Stetson student Amber Houston (pictured here) was startled by an email she received from a professor the week before FOCUS (Friends On Campus Uniting Students) orientation in August: Her second-ever college class would be a bicycle trip. “I got the email, and I was like, we’re doing what?” Houston said. The bike ride was designed by History and American Studies Professor Dr. Paul Croce as an experiential learning field study for his Environmental/History course U.S.A., The Natural Experiment. Croce led 17 freshmen past an innovative playground for children, the historic African-American cemetery in DeLand, a new pedestrian pathway and the John B. Stetson mansion, pointing out what you can see and hear differently at “the speed of bike.” This year was the first time Stetson University started First Year Seminar courses during orientation, four days before the official start of fall-semester classes. All freshmen take a seminar, and those classes wrapped up before Thanksgiving – allowing new students to focus on their three other courses for finals week.

Changes to orientation are among the strategies SU is implementing under the new Student Success model. The goal is to strengthen the quality of every student’s learning experience and to help all students succeed to graduation and beyond.

Driven by research and emerging best practices in higher education, Stetson is on the forefront of a national trend to establish Student Success centers at colleges and universities. Where Stetson’s new program is truly innovative is that it falls under both Academic Affairs and Campus Life. “This is much more holistic and student-focused than what we’ve done before,” said Dr. Lua Hancock, assistant provost for Student Success. Many of the same core support services – such as tutoring, career development, advising and assistance for students with disabilities – are still in place. But now, the many programs, on both the academic and the campus life sides, are coordinated and integrated to have the greatest benefit for students.

Research is also guiding the best teaching modalities, with an emphasis on activities that generate the deepest learning, such as field studies, internships, undergraduate research, seminar-style courses, international study and volunteer opportunities. “We all work together, the students see us as a team, and that’s huge,” said Dr. John Pearson, professor of English and director of Stetson’s General Studies program.

For 10 years, Pearson has worked with a select group of students identified as needing extra assistance. A student can be placed in General Studies for a variety of reasons, such as they might have had a low score on the SAT entrance exam but exceptional grades in high school, or vice versa. Those students receive intensive academic advising and mentoring from peers the summer before their freshman year. They take their freshman English classes with Pearson, so that he can discover any needs they might have. He sees the benefits of combining the services and activities of Academic Affairs and those offered through the Campus Life and Student Success division. “The students don’t live in just one world,” Pearson said. “Learning happens in the classroom, in their residence halls and campus life. What Student Success does is marry those worlds beautifully.”

Building a Stronger Student Body

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Beth Paul said Student Success builds upon past efforts of the former First Year Studies program and expands that to the entire student body. Stetson went through a Quality Enhancement Program last academic year designed to improve students’ transitions into Stetson, then from their first to second year, and then on through to graduation. Retention of students is an especially big issue between the freshman and sophomore years, Paul said. Stetson’s retention from first to second year should be 85 percent or better; currently, it’s at about 75 percent. “This new model provides a seamless developmental pathway,” Paul said.

Initiatives got under way about a year ago. With Stetson being granted a $100,000 Walmart College Success Award the university has expanded efforts to strengthen the educational experience for students who are the first in their families to seek higher education.

Hancock, who was hired to direct the Student Success program last September, has 15 years of experience in both academic and student affairs (SU Vol. 26, No.3 Fall 2010). Since then, several areas under Student Success have moved to the second floor of the Carlton Union Building (CUB) so that as many services as possible are centralized for students. Together with Student Government Association, Student Success created a 24-hour study lounge in the CUB. Future plans are to build an addition to the CUB so that all Student Success services can be housed together in one center.

The Student Perspective

Beyond what’s happening directly in Student Success offices is the greater coordination with Academic Affairs and programming outside the classroom, Hancock said. “For a student to be successful at Stetson and graduate,” said Hancock, “they have to be successful in all those areas.” The programs are open to students both academically strong and struggling. Many students have never before faced academics at this level of rigor. Before graduation, most Stetson students utilize one or more of the Student Success offerings.

Sophomore Raul Zambrano, an Integrative Health Science major and Music minor from Port Orange, Fla., had a tough time adjusting to college life and learned of Student Success through Pearson. Zambrano met weekly for success coaching with Director of First Year and Transitional Programs Rosalie Carpenter last year, working on organizational skills, notetaking strategies and a schedule. He made the Honor Roll in his first semester – “something I would have never dreamed of achieving” – and got involved in SGA. Now he’s hoping to start a drumline to perform at Hatter Football games.

Sophomore Carly Lees from Tallahassee, Fla., also met regularly with Carpenter last semester, after a rocky start at Stetson. She went through the Explore program for Discovery students, which helped her decide on Communication Studies as a major and career path. “When I came to college, I had a lot of free time and no parent to keep me on-task. When I started meeting with Rosalie, I realized a lot of my time was spent socializing, which isn’t a good idea when you’re trying to bring up your grades,” said Lees, “I did much better in the spring. I’m on the way up!” For Houston, the freshman whose class went cycling together, the school year is off to a great start – in large part, she believes, due to how the First-Year Seminar course started during orientation. “When we started our other classes a few days later, I already had some experience under my belt,” said Houston, a Communication Studies major, early in fall semester. “It’s going to be wonderful having only one final before Thanksgiving.”

In quick time, Student Success is already having a major impact at Stetson. “We work very hard here to treat the student holistically. That is very much a university-wide mission and practice,” said Paul. “We care about our students. We want them to be successful here. We want them to graduate, and we want them to go on to make a difference in the world.”

Student Success Initiatives

Centralized Tutoring: The Writing Center has student tutors come from a variety of academic disciplines with a satellite Writing Center being set up in the duPont-Ball Library during mid-terms and finals.

First-year and Transition Programs: In addition to FOCUS orientation for new students, an inaugural pre-orientation Hatter Trek outdoor program was introduced this past summer. A group of incoming students, current students and staff members came together for an outdoor adventure at Banning Mills in Whiteburg, Ga.

GPS: Guide for Proactive Success: A workshop series for all students began during Spring 2011 and continues weekly through school year. The fun, interactive workshops, are taught by Student Success staff members and faculty on topics such as Lost in Memory; How to Find Your Way to Better Test Performance; Balancing School, Work and Life; and Fiscal Literacy: Know Your Dough.

First-Generation Student Program: SU First is a mentoring program that guides first-generation college students and families through transitional periods.

Student Success Coaching: Students are coached one-on-one in areas such as time management, study strategies, note-taking skills, test anxiety, writing and active reading. In addition to coaching offered by Student Success employees, more than 75 faculty and staff have been trained and provide resources to help students.

Academic Advising: Student Success staff are now supplementing the faculty-advising model as new students register. The academic advisor is also working with Discovery students as they explore the many disciplines available to them. For more information on Student Success go to stetson.edu/studentsuccess.

By Cindi Brownfield, Stetson University Marketing