Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Accomplishments 2009-2010

Advising

  • 1,636 students took advantage of drop-in advising

Career Center

  • Despite the poor economy, the World of Work (WOW) event attracted more than 60 employers, including Disney, who came for the first time to recruit. Twelve SSU students were selected to participate in their Summer Internship Program. More than 770 students used the Career Center.

EOP

  • Entering class of 110 EOP first-time freshmen for Fall 2009

Center for Student Leadership, Involvement, and Service (CLIS)

  • CSLIS facilitated the successful expansion of the sorority and fraternity community. Starting in Fall 2010 SSU will house 18 Greek organizations and will welcome Phi Sigma Sigma and Alpha Sigma Phi as the newest members of the community. Currently the number of students involved in the Greek community is approximately 13% of the total SSU population.
  • CSLIS facilitated the largest ever Sorority Recruitment in the fall. Two-hundred+ women were placed in national sororities and another 100+ women were placed in local and multicultural organizations.
  • Spring 2010 saw a transition of student government elections to an online voting process. A larger number of students (2,044) voted which equated to 26.4% of the student population in comparison to roughly 13.3% last year.
  • CSLIS transitioned student organization software management to a new software portal called OrgSync. This tool will enable both CSLIS but other campus life areas to more effectively manage student engagement, participation and share resources/information with our student body. To date, there are more than 1,800 student users in the SSU system.
  • CSLIS partnered with SSU Athletics and Associated Student Productions to host the 1st annual Greek and Athletic Leadership Series. There were two educational workshops:
    • “Survival 101: A campus safety/security workshop”
    • “Making Life Matter: A values based conversation with the community.”
  • Justin Sipes joined the team as the new Campus Life Advisor in June 2010 and is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in the Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate program. Justin will serve as the primary advisor to student organizations and Greek Life.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Direct Service Hours To Students

  • Increased direct service productivity by 10% with permanent clinical staff, despite reduced hours due to furloughs.
  • Increased overall direct service hours by 24% (factoring in part-time counselor hours).
  • Total number of direct service hours during the 2009/2010 academic year: 2,259. This was accomplished by reorganizing departmental priorities, decreasing intern training activities, monitoring counselor case loads, and implementing reminder calls for student appointments.

“Helping Students in Distress” Guide

  • Produced and distributed detailed online guide for faculty and staff to assist in the understanding, management, and referral process of students in emotional distress.

Revised Faculty Counselor RTP

  • Rewrote Faculty Counselor RTP to include more comprehensive criteria related to scholarship, research, creative achievement, and professional development.

Website

  • Added extra online mental health screenings, increased self-help resources, added “For Veterans” link to provide Veterans with a variety of resources, and with permission from Georgia Southern University, linked to their website to offer students a variety of relaxation audio exercises and stress reduction strategies:

Campus Outreach

  • Held various presentations and trainings for numerous departments and organizations including Residential Life, EOP, and SRJC. Also conducted workshops for campus as a whole on topics such as sexual assault awareness, stress and anxiety management, depression and eating disorder awareness, and suicide prevention.

Disability Services for Students (DSS)

Expanded Disability Awareness Week

  • Disability/Diversity campaign: “How Disabilities Contribute to a Diverse World,” held a poster contest, held the Delta Alpha Pi Honors Society awards banquet, organized “Under Our Skin” film and panel (physicians, vector control, community members), held various movie nights (film themes corresponded to Brown Bag topics) throughout the week, and arranged for Brown Bag lunch speakers

Assistive Technology

  • Obtained 10 web licenses for Kurzweil 3000, purchased web-based Kurzweil software, which is a text-to-speech software program that provides multisensory learning to students with disabilities, whenever and wherever needed.

Dare To Care Faculty/Staff Training

  • Customized online faculty training program to help faculty better understand disabilities, the functional limitations associated with disabilities, and appropriate accommodations for students. Program will launch in mid-September with faculty incentives (e.g., goodie bag) for completing all modules.

Services To Students

  • Despite loss of staff and furloughs, DSS was able to maintain quality services to students with disabilities and kept campus compliant with ADA, Section 504, Section 508, and EO 926.

CollaborATe Program

  • DSS staff member, Scott Kupferman, authored “CollaborATe,” (a Google-like search engine to educate users on assistive technology applications) and launched in partnership with EnAct. Various software is currently supported.

Registrar’s Office

  • Conducted successful block enrollment of first-time freshmen, both phases (remedial courses and pilot program with pre-major courses for Pre-Business students) for the incoming Fall 2010 class
  • Collaborated with CMS and modified the system to adhere to the changes brought on with EO1037 — repeats, incompletes and withdrawals. Have been successful in blocking students from retaking courses for which they have received a passing grade of C or better (unless given special permission from the instructor), and preventing students from re-registering for courses in which they presently have an Incomplete, enhancing efforts toward the Graduation Initiative
  • In collaboration with CMS, developed and put into production the Major Course Substitution process. While there was limited faculty participation, the process is built and working, allowing those advisors who do participate in the Substitution process to enable their students to have a more accurate Degree Progress Report. This is also an effort toward the Graduation Initiative

Residential Life

MOSAIC

  • This year marked the opening of one of SSU’s newest living/learning communities (LLCs), based on a social justice and diversity theme. Forty first-time freshman joined MOSAIC (Making our Space an Inclusive Community). This successful pilot linked two courses in the fall semester and two in the spring semester. A second year LLC has been created to allow continuing students the possibility of participating in MOSAIC as MOSAIC Mentors for 2010-11.

Sophomore Year Experience

  • This year marked the pilot of SYE—2Engage LLC for continuing students. Fifty students participated in a living and learning program that addressed the major pillars of sophomore/junior concerns: academics, career, life purpose, leadership and involvement, and was linked with Univ. 237: Career Life Planning. Given its success, it has been expanded in 2010-11. All continuing students, approximately 1,300, will participate regardless of which village they choose to live. Coordinated efforts with Alumni Office, Development, Advising Career and EOP and department faculty will continue.

Freshman Interest Groups (FIG) and First Year Experience (FYE)

  • These LLCs continued to be strong, with residents of these programs earning the highest GPA of any first-time freshman (3.25 in their first semester). Between the two programs 45 faculty remain involved and engaged in the residential community. For 2010-11, FYE has been expanded to 192 students due to popularity, and FIG has added its 10th program: Pre-Nursing.

Residential Curriculum

  • More than 1,000 programs and 75 trips were offered to residents by Weekend Programming, CSAs, CO-OP leaders, the Healthily Living and Adventure buildings, FIG, FYE and 2 Engage. Continued collaboration with Rec Center, ASP and student life remained strong, as did new programs with Student Health Center on H1N1 and CAPS. Within our focus areas many programs on Human Awareness and Diversity, Sustainability, Citizenship and Civility, Life Skills Academic Initiatives, Mind Body and Spirit and Alcohol and Drug Education were presented.

Leadership Development

  • 4 Year Leadership Model, with the refinement of the job description, training, duties and expectations for our 2nd year CSAs. With the addition of a 3rd year CSA and Graduate CSA positions, Res Life has continued to expand the student leadership opportunities within the department. Residential Life is home to 90 student leaders.

Student Health Center

  • Achieved accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) for the maximum three-year time period for the seventh consecutive cycle.
  • Provided cost effective, student centered health care, including the provision of approximately 16,000 separate face-to-face medical visits as well as thousands of immunizations, diagnostic lab and x-ray tests, medications, and health education, telephone, and outreach encounters.
  • Provided leadership, direct medical services, public health interventions, prevention programs, and immunizations related to the H1N1 flu pandemic.
  • Enhanced key partnerships with Sonoma County Department of Health Services, the SSU Nursing Department, Residential Life, University Affairs, and others in light of the new challenges posed by the H1N1 flu pandemic and other campus life and health related issues.
  • Provided educational, internship, leadership, mentoring, and outreach experiences for students. Supported diversity efforts through the SHC laboratory, pharmacy, health education, and the Student Health Advisory Committee. Encouraged individual supportive relationships between SHC staff and students, as well as involvement in Student Affairs and Enrollment Management collaborations and strategic planning efforts.

University Support and Preparation Services

Project METEOR established in local schools

  • Project METEOR identifies and encourages young girls to pursue and succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM)) fields through high school and into college. Project METEOR is funded under the Women’s Educational Equity Act through the Office of Innovation and Improvement within the U.S. Department of Education and has just completed year one of four.

McNair Scholars enrolled the first cohort of 16 participants in graduate schools throughout the nation

  • The McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program prepares underrepresented SSU undergraduates for the transition to graduate school and the eventual Ph.D. assisting with the national goal of diversifying the professoriate. The McNair Scholars program is funded by the Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education.

Pre-College Programs served a record number of Upward Bound students in 2009/10

  • The four SSU Upward Bound projects (Sonoma County, North, Lake and Math/Science) served 252 potential college students providing academic instruction, advising and skills designed to bring about success in college. Upward Bound programs are funded through the federal Office of TRIO Programs within the Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education.

Academic Talent Search modified operations to comply with new regulations

  • The Talent Search program, in response to new regulations brought about by the Higher Education Opportunity Act, has modified the academic component. The project will now track A-G completion and be responsible by new objectives to meet a higher percent of A-G completion. This will be accomplished through tutoring programs, algebra and geometry summer residential programs and other modifications to ensure success of participants. Academic Talent Search is funded through the federal Office of TRIO Programs within the Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education.