Key operational plans

Enrollment Management and Student Support Plan (Draft)

II. Enrollment and student support services goals linked
Oshkosh Student Compact

The Oshkosh Student Compact focuses on undergraduate retention, graduation rate, time to degree and the reduction of student debt. The areas that were part of plan, covered by fees raised by the student initiative of Differential Tuition (DT) are: 1) assessment, 2) academic advising, 3) academic support and 4) career development. In support of DT Chancellor Wells reallocated $100,000 to hire a director of academic advising and one full-time advisor. The Provost’s office reallocated $25,000 to hire a program assistant in support of academic advising.

Through Differential Tuition, approximately $1,000,000 annually is available to address these areas of need. The following operations are a direct result of Differential Tuition: The Undergraduate Advising Resource Center (UARC) began operations with a staff that decreased the ratio of advisors to students while increasing time available with an advisor for each student. The Academic Resource Center, renamed the Center for Academic Resources (CAR), in support of student ease of awareness concerning services available, hired a director with 25 years experience and a national reputation in student support. She will coordinate and support the programs at the Reading Study Center, Math Center and the Writing Center, enhance visibility and programming, develop new math and science programming, and coordinate all academic support services on campus, including those provided for diverse and M/D students. Career Services increased the number of advisors, increased collaborative efforts, increasing opportunity for engaged career support services. The Counseling Center began the implementation of nationally recognized assessment tools, reinforcing training and familiarity by the staff with personal management tools.

The Oshkosh Student Compact is guided by outcome assessment planning to not only evaluate each activity supported by DT, but to also implement change and enhancement based on the outcomes data and constant reflection. Action steps for growth are addressed by the DT Committee which is comprised of key people and students representing the areas funded by DT.

2005-2006: Much work continues to provide services to students as outlined in the original Student Compact. Differential Tuition serves as an effective tool to support the staff to meet the goals of providing excellent service to students in the Undergraduate Advising Resource Center, the Center for Academic Resources, the Counseling Center and Career Services. For the first time, these student support service units used the College Perceptions electronic survey to gather comprehensive outcomes data regarding student use and satisfaction of the integrated work of all four units.

Academic advising improved for undergraduates across campus. At the Undergraduate Advising Resource Center, students now have 30-minute personalized advising appointments with professional academic advisors. The advising appointments focus on major exploration, the students’ choice of major/career, academic and career goals and a variety of academic paths toward those goals in addition to selecting and registering for classes. In the fall, the campus moved to a new advising model that incorporates faculty advising for upper division students in the major. The Peer Advising Liaison (PAL) program has expanded to include residence hall-based “commercials” to teach students how to read their Student Academic Record (STAR), understand and identify general education and how to use online major and career exploration tools. More than 250 students attended the sessions. Advisers also offered eight sections of Counselor Education 201: Major & Career Exploration to more than 150 undecided/exploratory students. In addition, enhanced technology offers: students 24/7 access to their STAR online, a critical advising and academic planning tool; faculty use of Faculty Pathway, an online advising resource; and departmental advising Web pages that include major planning sheets, advising protocol and faculty advising information.

Learning assistance services for students continued to improve. Differential Tuition helped the Math Department provide almost 2,000 hours of tutoring; the department hired a specialist to supervise math tutors and support other initiatives of the Student Compact. The graduate and undergraduate tutors in the Writing Center offered up to 60 hours per week of tutoring during the fall and spring semesters and nine hours per week during both interim semesters. The Reading/Study Center provided Supplemental Instruction for students in 15 courses/sections (up from 10 in 2004-2005) and increased the one-on-one assistance provided by student mentors and professional staff members. The most dramatic improvements were the addition of the Center for Academic Resources (CAR) in Dempsey 317, and implementation of TutorTrac. In its first year of operation, CAR’s tutors provided more than 1,000 hours of help to students in 72 different courses. TutorTrac software allows all four units to keep better records of student use and to evaluate the effectiveness of the services in terms of student grades and retention.

The University Counseling Center coordinates the administration of the College Student Inventory (CSI). Students who complete the CSI get feedback on 19 different scales organized under five main categories vital to student engagement and success. The tool focuses attention of both students and staff on the students’ crucial strengths and weaknesses and facilitates use of resources developed by differential tuition. After completing the CSI, students meet with academic advisers to review their personalized written report and make a plan of action for academic success. The CSI also has been used to assist other student support areas to target outreach efforts and plan services.

The Counseling Center expanded career services to students as a result of Differential Tuition. In the past year, nearly one-third of students visiting the center expressed concerns related to a lack of career direction and academic problems. Nearly 200 personality and interest assessments were administered and interpreted to students. In 2005-2006, the center offered the first career exploration group in several years and the channels used to engage students in the career development process expanded. A career counseling outreach team, consisting of center staff, a graduate intern and undergraduate interns, expanded university-wide efforts to recruit and engage more students in career counseling earlier.

Career Services continues to grow and develop more in-depth and new services for students. Career advisers work with specific colleges to assist in student success and serve as faculty resources. Individual appointments have increased during the last year for added flexibility and scheduling. Workshops about the career process were added. The Career Services Web site was updated with new and important information for students, including resources for career development. Also, Career Services added more online programs, including Titan JOBS accounts, and trained students on how to use the system. Students logged onto Titan JOBS 27,347 times—up from 18,743 times last year. The Career Services database has been networked with 528 new employers and posts more than 2,200 positions for students and alumni to consider.
Status: Ongoing.