshmen and transfer) students and their families/guests.  Orientation sessions are held in January, March, April, June, and August.  Since 2003, based on outcomes assessments and new student recruiting needs, orientation has evolved from a two-day event only offered in the summer to a one-day event that is offered in the spring and summer.  The most recent Orientation schedules are available for viewing on the Orientation student website.  A complete packet of materials that each student and family member receives includes a Clarion Transitions brochure, a glossy full-color Resource Guide, an Exploration Handout, and a Resource Fair To-Do List.  Parents and Family members receive a Parents and Family Orientation checklist, and students receive a Student Orientation Checklist.

The focus of Orientation is on helping students to:

1) become familiar with the university and each other,
2) complete critical tasks prior to opening weekend (weekend before classes begin)
3) receive faculty advisement,
4) register for the fall and spring semesters,
5) continue the process of relationship-building that began with the admissions process, and
6) matriculate to the university.

The commitment to making connections is evident throughout Orientation, beginning with the Clarion University business cards that each student receives at check-in (the business cards include the student's name and Clarion e-mail address), and continuing with separate and combined activities for families and students designed to inspire camaraderie and a sense of community.  The families/guest focus of Orientation is on helping families to complete critical tasks such as financial aid applications, and helping families adjust to their students leaving for college.  Goals and outcomes for Orientation are published on the web site:

Goals and Outcomes for New Student Orientation - faculty and staff website; or
Goals and Outcomes for New Student Orientation - student website

Orientation is formatively assessed by reviewing the results of exit surveys from each session that are completed by students and parents/families.  The exit surveys are distributed individually to students after they register for classes (the last Orientation activity).  Generally, 95% of the students who attend Orientation complete a survey, which is collected by orientation leaders as students leave their class registration session. Parents/Families receive the Orientation survey from the Director of Campus Life, who collects the completed surveys just before the Parents/Families leave to meet their students. A 10-hour/week undergraduate student in the office of the Associate Academic Vice President records the results of the student orientation surveys, and provides a summary to the Transitions Coordinator.  The graduate student assigned to the Parents/Family Services Office records the results of the parent/families orientation surveys, and provides a summary to the Transitions Coordinator.

Both of the exit surveys measure learning outcomes and satisfaction.  Exit surveys from each Orientation session are tabulated immediately and reviewed by the Transitions Coordinator.  The Transitions Coordinator makes any necessary changes to resolve identified problems before the next Orientation session.  A final summary for all Orientation sessions is reviewed by the Transitions Team and approved changes are made for the next year.  The exit surveys and summaries of responses can viewed on the Orientation Assessment webpage for faculty and staff. 

Summative assessment of Orientation examines the rate of matriculation to the university by students who attend Orientation.  Approximately 97% of all students who attend Orientation matriculate to the university.

Discovery

First year programming for all new students continues with Discovery, which occurs during "opening weekend" just prior to the start of each semester.  The focus of Discovery is to reinforce and enhance information presented at Orientation; foster Clarion pride; help students make friends, learn their way around campus, and find their classrooms; ensure that students know how to use their guide to university offices and policies (the Academic and Career Essentials for Success guide); ensure that students complete processes that are critical to the first day of classes (print schedule, update personal data forms); and formally induct students into academic life.

Fall Discovery is formatively assessed through an exit survey which is distributed to students at the end of the university Convocation (the last activity during Discovery weekend).  Generally, about 40% of the students attending Convocation complete the survey and return it as they leave Convocation.  Since there are so few students who complete the spring Discovery, assessments are examined, but formal summaries are not produced.  Discovery assessments and schedules can be viewed on the Discovery Assessment webpage for faculty and staff.

Exploration

First year programming concludes with Exploration, a voluntary, credit-bearing (1/2 credit in the fall, 1/2 credit in the spring), partially peer-facilitated co-curricular for first-time-in-college students. The purpose of Exploration is to provide information and encourage interactions among students and faculty in a non-threatening, interactive environment.  Sessions focus on student use of campus resources and effective academic and social habits.  Exploration comprises five one-hour sessions in the fall semester and four one-hour sessions in the spring semester.  Grading for Exploration is Credit/No Credit.  While the credits count toward graduation, the credits do not impact a student's grade point average. The co-curricular is supervised by a faculty member from the Academic Affairs division who works directly with the full-time Transitions Coordinator, both of whom are members of the Transitions Team.  The curriculum, expected learning outcomes, acceptable levels of performance, and session scripts are built by the faculty member and Transitions coordinator, and reviewed by the Transitions Team. 

Student learning outcomes for each session are measured by assessing student responses on minute papers that each student returns at the end of the session.  The minute papers also serve as the attendance record for a student so that the peer-facilitators are not seen as "teachers," but rather as more knowledgeable peers.  For the sessions that are staff/faculty facilitated, the minute papers release the staff and faculty from having to take attendance.  Student assistants in the Transitions Coordinator Office record attendance at each session in an access database.  The minute papers are then sent to a 10-hour student assistant in the Associate Academic Vice President's Office, who records the responses to the minute papers in an access database, and creates summary charts and narratives for each session. The student assistant in the Associate Academic Vice President's office also double checks the attendance records to avoid any errors. The formative assessment data are reviewed by the Transitions Team and recommendations are made for changes based on the assessment data.  Formative assessment summaries (summaries of all minute papers from each semester) can be viewed on the Exploration Assessment webpage for faculty and staff.  

Each semester, two of the Exploration sessions are held in the Residence Halls (facilitated by Resident Assistants, RAs) or the university-sponsored off-campus apartment-style residences (facilitated by Community Assistants, CAs).  Resident Assistants and Community Assistants are required to facilitate two Exploration sessions as part of their hall/village programming, and hiring processes for RAs and CAs include assessments of their communication abilities.  Sessions for commuters are held in the Student Center and are facilitated by upper-division student volunteers, many of whom are commuter students themselves.   The remaining Exploration sessions are held at various locations on campus (Student Center, Library) and are facilitated by faculty and Student Affairs volunteers. 

While the times, dates, and locations for faculty/staff-facilitated sessions are set prior to the beginning of each semester, peer-facilitated sessions cannot be set until the student facilitators know their own semester schedules.  Peer facilitators identify the times, dates, and locations for their sessions on the fourth day of each semester, using date and time parameters set by the Transitions Team.   Once all of the times, dates, and locations have been set, Exploration students are directed by the faculty member of record (via their e-mail) to the Exploration website for students to view their assigned sessions.  Students are also sent to this site by the instructor to view the syllabus for this credit-bearing co-curricular.

At least 50% of the peer-facilitated sessions are observed by a faculty member or a student affairs professional to ensure that the curriculum is being followed, that the sessions are interactive (not lecture style), to help the peer-facilitators if they ask for help, and to and correct any misinformation that a peer-facilitator might present.  Another reason for observations by faculty (most of the sessions are observed by faculty) relates to the collective bargaining agreement at the university, which clearly states that graduate students cannot instruct lectures or laboratories unless the faculty member assigned to teach the course is present in the classroom or laboratory.  When the Exploration series was approved as a credit-bearing co-curricular, the local union approved limited peer-facilitation, with the provision that peer-facilitated sessions would be observed by faculty or student affairs professionals.  It is also important to note that the Exploration series has been designated as a credit-bearing co-curricular rather than a course. Faculty and student affairs observers complete an "Observer's Rubric" that provides information regarding the effectiveness of the peer-facilitated session and the effectiveness of the peer-facilitator.  The observer rubrics are reviewed as they are completed to identify any problems that need to be addressed immediately regarding a peer facilitator.  At the end of each year, the responses from all of the observers are tallied and used to determine the overall effectiveness of using peer facilitators as well as areas in which peer-training might need to be improved (peer facilitators are trained by faculty and Student Affairs professional staff during a three-hour training session at the beginning of each semester).  The Observer Rubric and summaries of responses to the Observer Rubric can be found on the Exploration Assessment webpage for faculty and staff.

At the end of each academic year, summative assessments of Exploration are completed by a statistician hired by the Transitions Team.  Summative assessments attempt to determine correlations between completion of the Exploration series and students' academic performance.  Detailed summative assessments can be viewed on the Exploration Assessment webpage for faculty and staff.  A summary of these assessments for the past two years can be read from the following.

Sophomore Year Programming 

Entitled Focus, sophomore year programming encourages logical transitions from general education into a chosen major; helps students further focus academic and career planning; promotes career research, field experience, and broad civic engagement; encourages student/faculty interactions and university pride; and helps students develop autonomy, a sense of purpose, and a clear sophomore identity.  The goal of Focus is to engage every sophomore in at least one co-curricular activity in the areas of citizenship, career experience, leadership, personal growth, and/or volunteerism.  Engagement in co-curricular activities has been identified as an effective way to help sophomores avoid "sophomore slump," or the feeling of being in limbo  -- they are not really freshmen (even though they are still taking freshmen classes), but they are also not in their majors.  The centerpiece of Focus is the co-curricular transcript, which officially documents a student's co-curricular experiences in a format similar to the academic transcript.  The co-curricular transcript can be provided by the registrar along with the academic transcript.  While the co-curricular transcript has been developed as the centerpiece of the sophomore year, it will be promoted to all students and will be used by students at all levels of matriculation.  The co-curricular transcript and an interactive web-based data management system are being developed by Samaritan Technologies, Inc.  Currently, the co-curricular transcript is in development so the web page is not functional at this time. As development progresses, the co-curricular transcript can be viewed on the Co-curricular webpage for students.  The initial proposal for the sophomore year can be read on the Focus program Development webpage for faculty and staff, as well as documentation that explains a proposed structure for students to engage in sophomore career experiences.  When the focus year implementation is completed, students will be able to participate in activities related to leadership, citizenship, volunteerism, personal growth, and career experience.  Student participation in these activities throughout all four years of matriculation will be validated and then recorded on an official co-curricular transcript. 

Junior and Senior Year Programming, Early Alumni Year Programming 

Entitled Academic Mentoring, programming during the junior/senior/early alumni years facilitates a student's movement into a major, development as a professional in a chosen field, development of relationships with professionals in a chosen field, and development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes demonstrated by scholars in a student's chosen field.  While the initial planning (literature search, focus groups, roundtables) has been completed, some of the implementation task forces have not yet been formed.  A task force has been created to examine strategies for improving class availability and providing students with four-year graduation plans by major.  The task force has made recommendations and it is now working to implement identified strategies for predicting class and seat demand as well as creating a schedule of classes and seats that meets the predicted demand.

Parent and Family Services 

Parent and Family Services is a Transitions-affiliated program, staffed by Student and University Affairs professionals, and providing information for students' families regarding the university and how families can help their students as they matriculate at the university.  While not directly a part of Clarion Transitions, the Transitions Coordinator administers the office and the graduate student assigned to the office, and provides direction for the newsletter that is distributed to families each semester.  The Transitions Coordinator also serves as the Student and University Affairs co-chair for the university-wide Family Day.  Parent and Family Services are promoted through the Clarion Transitions website.

Program Finances and Personnel

First time in college students and transfer students are charged a Transitions annual fee ($150  for FTIC students; $100 for transfer students) which is included in their first university bill.  These fees support first-year program planning and implementation costs, including:

• Student employment costs for first-year programming  

o       14 orientation leaders who also receive free room and board during the four weeks of summer Orientation and the week before classes start in the Fall

o       Three 10-hour/week undergraduate student workers in the Transitions Office

o       One 10-hour/week undergraduate student worker in the office of Associate Academic Vice President

o       1/2 of a 20-hour/week graduate assistant 

•  Assessment Statistician 

•  All opening weekend activities

•  First-year programming training costs and operations costs 

All sophomores are charged $30 at the beginning of their third semester at Clarion University.  This fee, which is included in their third semester university bill, covers the costs of sophomore year programming, including:

• One 10-hour/week undergraduate student worker in the Career Services Center

• Third-party software from Samaritan Technologies, Inc. for the co-curricular transcript and interactive web-based management system
   

Parents and guests who attend Orientation are charged $30 or $40, depending upon whether they stay overnight in a residence hall. This fee covers:

• the cost of parent/family participation in new student Orientation

• an opening weekend picnic for parents/families and new students

• operations costs for the Parent and Family Services Office

• Family Day

• 1/2 of a 20-hour per week graduate assistant assigned to the Parent and Family Services Office

The Division of Academic Affairs pays for:

• the salary of a quarter time assignment to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, who co-chairs Clarion Transitions and fulfills responsibilities related to programming, implementation, and assessment

• the salary of a quarter time assignment to the faculty member of record for the first-year Exploration Program
   

• the salaries for approximately 10 faculty who receive half-time summer contracts to do course advisement for new students during the Orientation registration activities.

The Division of Student and University Affairs pays the salary of a quarter-time assignment to the Director of Campus Life, who co-chairs Clarion Transitions and fulfills responsibilities related to programming, implementation, and assessment, and who supervises the Transitions Coordinator.  

The salary of the full-time Clarion Transitions Coordinator is paid from the Transitions fees that are charged to students in their first and second years. 

Questions for Consultants

In addition to questions and recommendations that the consultants will have, the Transitions Team, Provost, and Vice President for Student and University Affairs would ask that the consultants think about the following questions, most of which are related to growing and sustaining the program.

1. Do the consultants have ideas on how we might create a first year at Clarion University (rather than first-year-in-college) series that    would effectively meet the needs of transfer students without exponentially adding to the workload of the staff? 

At the current time, transfer students attend orientation with FTIC students.  While the Orientation schedule has been adapted so that it is equally relevant to transfer students and FTIC students, the Transitions Team has struggled with the development of an Exploration series that might be relevant to Transfer students.  At the current time, transfer students whose credit hours put them beyond the freshmen level do not participate in Exploration and their Transitions fee is $50 less than the FTIC students because of this.

2. Do the consultants have suggestions of ways that we might make our assessment processes less labor-intensive without compromising the integrity of our assessments? 

The assessments that are completed for Clarion Transitions, while effective, are similar to the kinds of assessments that are completed in academic classes.  With over 600 students, analysis is very time-consuming.  And, since students are not attending in locations where they can complete assessments on a computer (for example, using Blackboard), paper and pencil seems to be the only option.

3. Do the consultants have suggestions regarding ways to encourage faculty involvement that rises to the level of workload assumed for the sophomore, junior, and senior years?

While the planning and assessment of Clarion Transitions programs is always multi-divisional, the workload for Clarion Transitions is envisioned with the following divisions of responsibility:

o       Orientation and Discovery - Major responsibilities for implementation are on the Student and University Affairs side, with about 95% of the implementation being done on the Student and University Affairs side, and about 5% of the implementation being done on the Academic Affairs side.

o       Exploration -  Approximately 70% of the implementation workload is on the Student and University Affairs side, with approximately 30% of the implementation workload on the Academic Affairs side.

o       Sophomore Focus -  While the management of the co-curricular transcript and administration of the program is accomplished by the Transitions Coordinator and the Career Services Center, the major implementation workload is divided equally.  Student and University Affairs will be providing co-curricular experiences that are designed jointly with the Academic Affairs division, but the Academic Affairs division will be promoting these experiences so that students will participate.  The implementation workload for this year is envisioned to be equally split between the two divisions.

o       Junior/Senior Year Academic Mentoring - The implementation workload for these programs is seen as primarily on the Academic Affairs side (90%) with Student and University Affairs providing resources and consultation regarding resumes and job interviewing.

4.      Is the current structure for Transitions (coordinator, co-chairs, advisory board) a sound structure that will ensure sustainability of the program? Are there other structures that might be more effective to ensure that the partnership nature of the program doesn't erode away and fall back into more familiar patterns (e.g., the program becomes a Student Affairs program)?

5.      Do the consultants have suggestions for methods that have worked at other institutions? 

The Exploration series is voluntary and has a 50% attrition rate each semester.  The Transitions Team finds this unacceptable as an outcome, and is exploring options for encouraging higher initial registration and higher completion rates.

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