Humphrey                Starting a Project Success Program for Your Probationary Students

22/W                          8:30 AM & 1:00 PM                                 Hassler

 

Type_Presentation:         6-hour Pre-conference Institute

PresentationTitle:         Starting a Project Success Program for Your Probationary Students!

ProgramStrand_Primary:     Learning and Study Strategies

ProgramStrand_Secondary:   Research and Evaluation

 

Presentation_description:

Start a Project Success program on your campus and get your probationary students into your Hall of Fame for Successful Students! This voluntary, semester-long program helps them achieve inside and outside of the classroom! Many useful materials will be shared including facilitator training materials, assessment tools, and Program Implementation Guide.

 

Session_summary:

Purpose of Pre-Conference Institute:

The primary purpose of this institute is to share the program with other institutions so that attendees can take it back to their campus and enable their probationary students to join their Hall of Fame for Successful Students. Access has been a vital objective of higher education for some time. However, access is not enough. Once students arrive, institutions must proactively support student success by providing programs that address their academic and non-academic needs. For those searching for such a program, Project Success (PS) can be the answer. PS is a voluntary, semester-long, weekly program that addresses what students should and should not do so that they can succeed. Materials will be provided both in hard copy and on CD.

Morning Session:

Format and Learning Objectives:

1.      The History and Philosophy of PS. Begun in 1993, the longevity of PS is due in large part to its goal and ability to stay relevant to its students as well as institutional needs. The tenets that are woven throughout the program, such as the need to balance academics with non-academics, the need to balance support with discomfort, and the need to develop a team spirit while still addressing individual needs will be examined. (30 minutes)

Learning Objectives:

¥        Attendees will learn how to take into account their institutional needs and student needs to enable PS to serve them best and keep PS evolving as needed.

¥        Attendees will appreciate the philosophical tenets of PS and how that guides decisions about the program.

2.      The First PS Meeting: A StudentÕs Perspective. Attendees will play the role of probationary students at their first PS meeting. Through this reenactment, they will receive detailed information about the format of the weekly meetings and copies of the student materials used in these meetings. (2 hours)

Learning Objectives:

¥        Attendees will learn how to conduct the weekly meetings, in particular the first meeting which puts everything into place and makes that vital first connection with the students.

¥        Attendees will understand how to use the student materials for PS, including the PS Student Contract, the PS Letter of Completion, the PS Weekly Report form, the Professor and Academic Advisor Visit forms, the College Success Planner, and the Project Success Reflective Journal.

3.      Additional time for questions. (30 minutes)

Afternoon Session:

1.      PS Program Implementation Guide (PIG). (Copy provided.) (1 hour)

Learning Objectives:

¥        Attendees will gain a month-by-month template of the administration of PS.

¥        Attendees will learn how to address budget and logistical issues in the administration of PS.

2.      PS Staff and Peer Facilitators. Discussion will include an overview of the PS Facilitator Training presentation (copy provided). (1 hour)

Learning Objectives:

¥        Attendees will learn about the training materials provided PS facilitators.

¥        Attendees will examine the issues related to PS facilitators including selection, training, and collaboration between staff facilitators and peer facilitators.

3.      Assessment of PS. Discussion will review the assessment tools including the pre-program, mid-semester, and final student surveys (copies provided). (30 minutes)

Learning Objectives:

¥        Attendees will learn about the assessment results of PS to date.

¥        Attendees will acquire an appreciation of the integrated role of assessment in PS.

4.      Additional time for questions (30 minutes)       

Presenter has coordinated PS since October 2000 and presented at the following conferences:

 ÒProject Success: The Evolution of an Academic Support ProgramÓ (2006 CRLA/CASP)

 ÒAcademic Support: Where Institutional Effectiveness and Student Outcomes Assessment MeetÓ (NASPA International Assessment and Retention Conference, 2006)

 ÒThe Project Success Reflective Journal: Helping Probationary Students SucceedÓ (NADE 2007)

 ÒProject Success: Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Helping Probationary Students SucceedÓ (Student Success Conference, James Madison University, 2007)

 ÒProject Success: Using Collaboration, Cooperation, and Community to Support Probationary StudentsÓ (VADE/VCCS Developmental Education Peer Group Conference, 2007)

 ÒStarting a Revolutionary Project Success Program for Probationary StudentsÓ (Pre-conference workshop, NADE 2008)

Presenter has published the following article about Project Success:

Humphrey, E. (2006). Project Success: Helping probationary students achieve academic success.    Journal of College Student Retention, 7(4), 147-163.

 

PresenterBio: Ms. Humphrey has worked at the Center for Academic Enrichment and Excellence at Virginia Tech for eight years, currently serving as the Associate Director for Research and Assessment. She has developed and delivered a wide array of academic support programs including Project Success (for probationary students), FOCUS (for underrepresented students), Get on Track, Seminar Series on Academic Success, and EDCI 1004 (College Success Strategies). Her current responsibilities include conducting research and assessment for her unit as well as other units on campus. Ms. Humphrey is serving her second term as the four-year institutional representative for the Virginia Association for Developmental Education. This role includes chairing the VADE VT Southwestern Regional Conference in 2006 and 2008. She is also currently working on her doctorate in Higher Education Administration with an expected completion date of August 2008.