Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Main Menu Session 2793

New Student Orientation Assessment: A Student Council/Dean’s Office Partnership at the College of Engineering at Kansas State University Tom C. Roberts. P. E. & Samira Hasan Kansas State University

Abstract

The Kansas State University (KSU) Engineering Student Council (ESC) and the College of Engineering Dean’s office established DEN 015: New Student Orientation Seminar Series (NSOS) in 1994. (The course identifier DEN is assigned to all Dean of Engineering courses). Emphasis is on new student (freshman and transfer) transition to college life. Students obtain administrative, academic, and professional development information, and receive guidance on how to become a successful student. New students discuss this information in small groups with mentors (older engineering students are trained and assigned to lead discussion). Homework assignments are reviewed and discussed. Students are introduced to their assigned departments, department assemblies are explained, and advising information is provided in an effort to connect new students to their college and departments.

The NSOS process has been a positive improvement for new students and several important administrative changes have been accomplished. The Student Council / Dean’s Office partnership has produced a focused effort by students, faculty, and administration to share limited resources and to effectively implement needed change. Assessment and continuous quality improvement methods are being used to focus on future improvements.

The NSOS Process

The need to assist new students in the transition to college life is well documented. 1,2,3,7 The Kansas State University Engineering Student Council/Dean’s Office partnership emphasis is on new student (freshman and transfer) transition to college life.

The NSOS program involves student mentor training, five one hour session the first 5 -6 weeks of the semester, administrative controls, cooperative efforts with the College of Arts & Sciences dean’s office, residence hall and Greek Affairs office staff, program evaluation, & assessment of new student perception of life style and academic issues. Proactive communication from residence hall staff to the Dean’s Office is encouraged. Intervention early in the semester is essential.

Mentor Recruitment and Training

The first step in the NSOS process is student mentor recruitment and training. The goal is to have a mentor with a group of new students from his or her respective department. This gives the new student an opportunity to learn about their department from an upperclassman.

The NSOS Committee is responsible for recruiting mentors. Recruiting is accomplished through email, visits to engineering group meetings, and telephone calls to mentors from previous years. Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @2002, American Society for Engineering Education

Main Menu

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Hasan, S., & Roberts, T. (2002, June), New Student Orientation Assessment: A Student Council/Dean's Office Partnership Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10370