Summer Academic Orientations and First Year Student Performance: A Case Study of a Pilot Project

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Summer Academic Orientations and First Year
Student Performance A Case Study of a Pilot
Project

• 16th International Conference on the First Year
  Experience
• July 7-10, 2003 Vancouver, BC
• Presented by Rob Kenedy
• Sociologist and Academic Advisor
• Bethune College, York University

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Academic Orientation and Student Performance

• Do Summer Academic Orientations influence the
  transition to Bethune College, York University?
• The Context
• Canadas third largest university located in
  Toronto, Ontario.
• 43,000 undergraduates and graduates as well as
  7,000 faculty and staff.
• Diverse / multi-cultural, primarily a commuter
  university
• York has 9 Colleges to help facilitate smaller
  communities and specific orientations

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Academic Orientation and Student Performance

• Are these Summer Academic Orientations necessary
  or will a Fall Academic Orientation suffice for
  primarily Science, Environmental Studies and Arts
  students at Bethune College?
• These fall orientations revolve around the
  colleges, but also have central university-wide
  events.

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Academic Orientation and Student Performance

• Why launch a 2002 Academic summer Orientation?
• 2003 Double-Cohort in Universities Ontario.
• Younger students
• More parental concerns

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project

• Two Separate one day Summer Academic Orientations
  in July 2002 (see attached schedule).
• Four Main highlights
• Walking campus tours
• This Year Has Sixty Minutes (a simulation of
  student life in the first year)
• Departmental chat sessions with chairs and
  first year instructors
• How to get As with senior students and faculty
  members

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project

• Tangible costs and benefits
• While there was a cost of 70.00 per person,
  that included everything from food to a binder
  containing academic campus resources.
• The day provided opportunities for getting to
  know the campus, meeting the Dean, Master of the
  college, faculty, students and staff.

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Academic Orientation and Student Performance

• What do students think about our Bethune College
  Academic Summer and Fall Orientations?
• Beginning the assessment process...

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project 3
surveys

• A Pre-Orientation survey.
• A Post-Orientation survey.
• Follow up survey (First year performance).

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Demographics
• Mostly commuter students
• 26 Female first year students
• 29 Male first year students
• 50 Science students, 5 non-science students

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Pre-Orientation survey Results.
• Preliminary thoughts (rank order)
• Wanted to meet their professors
• Talk to upper year students
• Take campus tours
• Receive academic advise
• Learn about study and time management skills

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• A Post-Orientation survey.
• High satisfaction ratings mainly for the campus
  tours and meeting professors.
• Overall, found the experience very helpful.

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Follow up survey (First year performance).
• Integrative Events
• Students felt that meeting and having the
  opportunity to meet faculty members and to be
  able to ask any questions eased the stress
  worries about coming to university, especially to
  classes of 500 sizes.

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Follow up survey (First year performance).
• Students said that meeting with senior
  students/peer advisers helped them to become
  more familiar with the universitycourses and
  professors

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Follow up survey (First year performance).
• Students were enthusiastic about our campus tours
  it really helped me and I was able to help
  friends find campus locations during the first
  couple of weeks in September

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Follow up survey (First year performance).
• Students found This Year Has Sixty Minutes to
  be helpful commenting that TYHSM was the best
  part of Bethune Days. It gives a good
  (accurate) simulation of how hectic university
  life is

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Follow up survey (First year performance).
• Confirmations
• Surprises

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Post-Orientation Reflections and Observations.

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project
Anecdotal Results of the 3 surveys

• Changes for Summer Orientation 2003.

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Summer Academic Orientation Pilot Project

• Questions and Discussion