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A review of the year and survey data for the Bridges program at Wagner College.
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Bridges Annual Report
2010—2011
“F oundation Hall serves as an excellent community for our senior class. We are all at
the same place in our college career, where
we have to find permanent job opportunities, our own
apartments, and put our plans into action. We are all in the same boat, and living together is a reassuring
reminder that we are not alone in starting the next part
of our lives.”
-Foundation Resident, 2010-2011
2
T he Bridges program was created in 2008 in preparation for the opening of Foundation Hall, Wagner’s newest residence hall built to house its senior students.
A collaborative program that brings together the Office of Residential Education,
the Center for Career Development, the Alumni Association, and the Student Government
Association, the Bridges program serves as a living-learning community that addresses the final academic and residential components of students’ senior years.
The Resident Director of Foundation Hall coordinates the Bridges program. The
main component of the program is a series of workshops and events throughout the year
that take place in Foundation. Staff from the career center host workshops and events that help students develop job searching skills a post-graduation plan. The Student
Government Association and Office of Residential Education sponsor speakers on various
life skills like finance and cooking. The Alumni Association hosts events and talks with
alumna from Wagner who provide support as students develop a professional network. Resident Assistants in Foundation serve as liaisons to these offices. They also
create programming that facilitates the learning outcomes of the program and hold
meetings that provide ongoing support to residents as they navigate their senior year. With attention to the developmental needs of students in this critical transition
from college to the professional world, the Bridges program provides a community of
support as well as access to resources and people that help them successfully begin their
adult lives.
Bridges History and Mission
3
Bridges Learning Outcomes
S tudents Participating in Bridges will,
• Understand the job search and graduate
admissions processes, specifically the development of a resume, interviewing
skills, networking skills, professional
etiquette, and negotiation skills
• Develop a post-graduation plan regarding a job, job alternative, or graduate school
• Gain life skills such as managing personal
finances, cooking, and securing an
apartment • Balance the senior year workload and
experiential learning or thesis while
planning for the future • Establish and maintain relationships with
members of the Wagner College alumni
network
• Reflect on past experiences at Wagner as the final component of the Wagner Plan
“T he transition from higher
education into employment
warrants particular attention
because it represents a critical
threshold between adolescence and
adulthood.”
Hurst, J. L. and L. Good (2009)
4
T he staff involved in Bridges during the 2010-2011 academic year
were,
• Tulin Aldas, Assistant Director, Center for Career Development
• Victoria Crispo, Assistant Director,
Center for Career Development
• Chris Diggs, Resident Director of Foundation Hall, Office of Residential
Education
• Natalie Johnson, Director, Center for
Career Development • Kenneth Lam, Director of Alumni
Relations
• Stephanie Schweitzer, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
Bridges Staff
5
2010-2011 Changes and Additions
B ased on survey data from the 2009-2011 year and staff members’
recommendations, some changes to
the program were made. Most notably, the
program name was changed from its original, the Senior Year Residential Experience
(SYRE), to Bridges. The Office of Residential
Education wanted all students to feel that they
could take advantage of the program. Subsequently, the logo and tagline, “Your
Connection to Life After Wagner” were
developed. This change reflects the larger
student population the Bridges program serves, namely the junior and senior residents
of Foundation Hall.
Small changes were made to program offerings based on program attendance and
schedules set by the sponsoring offices. All of
the content areas remained the same and the
subjects covered by the program in the past were all addressed.
6
2010-2011 Assessment:
Survey Design and Demographic Information
E ach year, Wagner students are surveyed using the online survey tool Survey Monkey
to gather information about the Bridges program. Questions are adjusted slightly
from year to year to reflect program changes, however consistency is maintained as
much as possible in order to compare data from one year to the next.
In the 2010-2011 survey, 487 students were invited through email to participate. 106 students responded, yielding a 21% response rate. This number is down from last
year’s 32% response rate, however, a greater number of students were invited to complete
the survey this year, including commuter students and a greater number of residential
students who may have been less likely to respond to the survey. The survey collects various demographic information, including race and gender.
In the 2010-2011 survey, respondents were represented at parallel levels to the college’s
overall population. Approximately 75% of the respondents were residential students with
25% being commuter students. Of the residential population, 53% lived in Foundation, the rest residing in Wagner’s three other residence halls.
Questions addressing the campus climate are asked of all survey respondents.
Students are asked to indicate their level of agreement on a likert-type scale with statements such as, “Wagner provides an environment for the free and open expression of
ideas, opinions, and beliefs.” Responses to these questions closely matched the data from
the 2009-2010 survey with a majority of students (50-80%) responding they agree or
strongly agree with statements such as, “Wagner promotes respect for diversity.”
7
2010-2011 Assessment:
Post-Graduation Plans
R espondents shared information regarding their plans after graduation. This data reflects their plans as of May 2010.
33%
42%
23%
2%
Full Time Graduate
School
Secured Full Time
Employment
Still Seeking
Other
8
T he survey asks students to indicate their preparation for life after Wagner in several ways. It begins by asking general questions, examples of which are provided below.
The 2010-2011 survey shows a significant increase in students’ feelings of
preparedness and perception of resources available to them.
2010-2011 Assessment:
Life After Wagner
Survey Statement ‘09-’10 Agree or
Strongly Agree
‘10-’11 Agree or
Strongly Agree
Percent Change
Wagner prepared me for
life after college
39% 53% +14%
The resources provided by
Wagner met my needs
31% 43% +12%
Survey Statement ‘09-’10 Average or
Above Average
‘10-’11 Average or
Above Average
Percent Change
Please rate your experience
at Wagner with the
following: Assistance in making post-graduation
plans
55% 78% +23%
9
2010-2011 Assessment:
Life After Wagner
R espondents are then asked more specific questions about the various aspects of the Bridges program, including the events themselves as well as the skills and
experiences the program seeks to provide assistance with. The first specific
question asks, “Compared with the beginning of your senior year, how would you describe
your level of knowledge or experience for each of the following?” The list contains items such as job searching, interviewing, cooking, professional etiquette, and civic engagement.
Students select answers for each from a likert-type scale.
In looking at the data from this question in 2010-2011, over 50% of students
report their knowledge or experience as somewhat stronger or much stronger for almost all of the 15 items on the list. Compared with the 2009-2010 data, there is a significant
increase in students’ knowledge.
Survey Statement ‘09-’10 Somewhat
Stronger or Much
Stronger
‘10-’11 Somewhat
Stronger or Much
Stronger
Percent Change
Job Searching 54% 74% +20%
Interviewing 53% 73% +20%
Budgeting 38% 52% +14%
Negotiation Skills 39% 59% +20%
10
Q uestions in the survey then ask students to rate their level of comfort with the tasks and skills associated with developing and solidifying post-graduation plans. The
question is asked, “In the following situations, please rate your level of comfort.”
Situations include interviewing for a job, searching for an apartment, and paying taxes.
Students select answers from a likert-type scale. Examples of the responses are below.
2010-2011 Assessment:
Life After Wagner
Survey Statement ‘09-’10 Comfortable or
Very Comfortable
‘09-’10 Comfortable
or Very Comfortable
Percent Change
Creating a resume 80% 79% -1%
Interviewing for a job 85% 77% -8%
Negotiating a job offer 47% 44% -3%
Searching for an apartment 58% 57% -1%
A cross mostly all of the items on this list, levels of comfort are down from 2009-2010 to 2010-2011. In light of the increased levels of knowledge and experience
with similar items reported in the previous question, one explanation could be that
because students have increased awareness of the elements necessary for a successful
transition out of college, their levels of comfort are down as their anxiety about the process increases. This would reflect similar phenomena outlined by relevant research.
11
2010-2011 Assessment:
The Benefits of Living in Foundation
I n reviewing the responses of students who lived in Foundation during 2010-2011 and
students who lived in other residence halls on
campus, a clear trend emerges. Residents of
Foundation Hall, where the Bridges program is housed and most heavily promoted, report an
average of 5% higher scores in somewhat
stronger or much stronger knowledge or
experience of tasks such as job searching, interviewing, budgeting, and negotiating a job
offer compared with their peers in other residence
halls. Quite strikingly, they report an average of
10% higher scores in comfortable or very comfortable with those tasks as compared to their
peers in other residence halls. This is even more
evident when recognizing the overall decline in comfort levels when evaluating the whole sample.
Based on this survey data, students living in
Foundation hall are clearly more prepared for life
after graduation than their peers as a result of the Bridges program.
12
T he final questions of the survey ask students to reflect on their overall experience in their
senior year as well as their post-graduation
plans. While the data from earlier questions suggests
that students knowledge and experience are improving as the Bridges program continues to grow,
there is still work to be done in providing ample
support for students in this process. When asked
whether their post-graduation plans were facilitated in one way or another by Wagner, only 23% of
students responded yes. Furthermore, only 40% of
respondents stated that Wagner provided the “ample
resources and services to assist them in making ideal plans for after graduation.” It is clear that the
Bridges program is helping prepare students for
their final transition out of college, but more needs to be done to address the needs of a greater number of
students.
2010-2011 Assessment:
Experiences with Bridges
13
2011-2012 Recommendations
B ased on the survey data, the Bridges program has started to make an impact on students’ experiences and
preparation for life after college. Students are more aware
of the resources available to them and have greater access to the
services provided. The program gives attention to the many facets of this transition, not only meeting the career and academic needs
of students, but also fulfilling the social and extra-curricular
elements of being a senior.
Recommendations for the 2011-2012 year include continuing to work on the marketing and student participation in Bridges events. With the addition of Senior Week
to the responsibilities of the Foundation Hall Resident Director, there is an opportunity to
integrate the curricular and social elements of both Bridges and Senior Week and increase
student participation in both. Another opportunity for development that will strengthen student awareness and
involvement is more closely tying the Resident Assistants to the offices that sponsor the
Bridges program. In 2011-2012, each RA will serve as a liaison to one of the four sponsoring campus offices, assisting with marketing and promotion as well as event
management. Additionally, the Resident Director of Foundation Hall will develop a
curriculum for RAs to facilitate over the course of the year with
their residents. This will provide more one on one contact for residents and will help utilize floor meetings as well as informal
and passive programming to more fully integrate the Bridges
program in to students’ living experience.