Transfer Success with Peer Mentors Charlene A. Stinard Director - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transfer Success with Peer Mentors Charlene A. Stinard Director Transfer and Transition Services Student Development & Enrollment Services University of Central Florida 20 th National Conference on Students in Transition October 2013

Overview  Purpose • UCF model • Establishing purpose, aligning with division and university goals  Common goals • Assist transfer students • Insure smooth transitjon and progress to graduatjon • Improve retentjon

Overview (contjnued)  Costs and funding • Budget • Paid or unpaid, academic credit • Partnerships: creatjve funding  Planning • Long-/short-range purposes - 3-year strategic plan • Intentjonal, focused outcomes - Annual department/program assessments

Large Public University Large Public University  2nd largest US university  2013-14 enrollment = 60,000 +  Transfer enrollment 2012-13 • 11,014 new transfer students enrolled (annual) • 6,700 new freshmen enrolled (annual)  Partnership instjtutjons – 4 primary feeder schools

UCF Model Transfer and • Transition Services • Vision

UCF Model Transfer and Transitj tjon Services 3 Functj tjonal Areas  Preparatj tjon • Advise students before they transfer  Transitj tjon • Work with transfers during their fjrst semester  Progression • Provide a solid foundatjon for retentjon and graduatjon

Serving Transfer Students  2012-13 academic year: UCF enrollment 59,800 + • TTS assisted more than 40,000 constjtuents in person, by phone, by e-mail • TTS stafg and Peer Mentors: 24,000 + student advising contacts  Award winning website htup://transfer.sdes.ucf.edu • 180,000 + website hits annually • Student web developer  Partjcipated in 20 transfer orientatjons

Program Goals  Create new roles for students in student learning (division strategic goal)  Expand opportunitjes for experience-based learning (division strategic goal)  Provide quality services for increasing numbers of students (university goal)  Assist transfer students in connectjng to the campus community  Inculcate the values of the instjtutjon

TTS Org Chart

Resources  University commitment of critjcal resources: space, funding  To pay or not to pay  Partnering  Organizatjonal structure  Assessment and improvement

Transfer Shock Survivors … a temporary dip in GPA during the first or second semester at the new institution… John Hills, University of Georgia, 1965

TTS Peer Mentor Program  A successful model for • Preparing students academically for transfer • Assuring a smooth transfer transitjon • Connectjng to the campus community • Providing support for progress to graduatjon  Supports student leadership development  Provides important professional development  Helps to manage heavy advising loads  Promotes retentjon

Ingredients for Peer Program Success  Recruitment and selectjon  Training  Supervision  Commitued students  University support

Recruitj tjng Peers  Recommendatjons from community college advisors  E-mails to currently enrolled transfers  Announcements at orientatjons  Consider your instjtutjon’s transfer student demographics  Annual process

Variety is the spice…  Refmect your student body  Internatjonal students, students with disabilitjes  Difgerent majors  Transfers from public, private, 2-year and 4- year  Transfers from your feeder schools

Interviews  Selectjng a search commituee  Individual interviews: presentjng yourself well  Group interviews: elements of team work  Interview with current Peer Mentors  Valuing student perceptjons

Training Philosophy  Artjculatjng instjtutjonal values • Inculcatjng the CREED • A commitment to shared values Peer Mentors: UCF Creed  Advocatjng tolerance • Diversity initjatjves  Encouraging engagement • Building a sense of community, responsibility “… provide a more positjve ethical framework for college student conduct … and encourage …actjve student affjrmatjon and commitment to campus moral norms.”

Training Basics  Aligned with SDES Strategic Goals  Creatjng responsible employees, citjzens of the campus community  Providing learning-based experience  Relatjng students’ choices and exploratjon of their values to who they are, who they want to be  Exploring what they stand for, what they value  Learning from each other

Training  Initjal 6 week training program  Online learning modules, weekly professional development meetjngs  Offjce practjces, procedures; university policies  Academic informatjon  Campus resources

Benefj fjts of Training  Confjdent, resourceful Peers  Accurate informatjon  Antjdote to • “My friend says…”

Peer Mentor Roles Preparatj tjon  Pre-admission academic advising • Appointments, e-mails, phone calls • General educatjon program, common program prerequisites  Outreach programs: workshops, panels, surveys, focus groups  Students helping students

Orientatj tjon Transitj tjon  20 transfer orientatjons, 550 to 750 transfers atuend each session  Transfer Success Program – describing The UCF Experience • What to expect, what is expected • Introducing the CREED and campus resources  Welcome events: promote engagement

Retentj tjon Progress to graduatj tjon  Are You on the Knight Track? transfer seminar – Peer Mentor panel discuss their experiences  Transfer Success Workshop series – planned and executed by Peer Mentors  Campus clubs and organizatjons – introducing transfer to the campus community

Engagement: Transfer Knights

Scholarship  Tau Sigma Natjonal Honor Society  3.5 GPA in fjrst full-tjme semester

Peers as Advocates  Peers Mentors • Knowledgeable, confjdent, resourceful, professional • Connected to the campus  Students listen to students • Importance of the transfer student “voice” on campus

Assessment  Meetjng division goals • Measuring Student Learning Outcomes  Measuring what the Peers learn • Advising rubric • Videos • Performance evaluatjons  Evaluatjng the program

Program Assessment  Annual Instjtutjonal Efgectjve Plans • Alignment with division and university goals  Measuring the efgectjveness of Peer presentatjons, programs, workshops  Measuring student learning • Pre-/post-tests • Survey responses • Focus groups

Planning Guide • Needs assessment: What do you want/need in a peer mentor program? • Consideratjons: instjtutjonal context, level of support, resources • Likely partners • Peer mentors’ roles • Assessing your program and performance

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

Contact Informatj tjon Contact Informatj tjon Charlene A. Stj tjnard, Director Transfer and Transitj tjon Services Charlene.Stjnard@ucf.edu 407.823.2231 Student Development and Enrollment Services University of Central Florida