Talking Stick - May/June 2009 - 21

Second year students ‘scrub-in’ for their visit to the operating room at the Cleveland Clinic’s Case Cultural Event. community while at the same time moving toward more independence – and for this they need a map. One component of the Residential Life and Education’s Sophomore Success Program at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo is the Making Academic Progress (MAP) Program, Case western reserve University meet one-on-one with student and professional staff to discuss how to achieve these goals. In addition to the MAP program, the university also sponsors a Sophomore Advising Week and a Sophomore Honorary Ceremony, which is held each spring to recognize outstanding second-year students. Finning-Kwoka suggests that meeting the specific needs of second-year students requires a strategic approach that might include assessing what constitutes second-year success, determining which on-campus resources they have utilized, identifying any gaps that might exist in student services, and highlighting common experiences for sophomores from the students’ perspectives. “Second year” needs to be defined by each institution, since these students may be grouped by years of experience at the school, by credit, or by transfers to the institution. The needs of each group vary, and the institution should be able to develop a plan specifically tailored to the target group. Defining secondyear or sophomore students as a group will help develop specific programming that can strengthen a class identity. For example, career exploration tutorials, highlights of study-abroad opportunities, and ceremonies celebrating rites of passage from the freshman to the sophomore class are all ways to spotlight these students. Open communication with other campus departments enhances the residential experience for all students but can also illuminate areas of concern for a particular cohort. If other departments share their student feedback with the residence life department, then residence educators can tweak their programs accordingly. Joe Gonzalez, associate dean of residential life at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, notes that one emerging area of concern about their secondyear students was that many of them expressed feelings of loneliness, as reported by Dr. Steve Asher of Duke’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. In response, Gonzalez’s department worked with the sophomore class council to plan social events that would more effectively engage these students. tradItIonal second-year students are stIll In soMe ways tryIng to naVIgate the caMPus coMMunIty whIle at the saMe tIMe MoVIng toward More IndePendence – and for thIs they need a MaP. which assists sophomores in such things as changing study habits to meet their GPA goals, identifying requirements for their majors, and better utilizing advising and career resources. As Carole Schaffer and Juliette Duke explain, collaboration with academic initiatives is a hallmark of the Cal Poly program: “The second-year program focuses on academic planning, integration in school and class community, and autonomy and self-advocacy for the students as they move forward at the university.” As part of the program, students meet with their career counselors, define their academic goals, list their cocurricular involvement and leadership goals, consider optional study-abroad experiences, and plan out their third and fourth years. They also May + June 2009 21
Talking Stick - May/June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - May/June 2009
