Student Life Advising Service Report

8/11/2019 Student Life Advising Service Report

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Report on the Student Life Advising Service

Sciences Po of Paris Euro American Reims Campus

Model Launched by Kat ie Friedland L ipitch, January 2014


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Table of Contents

I. Overview of the Student Life Advising Service..... 2

II. Targeted Programming 3

III. Online Presence 6

IV. Concluding Remarks 9

V. Student Reactions.... 10


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I. Overview of the Student Life Advising Service

To achieve their goals some university students may need to seek out the advice and resourcesof experienced unbiased individuals. There are two distinct realms, Academic Affairs which calls

for academic advising and Student Affairs which is just as important, but has yet to be formallyestablishedon the Sciences Po Euro-American campus. At times some students, especially first-year and exchange students, might need to step outside the academic mind-set, put down theirbooks and simply talk about the life issues they face.

The model for the Student Life Advising Service was created and launched in January 2014by Ms. Katie Friedland Lipitch who served the campus as the Student Life Consultant. In thisrole she offered students general assistance throughout their studies on the Sciences PoReims campus. Whether it was through coaching, answering questions and providing advice,or directing students to the appropriate individual, agency, or professional on or off campus,she was available for individual and group advising. Further, she both led and coordinatedinitiatives and trainings on community building, academic success and wellness management.

The Student Life Consultant was available for advising sessions regarding the following areas:

Culture shock and adjustment to life abroad

General student wellness issues (stress, relationship-conflicts, self-esteem, body image)

Language barriers in everyday life

Municipal and national orientation needs (Sous-Prefecture, CAF, Banking,

Internet/Phone Company) *Including accompanied assistance through small group Field-

Trips if necessary

Transition support for incoming foreign and exchange students (Housing, Settling in)

Medical and psychological referrals

Through active listening, the Student Life Consultant assisted the student in developing plans of

action and concrete goals. If it was not the case of a direct referral, regular follow-ups and

adjustments were arranged to support the students success.

The advising sessions, were allclearly documented in a continuous E-log book, and were either:

Quick (providing basic advice or directing students to the appropriate individual,

agency, or professional on or off campus)

OR

In-depth (lasting between 20-30 minutes) when the Student Life Consultant will use

the OSCAR (Outcome, Strategy, Coordination, Alteration, Result) approach to support

the student in creating an action plan to follow in order to reach his/her goal.


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II. Targeted Programming

The Student Life Consultant also organized targeted programmingfeatured in a campus

Wellness Week that was relevant to the students overall wellbeing on the following topics:

Personal Self-Defense/Street Smarts

Balanced Eating/Easy Cooking

Sleep Management

Overcoming Stress through Laughter and Creativity

Relaxation and Meditation Techniques

The themes were chosen based on a survey written up by Ms. Lipitch and distributed to students viaemail and google docs.

Each presentation was led by a local professional, and except for one, delivered in French, withEnglish language translation and/or an English follow-up discussion offered for those studentsinterested.

Further, The Student Life Consultant created a variety of passive programming and lightly activeprogramming for the students, so that key information could be conveyed in a logical, interestingformat in which no little to no participation is necessary. Students could then absorb the information attheir own pace.

Passive Programming:When she noticed on the student life campus calendar that there was goingto a Mojito party to launch the Students Spring Break, the Student Life Consultant knew it was perfecttiming for a passive programming opportunity. The Mojito Night Awareness Wallwas created toprovide invaluable information to students on Drug and Alcohol Consumption. After the Mojito Nightevent was over, by student request the information was kept posted on the wall in the main studentbreak/coffee machine area because it was deemed very useful knowledge.


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The Mid-Term Motivational Mural, along with offering students access to 30 inspirational quotes,allowed students to write good luck messages or design pictures for their friends during the stressfulperiod of Mid-Terms.


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A student-designed promo flyer for the initiative


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The Celebrating with Smiles: The Sciences Po Selfie Send-OffWall, a project that extendedover one and a half walls of the Student Lounge and featured 100 selfies taken by the students overthe course of their year together. The selfies were collected via Facebook and Instagram. The wallcelebrated their friendships and also gave them an opportunity to say see you soon to the departingsecond year students.

III. SLAS - Student Life Advising Service Online Presence

Active Student Life Consultant Facebook Page with 248 student friends(300 total students)


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Active Page for the SLAS Student Life Advising Service with 106 likes

Cover Page for both profiles


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Examples of Facebook Posts:


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IV. Concluding Remarks

Overall the launch of the Student Life Advising Service on the Euro-American Campus was a rousing

success. The first service of its kind at Sciences Po, it is clear that the impact of the various initiatives

whether it was the one-to-one counselling or the general Student Life programming was

undoubtedly strong. On the following pages are examples of student feedback on the Student Life

Advising Service. From these comments, one can see how beneficial it is to have a counselor on

campus to support their sense of overall wellbeing of the students. It would be highly

recommended for the Governing Board and Direction in Paris to establish the SLAS as a permanent

service on all of undergraduate campuses.


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V. Student Feedback on the Student Life Advising Service

The student life advising services provided by Ms.Lipitch were truly invaluable. As an American new

to the Hexagon, there were countless moments of frustration, fear, and even lonelinessthe various

tribulations of a junior ex-patriot. However, throughout all of such experiences, the student life

advising service was there to guide me through. In many instances, Ms. Lipitch walked me throughthe immigration process, helped ease and guide my integration into the French culture, and most

importantly, been there for me as a friendly face to break up the dull grind of the school year. We

were immensely fortunate to benefit from her services and her vast contributions to campus life.

In my opinion, the student life service initiative had a positive influence on campus by adding more

positivity to our daily student lives. The best example for this was the motivational wall during

midterms, but the information provided was also invaluable. Information on alcohol poisoning, for

example, was given in a non-judgmental way, allowing us to truly get informed, while the self-defense

training class responded to a clear demand many girls on campus had for tips on how to feel safer on

the streets of Reims. Overall, it was a great addition to our campus life, and while I did not use theservice for personal counseling, I find it great that students had someone they could talk to about any

concern they might have.

As an international student, I truly valued the Student Life Advising Service. Prior to the SLAS, I felt

overwhelmed with all the transitions and bureaucratic processes. But, then I knew I could ask Katie

for help in almost any situation. She was an asset to the Sciences Po-Reims community, and I truly

believe she made the campus a better place in the short amount of time that the SLAS was

established.

The Student Life Advisory Service was a great initiative that brought students together and reinforced

our sense of community. Several projects such as Wellness Week, the Motivational Mural and the

Wall of Selfies contributed greatly to our campus life and spirit. Especially in times of stress and

exams, students needed such a service to boost their spirits. Great job, great initiative!!!

The Student Life Advising Service was a great help to me this year. I was able to keep focus on

school work by simply passing by and discussing the various issues I had at the time, from the

personal to the trivial. I know that this service was also able to help many others on my campus.

I'm very grateful for the help the Student Life Advising Service provided this year, especially for

applying for housing aid and completing the residency carte de sejour application process. I don't

know how I would have navigated these complicated processes if Katie Lipitch hadn't gone to the

Housing Aid office with me to help translate or explained which documents I needed for my carte de

sejour and how to get them officially translated.

The hardest thing about the first year of college is not academics and grades - it is moving in, paying

EDF bills, applying for CAF, homesickness and lack of cooking skills... and that's what the StudentLife Advising Service was for. I couldn't do it all by myself, and no one else should have to either.


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"I think the Student Life Advising Service was invaluable to the Sciences Po Reims community. Katie

Lipitch in particular offered such valuable guidance and support to me in maneuvering the difficulties

of the French bureaucracy for International students like myself."

I would say the feeling of being welcome, having a break between classes with a nice cup of tea was

really great Not to mention I didnt always have people to talk to, or people I would like to talk to

about my problems

"The Student life Advising Service was an immensely helpful resource at Sciences Po Reims. Without

being fluent in French the administrative processes could be very overwhelming, and Katie was a

wonderful asset navigating everything!"

I think the service provided me with an outlet to voice my problems, and it really helped me in

balancing both my personal and academic lives.

The Student Life Advising Service was very important for the campus, as it organized many activities

and gave us many tips to improve the quality of our student life. In particular, when I received a quite

expensive bill from the hospital of Reims and had no idea how to deal with that, Ms Lipitch resolved

all my problems with a phone call and an email. As a result, we found out that I didn't have to pay

because I'm an European student: quite a great accomplishment for a broke student.

"The life advising service helped me change my sleeping patterns, eating patterns and my attitude on

campus"

I would like to thank you for the Student Life Advising Service - I particularly enjoyed participating in

the self-defense course. Extra thanks for being there for me and giving me counselling after breaking

up with my boyfriend!

Student life advising was not only a school program, but also a guide which brought me to meet new

people, make new friends and never feel alone!

The student life advising service has been SO important - it has helped so many students this year,

with problems ranging from personal and emotional, to administrative paperwork! It made a huge

difference to have such support on our campus.


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Documents

Student Life Advising Service Report