2.10 Student Support ServicesThe institution provides student support programs, services, and activities consistent with its mission that promote student learning and enhance the development of its students. Judgment of Off-Site Review Committee Non-Compliance Comments of Off-Site Review Committee The college provides a wide array of programs, services, and activities which are intended to promote student learning and enhance the development of its students. A majority of these programs and services are housed within Division of Student Affairs which includes the following departments: Office of the Chaplain, Counseling and Psychological Services, Health Services, Recreation and Basketball, Residence Life, and Student Activities, along with the Office of Student Affairs. The institution has a host of programs and services. They include over fifty student organizations, opportunities for leadership development and training through Student Activities; New Student Orientation; Academic Cultural Enrichment Series (ACES), an opportunity for a broad array of community members to present programs that foster the institutional mission through major speakers like Michael Eric Dyson and Maya Angelou; Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology; physical recreational activities; and programming through other areas such as the Office of the Chaplain, Counseling Center, and Career Services. It is clear that the institution provides student support programs, services, and activities consistent with its mission. While it might be assumed that the student support programs, services and activities promote student learning and enhance the development of its students, the Off-Site Committee was unable to locate hard assessment data to confirm this assumption and, hence, compliance with the expectations of this standard. Bennett Focused Response The Area of Student Affairs provides a comprehensive student life program and support services. Through seven departments including Career Services, the Office of the Chaplain, Counseling and Psychological Services, Health Services, Recreation and Basketball, Residence Life, and Student Activities, along with the Office of Student Affairs, the College administers a collection of programs, services, and activities designed to assist students in further developing the life skills necessary to make effective and informed choices, promoting their well being and preparing them for life beyond the college experience. Bennett’s mission statement indicates that we prepare students for leadership roles in the workplace, society, and the world. The programs and services in the area are designed to build community and leaders with character. The Area of Student Affairs uses assessment to determine whether or not programs and services are meeting the needs of our students and contributing to student learning and development. We also use assessment to determine student satisfaction, student interests, and overall effectiveness. The information gathered from this feedback is used to enhance programs and activities. While assessment activities are coordinated through the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI)), some individual units in Student Affairs conduct surveys to gather data to assist in improving offerings. Data collected through the administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement provides an overall measure of student satisfaction with student support services. The primary dimension or benchmark used is Supportive Campus Environment.
Note: The numbers in the table above are weighted arithmetic average of student level benchmark scores. The higher the score, the stronger the agreement for the items in the benchmark. From the SSI, several scale scores are used to assess the impact of student support services on student development. There are several items that comprise each scale score. For each item the student rates importance and satisfaction. The GAP presented in the table below is the difference between importance and satisfaction, meaning that if the GAO is positive, the item is rated higher in importance than satisfaction.
As can be ascertained from the NSSE data presented above, student satisfaction with the overall campus support, specifically student support services, is higher than the selected peer group for the college. Form the SSI data, the performance gaps for each scale related to student support services is significantly above national norm of four-year private institutions. These metrics provide some hard data regarding the effectiveness of the services designed to promote student learning and enhance the development of our students. However, disaggregating this data to align with the programs and services offered in Student Affairs provides opportunity for continuous improvement efforts. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) provide hard assessment data of student satisfaction with student support services for each department in the area. Each of these instruments is administered annually to assess the effectiveness of campus support services. The table below provides an alignment of hard assessment data with the program/support service offerings.
It is important to note that based on the hard assessment data used to assess the effectiveness of our student support services, an external audit of our Student Affairs area was conducted. As a result, more direct assessment of services and programs was recommended and is being implemented under new leadership for the area. Each unit manager in Student Affairs will develop an assessment plan with the assistance of the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and the new Associate Provost for Student Affairs. Corrective Action Plan The Associate Provost for Student Affairs worked with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness to develop a plan to assess the activities in student affairs designed to promote student learning and development. A plan was developed consistent with the College’s mission as adapted by the new President and CEO. As a precursor to the strategic planning exercise the College will engage in 2009, the President provided a vision statement to guide the work of the institution. Within this vision statement is a four pronged student learning focus. “We will build on our strengths in the liberal arts and in the sciences and improve our capabilities in global studies, entrepreneurship, leadership and communications.” It is these four learning foci that the student support programs and services will support and enhance. Please see the Student Development Plan for Student Affairs. Supporting Documents
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