Staying Connected: Five Issues in Student Affairs

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Staying Connected Five Issues in Student Affairs
Brian Anderson Dee Graham Susan Harris
Danny Pham
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• Campus Safety
• Parents and Family
• Assessment
• Technology for the Multi-tasking Millennial
• Making Meaning

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Campus Safety and Communication
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Text-Messaging (Simple Message Systems)

• Its predicted that ownership of mobile devices
  will reach 3 billion people by the year 2010.
• Taken from http//www.edenonline.org/contents/publ
  ications/SMS/Ericsson.Mobile.A5.pdf
• Cell phones with text-messaging capability are
  the top technology, next to computers, that
  college students bring to campus
• Taken from http//connect.educause.edu/Library/EDU
  CAUSEQuarterly/StudentCampusTechnologyTr/45537?ti
  me1202618606

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(cont.)

• Text-messages are a way that colleges and
  universities can provide students with relevant,
  timely information
• Faculty and staff can electronically (online or
  via email) input information that will be
  text-messaged to students
• Text-messages can be sent to students to alert
  them of emergency situations on campus
• Text-messages are also a way for universities and
  colleges to let students know about last minute
  information regarding unforeseen campus closures
  or class cancellations
• Taken from http//campustechnology.com/articles/57
  290/ ftp//doaftp04.doa.state.wi.us/doadocs/gove
  rnorstaskforcecampussafetyfinalreport.pdf

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Desktop Popup Alerts

• Some colleges and universities have started
  implementing Desktop Popup alerts that let
  students know about a situation if they are in
  front of a computer or laptop
• Taken from http//campustechnology.com/articles/57
  290/

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Video Surveillance Systems

• Video cameras are capable of using computer
  algorithms to detect suspicious activity, such
  as a person entering a prohibited area
• Colleges and universities can use video cameras
  to monitor suspicious activity and respond to
  incidents while they are happening, as well as
  identify perpetrators easily
• Taken from http//www.time.com/time/nation/article
  /0,8599,1611164,00.html
• Video cameras use wireless technology to provide
  instant images and information to campus security
  personnel via computers
• Taken from http//www.motorola.com/networkoperator
  s/vertical-markets/pdfs/edu/Coastal-Carolina.pdf

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Digital Acoustics Intercom System

• Digital Acoustics high-tech intercom system can
  immediately broadcast a message to a single
  classroom or to the entire campus or to any
  combination in between
• The intercom system creates a way for students to
  be aware of eminent dangers on campus without the
  delay of going home to check email or even
  checking text-messages via cell phones
• Taken from http//www.time.com/time/nation/article
  /0,8599,1611164,00.html

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Social Networking Websites

• Studies show that social networking websites may
  have a positive effect on peer relationships
• Taken from http//publications.naspa.org/cgi/viewc
  ontent.cgi?article1832contextnaspajournal
• This positive peer connection can be utilized
  during times of emergency or crisis
• Websites like Facebook and MySpace could serve as
  a point of contact for parents and friends of
  students in an emergency, providing a way to post
  information, as they did after the shootings at
  VirginiaTech

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Global Positioning Systems

• GPS tracking devices can be connected to a cell
  phone in order to alert campus security via a
  timer
• If the student does not turn off the GPS before
  the timer goes off, an alert is sent to campus
  security electronically
• GPS with cell phones might help students feel
  more secure walking on or near campus when alone
  or after dark
• Taken from http//www.ravewireless.com/artmanager/
  publish/news/AP_Cell_phones_have_campus_safety_dia
  led_in.shtml

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(cont.)

• Faculty and staff could encourage students to
  share thoughts and feelings after an emergency
  through social networking websites to bring a
  campus community together
• Taken from ftp//doaftp04.doa.state.wi.us/doadocs/
  governorstaskforcecampussafetyfinalreport.pdf
• Applications on Facebook could be developed as a
  way for students to find out about emergency
  information
• Taken from http//www.universitybusiness.com/viewa
  rticle.aspx?articleid1005

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Parents Family
Redefining relationships with parents
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Parents current level of involvement

• The level of communication and interaction
  between college administrators and parents of
  college students is changing. In a 2004
  Associated Press article exploring this issue,
  West Virginia University parent advocate Susan
  Lantz states that in recent years, parents have
  become more involved in their students college
  education, and that a lot of students want their
  parents involved, too.
• To find out if this trend is occurring at UC
  Davis, SARI conducted a QuickSurvey on MyUCDavis
  during the first week of spring quarter, 2004.
• The results are that most Davis students had
  parental involvement in their education and liked
  that arrangement. The poll also showed that of
  students not satisfied with their parents
  current level of participation, there were more
  students desiring increased involvement than
  decreased involvement.
• The poll asked students to select the answer that
  best suited their parents current level of
  involvement, and then to indicate whether they
  wanted their parents to be more or less involved
  in their college life. A total of 3187 students
  completed this survey. Of this group, 1901 (60)
  stated that their parents were involved and that
  the student wanted to maintain the current level
  of involvement. An additional 661 (21) said that
  their parents were not involved and they
  preferred that it stayed that way. About 13 of
  the students wanted their parents to become more
  involved while 5 wanted less involvement.

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Parent Family Online Networks

• As more parents become Internet-savvy, e-mail
  messages and parent Web pages increasingly become
  important means of communicating information to
  parents.
• The purpose of a Parent Family Network is to
  identify and address the unique orientation and
  transition programming needs of parents and
  family members of new college/university students
  and to appropriately develop orientation formats
  and programs to accommodate parents and family
  members. 
• The Parent Family Network can generate
  discussion toward Parent Orientation programs,
  Parent Service Departments, Parent/Family Weekend
  programs, and Parent Associations.

(Coburn Woodward 2001)
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Family Parent Online Orientation

• Orientation and transition programs provide a
  valuable avenue to introduce and connect parents
  and families with university information,
  services and programs.
• Colleges and universities set the tone for their
  relationship with parents long before they arrive
  on campus.
• An increasing number of institutions take an
  active approach to communicating with parents via
  parent Web sites and newsletters.
• Some sites include e-mail addresses of
  administrators in the parent program, who respond
  to inquiries from parents of prospective,
  incoming, and current students.
• Some institutions that are particularly
  parent-friendly establish toll-free numbers
  prior to orientation, encouraging parents to turn
  directly to the parent office for information or
  assistance.

(Coburn Woodward 2001)
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Family Parent Online Orientation

• Since many parents want to stay involved in their
  own students life at college, many colleges are
  creating a pre-orientation for parents and
  family. This online orientation may include
• Virtual Tours (Campus Community)
• Important Campus Information, Dates, Contacts,
  and Forms
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Parent Communities (Online Chat Rooms)
• Advice on Student Health Safety

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• College Parents of America
• http//www.collegeparents.org/cpa/about-cpa.html
• http//www.onsp.umich.edu/parents_family/orientati
  on.html
• Seven Parent Populations Your Institution May Be
  Alienating Recruitment Retention in Higher
  Education Dec2006, Vol. 20 Issue 12, p3-6, 2p
• Put First Things First during Parent Orientation.
  Student Affairs Leader 8/15/2006, Vol. 34 Issue
  16, p4-4, 3/4p
• More Than Punch and Cookies A New Look at Parent
  Orientation Programs. By Coburn, Karen Levin
  Woodward, Bill. New Directions for Student
  Services, Summer2001 Issue 94, p27, 12p

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Assessment
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Clickers (Interactive Response Systems)

• A clicker is an interactive device that allows
  students to respond to questions and to have
  their results immediately appear on the screen
  (of a laptop or computer)
• Taken from http//clc.its.psu.edu/Classrooms/prs/
• Once clicker software is installed on a laptop,
  the laptop is then plugged into receivers through
  a USB cable. Students press buttons on their
  clickers in response to prompts or questions
  typed into a PowerPoint presentation
• Taken from http//campustechnology.com/articles/49
  681/
• In classroom settings, clickers have been shown
  to elicit greater engagement from students
• Taken from http//www.turningtechnologies.com/high
  ereducationinteractivelearning.cfm

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(cont.)

• Clicker technology is constantly evolving and
  improving to serve students better
• Interwrite clickers use radio frequency, unlike
  other clickers that use infrared light, which
  could easily be blocked
• Clickers have started to be used not only for the
  classroom, but also campuswidefrom polling
  student opinions in residence halls to gauging
  administrators engagement during staff meetings
• Taken from http//campustechnology.com/articles/49
  681/
• The potential exists for clickers to be utilized
  as an assessment tool for student activities and
  orientations

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Social Networking Websites

• Higher education professionals can use Facebook
  to help students succeed with their academic
  life
• Currently, students can view course information
  and search university libraries without signing
  off of Facebook
• Taken from http//publications.naspa.org/cgi/viewc
  ontent.cgi?article1832contextnaspajournal
• Faculty and staff could use Facebook and other
  social networking websites to create applications
  or surveys that gauge students opinions

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Web Surveys

• Higher education professionals can create their
  own websites using HTML to develop surveys easily
  accessed online by students.
• An even easier method of generating web surveys
  is to use an online web-based survey server, such
  as surveymonkey.com or zoomerang.com.
• These websites enable faculty and staff to
  generate a list of email addresses. Emails can
  then be sent to students with a link to the
  survey.
• Follow up emails are sent to those who dont
  initially access the survey.
• Once all participants have responded to the
  survey, data can be downloaded and saved.
• Web surveys can be a fast and efficient way to
  gather a large amount of data, especially in
  comparison to a paper-and-pencil method.
• Taken from http//studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall
  _2005/StudentAffairsAssessmentPlans.htm

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Technology for the Multi-Tasking Millenial

• "Millennials are impatient and goal
  oriented...are used to instant feedback. They
  want it now. ..They want flexibility in the
  classroom and in their lives. To get this
  generation involved, you have to figure out a way
  to engage them and make their learning faster at
  the end of the day.
• - Richard T. Sweeney

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Student Service Solutions

• Various technology solutions firms are available
  to student affairs professionals. When campuses
  are in need of outsourcing technological
  advancements, these firms can provide services
  that streamline what used to be paper processes
  for students, student organizations, and student
  affairs.

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Examples

• OrgSync - Student Organization Management
  (www.OrgSync.com)
• Resume Builder - Tracks community service hours,
  involvement and leadership
• Modular Design - Provides options for the types
  of services student organizations want to use
• On-line Form Builder - Decrease or eliminate
  paper forms
• Increase Student Participation - Provides forums,
  polls, and on-line calendar of events

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Examples

• PaveSystems - Judicial and Student Safety
  Services (www.PaveSystems.com)
• Allows students to
• report suspicious behavior or violations
• provide feedback on police officer abuse
• provide feedback on their hearing process and to
  share ideas on improving the judicial process
• Targeted communications to/from students,
  parents, administrators, police and safety
  experts.
• Provides for wireless, automatic email
  notifications and innovative technology
  capabilities.

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Portable Programming

• With the various advancements in PDAs and
  portable media players in the past few years, new
  channels are created for Student Affairs to
  disseminate information to students.
• For example, Apples iPod Classic is able to
  play powerpoint files allowing students to view
  presentations from or for class as well as
  presentations from student affairs programs.
• Taken from http//www.engadget.com/2004/11/16/how-
  to-put-powerpoint-on-your-ipod-photo/
• In the same way that professors can record their
  lecture and put them into podcasts, certain forms
  of student affairs programs and presentations can
  be turned into podcasts or video podcasts
  (vodcasts) for students who could not attend the
  original event. One way in which these videos
  can be distributed is via YouTube.com.

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(cont.)

• Podcasts have also been used in RSS feeds to
  update students on upcoming programs or changes
  in services.
• While some schools provide podcasts directly from
  their own websites, some have made use of Apples
  iTunes U service.
• iTunes U has allowed many colleges, including
  community colleges, to provide audio and video
  files about the on-goings of administration,
  presentations and programs, services on campus,
  and general academic advising.

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Making Meaning
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• Guidry (2006) states that online communication is
  a transformative and normal scenario for college
  students. Using this technology they build
  lasting relationships through these online
  activities.

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Social Networks

• Facebook
• Out on Facebook regularly update his online
  profile
• "It's very much something students use to connect
  with each other now." Young gays and lesbians
  regularly come out through this online outlet.
• Advocate, The,  Oct 25, 2005  by Ryan James Kim

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Activism

• Like Social Networks, Rheingold (2002), noted
  that technology increasingly makes communication
  and information dissemination possible for
  political activism.

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Online Student Activism Websites

• All have active blogs, increase in activity on
  them (Malaney, 07)
• www.campusactivism.org,
• CitizensForLegitimateGovernment
• freedomfight
• trustthepeople-disc.

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Blogging or Publishing Opinions and Journal
Writing

• Deaf students at Gallaudet university have used
  blogging, text messaging, and instant messaging
  as a way of life. More importantly, they have
  used it to fight against the election of a
  non-deaf president-elect.
• Even Mr. Taylor -- who says he owned neither a
  laptop computer nor a pager when protests against
  the appointment began last spring -- said the
  Internet had proven to be a transformative
  technology for deaf people (Read, 2006).

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• Blogs, or on-line journals, have become very
  popular among social and political activists,
  non-traditional journalists, and traditional news
  organizations (Klotz, 2004).
• Jayson (2006) argued that because of the Internet
  this generation of young people is much more
  aware of the world.
• Those who aren't in school "don't suffer from a
  lack of interest they suffer from a lack of
  access," says co-founder Adrian Talbot, 26.

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• With increases in technology, young people are
  not always more knowledgeable. Social Networks
  and Activism can only go so far. In many
  situations, global issues are still not prominent
  in their lives.(Adamson, Belden, Davanzo,
  Paterson, 2000 Global Goofs, 2002).
• Teens4Peace began as an outlet for real change
  when no organization existed.
• Everyone in my class was shocked and they didn't
  know what was happening," says Bergerson, 17, a
  high school senior from Potomac, Md. "So I
  created a means for them to get involved and for
  them to participate.

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Petitioning

• Arend (2004) would define the above behaviors as
  engagement. Some administrators may see this
  internet usage as a waste of time, students see
  this as a means of connecting across the globe.
• Gemmill Peterson (2006) state that the findings
  from their study indicate that 25 of the
  students encounter disruptions from technology,
  which leads to higher stress. Thus not all
  students are gaining ground with increases in
  technology.

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• In addition to Gemmill and Peterson, Kvavik
  Caruso (2005) and Lloyd et al (2007) found that
  positive benefits of using technology include
  knowledge acquisition, socialization and
  entertainment. The negative outcomes of
  technology exist when it is solely used for
  entertainment purposes.

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Final Thought

• As we recognize the challenges, we should
  equally consider the opportunities we have to be
  more creative and innovative in connecting with
  our students by providing services and programs
  that assist us in understanding the values that
  shape them
• Wilson, S. (2007) The Influence of Technology on
  College Student Values. StudentAffairs.com
  Ejournal, 8, Art 3. Retrieved on February 15,
  2008 from http//studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall_
  2007/InfluenceofTechnologyonCollegeStudentValues.h
  tml

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Additional References

• Adamson, D. M., Belden, N., DaVanzo, J.,
  Patterson, S. (2000). How Americans view world
  population issues A survey of public opinion.
  Retrieved July 21, 2004, from http//www.rand.org/
  publications/MR/MR1114/
• Arend, B. (2004, July-August). New patterns of
  student engagement. About Campus, p. 30-32.
• Gemilll, E. L., Peterson, M. (2006). Technology
  use among college students Implications for
  student affairs professionals. NASPA Journal,
  43(2), Art. 5. Retrieved October 26, 2007 from
  http//publications.naspa.org/naspajournal/vol43/i
  ss2/art5
• Guidry, K. R. (2006). Online communication is
  healthy, normal and critical to identity
  development. NASPA NetResults, Retrived October
  26, 2007 from http//www.naspa.org/membership/mem/
  nr/PrinterFriendly.cfm?id1561
• Jayson, S. (2006, October 24). Generation Y
  gets involved. USA Today, pp. 1D-2D.
• Klotz, R. J. (2004). The politics of Internet
  communication. Lanham, MD Rowan Littlefield.
• Kornblum, J. (2006, October 24). Student
  activists use Web tools to make noise, bring
  change. USA Today, p. 8D.

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(cont.)

• Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E.
  J., Associates. (2005). Student success in
  college Creating conditions that matter. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Kvavik, R. B., Caruso, J. B. (2005). ECAR study
  of students and information technology
  Convenience, connection, control, and learning.
  Retrieved October 26, 2007 from
  http//educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ers0506/rs/ERS0
  506w.pdf
• Lloyd, J., Dean, L. A., Cooper, D. L. (2007).
  Students technology use and its effects on peer
  relationships, academic involvement, and healthy
  lifestyles. NASPA Journal, 44(3), Art. 6.
  Retrieved October 26, 2007 from
  http//publications.naspa.org/naspajournal/vol44/i
  ss3/art6
• Read, B. (2006, January 20). Think before you
  share Students' online socializing can have
  unintended consequences. The Chronicle of Higher
  Education Electronic version. Retrieved
  September 3, 2006 from http//chronicle.com/weekly
  /v52/i20/20a03801.htm
• Read, B. (2006, November 10). Technology and
  influential blogs helped galvanize protests at
  Gallaudet. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p.
  A40.