Assist students in creating and developing sustainable student organizations and prepare those students to become effective leaders in order to gain transferrable skills.
Objective
Student Organization Board Approval Process
By implementing a consistent meeting and approval schedule, Student Organization Board members will be able to review and process more prospective student organizations, allowing them to complete the approval process and begin engaging and recruiting student members.
(Some groups had valid complaints regarding the amount of time it took their organization to be approved. In the past, organization approval has been irregular and inconsistent depending on board availability and number of organization applications.)
KPI
Organization Application Processing Times
Every prospective student organization application is tracked by submission date and approval date. In past years, the Student Organization Board (which reviews organization applications) has been convened based on member availability at the time of application. The board would meet as needed once several applications had been submitted and if enough members were present to meet quorum requirements. Some meetings were delayed due to not meeting quorum requirements; business could not be conducted and organization applications were put on hold.
For FY15, the Student Organization Board meeting dates were set ahead of schedule and a meeting attendance policy was put in place in order to remain an active member of the board. All meeting dates were posted before board members were selected and approved, so that they could agree to the set schedule.
This KPI will measure the length (in weeks) of the approval time for each application, measured from submission date (received on OrgLINK) to approval date (signed by SHSU President) in comparison to the previous FY14. Applications that are removed from the process by the organization will not be included.
Result
Application Processing Time Decreased By 42%
When comparing prospective student organization application processing times between FY14 and FY15, results show that by implementing a set meeting schedule for the board, application processing time decreased by 42%.
*(From F13 to F14) Fall org approval times decreased by 44%. *(From S14 to S15) Spring org approval times decreased by 41%.
*Overall progression from FY14 to FY15: AVG approval time decreased by 42% while number of organizations approved increased by 262%.
Action
Student Organization Board Requirements
The Student Organization Board (comprised of approved student and faculty members) will be required to have a set schedule each academic year consisting of monthly meetings that are set before the year begins. Members will also be required to attend at least 75% of the meetings during their yearly tenure. The Student Organization Specialist III will serve as the secretary of the board, a non-voting member, and ensure that this requirement is completed by August each year.
Objective
Student Organization Member GPAs
Students participating in registered student organizations (general membership and/or leadership positions) will earn higher GPAs than the general student body average, based on fall 2014 grades.
KPI
Fall 2014 GPAs
Student leaders of registered student organizations have the opportunity to grow in various knowledge and skill areas when leading student organizations. They are able to take information learned in the classroom and through our provided trainings and apply them to real-world situations in running a student organization. We expect that student organization involvement will encourage students to learn and succeed in other areas, one of those being a more committed student and earning higher GPAs overall.
This KPI will compare fall 2014 GPAs of undergraduate student leaders to the overall fall 2014 GPA for the SHSU undergraduate student body.
Result
Student Leader GPAs Slightly Higher Than Overall SHSU GPA
For the fall 2014 semester, undergraduate student leaders (FR-SR, count = 4138, 37% of all organization memberships) had a cumulative grade point average of 2.92, while the overall undergraduate SHSU grade point average for fall 2014 was 2.837. Also, the GPA level was higher for student leaders (over the university average) at every classification level.
Action
Student Organization Marketing & Development
Because data shows that student leaders are currently performing at a slightly higher level academically than their peers, the student organization specialist will use this information to promote organization involvement and recruit new members into registered student organizations for FY16. This data also proves that we should continue with our development of student leaders through various training opportunities, educating students on how organization involvement connects to learning in the classroom.
Goal
Leadership Development
Support student learning by transforming theory into practice.
Objective
Leadership Development Application
By participating in the Center for Leadership and Service's Emerging Leaders program, students will be able to transform theory into practice.
Emerging Leaders is an on-going leadership series based on the Social Change Model of Leadership Development offered for Transfer Students at SHSU. A cohort of selected participants commit to attend all programs as they journey together to learn about Leadership, Communication, Individual & Group Values, Team Building, and Active Citizenship. We will be assessing the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 cohorts.
Indicator
Emerging Leaders Rubric Review
A rubric indicating various levels of growth in the Emerging Leaders program will be used during each cohort's final presentation to assess participant's ability to transform the Social Change Model theory of leadership into practice.
The rubric as a method of measurement is appropriate, as it allows students to know the expectations and levels of performance in which they will be assessed. Our grader is able to observe the product of the student's work over the course of a semester. The same rubric has been used for the past 7 cohorts.
Criterion
65% Of Emerging Leaders Participants Apply Learned Information
After participating in the CLS Emerging Leaders program, 65% of participants (from both the fall 2014 and spring 2015 cohorts) will show evidence of applying knowledge and skills to demonstrate application of learned information about leadership in relation to the Social Change Model.
Finding
76% Of Participants Show Evidence Of Applied Learning
Based on observation of the final project assignment of each cohort of the Emerging Leaders program, an average of 76% of participants showed evidence of applying knowledge and skills to demonstrate comprehension of learned information. We value this demonstration as "transfer of skill/knowledge".
Action
Identifying Factors Of Success
The coordinator/facilitator of this program has identified several factors that led to the success of the cohorts this year: - Communication of expectations at the beginning of the cohort and continued discussion of expectations throughout the semester. - Arrangement of groups within cohort, which included enhanced mentor involvement. - More accountability with peer mentors in leading and mentoring their groups. - Improved theory overview to fully engage each participant in the learning process. - Option for group facilitation of final presentation, which allowed for greater collaboration, reflection and application of learned materials.
The Emerging Leader coordinator will use these methods again next year to increase participant engagement. Furthermore, the coordinator will track alumni progress through a longitudinal study to see if applied learning and program success has continued in future endeavors for participants.
Goal
Campus Spirit & Tradition
Provide unique programs and activities that will encourage students to remain on campus.
Objective
Night & Weekend Programming (Campus Involvement Opportunities)
By attending and engaging in Welcome Week programs, students will make connections with new/returning students, therefore feeling more connected to their university.
KPI
Casino Night Involvement Survey
Due to attending Casino Night in the LSC Ballroom, at least 70% of surveyed students will report being able to make connections with new and returning students and at least 70% of surveyed students will report their excitement for getting involved at SHSU was created or increased. This KPI will specifically track feedback from students who attended Casino Night on Wednesday, August 26, 2015 (first week of classes).
Result
Connecting With New And Returning Students
63% of participants completing the survey moderately agreed or strongly agreed that by attending the Casino Night event they were able to make connections with new/returning students.
Result
Created Or Increased Excitement
76% of participants completing the survey moderately agreed or strongly agreed that their excitement for getting involved at SHSU was created or increased.
Action
Review And Restructure Volunteer Involvement
The results from the 2015 Casino Night survey (questions addressed here and others not addressed here) showed that this program was engaging and exciting for students. Because they were excited about this program and Sam Houston and expressed a desire to attend this program in the future, we will continue to offer Casino Night as a part of Welcome Week (it has become a tradition).
However, our failure to reach our percentage goal of allowing students to connect with new and returning students correlated with the following program observation: too many volunteers were surrounding the activity tables, which slightly prohibited participants from taking full advantage of the games. For Casino Night 2016, Program Council (and their advisor) will review the volunteer layout and restructure how volunteers are selected, trained and positioned at the event, to allow for full participation among attendees. This will allow student participants to further interact and engage with each other.