ASCEND Podcast

We have found in many instances, especially among Generation Z, that we have to find ways to ‘go to them’ instead of waiting for them to come to us.  To better meet students on their turf, we found many ways to ‘go to’ the students.  Meeting college students on their turf, rather than waiting for them to come to your office, can offer many benefits.

Even though they are second-year students and in theory know their way around campus, sophomores and transfer students often still find themselves getting the runaround, being bounced from office to office and center to center until they find what they need. To stop this runaround, we created a one-stop shop on campus to better serve our second-year students. Similar to The Nest (a one-stop shop for first-year students) that we described in our first book (Tippets & Kirby, 2022), we created The Perch to serve as a one-stop shop for our second-year students.

Dr. Bryce Bunting from Brigham Young University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts!

Dr. Bryce D. Bunting is an associate clinical professor, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Director of the Office of First-Year Experience at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.  He began his work in education as a public school teacher and coach.  He then earned graduate degrees in instructional design and educational psychology.

He has worked in a variety of roles in student affairs including as an academic advisor for students in academic recovery, a faculty member in BYU’s department of Counseling and Psychological Services, and now as the Director of the First Year Experience at BYU.

Dr. Bunting’s research is focused on using instructional design to develop transformative learning experiences in the first year; peer leadership as a transformative experience; and the development of new theory for understanding and supporting college transitions.

Bryce is a member of the editorial review board for the Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and an affiliate scholar with the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition. He co-authored with Dr. Dallin George Young the recently released book Rethinking Student Transitions: How community, participation, and becoming can help higher education deliver on its promise. 

To help students who need professional clothes, our Career Center created a ‘Professional Closet’ to ensure they have access to professional clothing and a knowledge of how to dress for important occasions (i.e. interviews, jobs, internships, etc.). To help get this project off the ground, a request was sent out across campus and throughout the community asking for donations of lightly used professional clothing. This clothing was then gathered, laundered, and stored on racks in a giant walk-in closet area on our campus. Then, students who did not have professional clothing for a job interview, would visit our Career Center, get access to the clothing, and learn about professional attire. Through financial donations, these clothes were then washed/dry cleaned after use and returned to the rack for another student to use down the road. 

Transfer students can face a variety of challenges when transitioning to a new institution or college. These challenges can impact their academic and social experiences and can involve things like credit transfer issues, navigating a new environment, academic adjustments, building a new social network, understanding a new campus culture, lacking advising and support services, limited housing options, financial constraints, and more. To combat these issues, institutions across the nation will attempt to offer dedicated orientation programs, provide clear and accessible credit transfer policies, offer academic advising and support tailored to their needs, create opportunities for social integration, and facilitate a smooth transition to the new academic and social environment. To improve our ability to attract and retain more transfer students, we had to first collect the data by better understanding why transfer students transferred to our institution, what keeps them here, and what they wish we as an institution did better. 

As we all know, many students start school to get a bachelor’s degree. However, as life happens, that dream can get interrupted for many students. We found that by using information gathered by our withdrawal coordinator and academic advisors, we could identify students who might be considering leaving our institution, but who are close to getting an associate's degree. Nudging them to finish their associate's degree, even though getting a bachelor's degree was their original goal, helps ensure they do not walk away from our institution empty-handed. To do this nudge, we first identified our target students. We then provided personalized outreach to these students to let them know how close they are and what needs to occur to finish up their associate's degree. During this process, academic plans should be created that are tailored to each student's unique situation, focusing on the specific courses they need to complete. Also, discovering what their current barriers are (and what can be done to remove these barriers) is critical. For example, advisors can assess the financial situation of each student and provide information about available financial aid or scholarship opportunities to ease any financial burdens that might be preventing them from graduating. Another important part is ensuring that the students have access to the necessary courses to complete their degree. The advisors need to be knowledgeable of various resources so they can connect students with relevant support services, such as tutoring, counseling, or career services, as needed.

In many regards, parents are often considered the front line of defense for the retention of college students due to their significant influence and role in a student's life, especially during the critical transition to college and as issues along the journey arise. Given this, we have found that providing information and support to parents via social media can play a significant role in increasing the retention of our college students.

‘Sophomore slump’ is a term often used to describe a decrease in excitement, engagement, and overall drive that can occur after the initial excitement of the first year has passed. We know from the literature and from many years of experience that sophomore students often face a period of academic, personal, or motivational decline during their second year of college. It is important to normalize the emotions, experiences, and realities students may face in their second year. Anecdotally, we have seen that many of our students struggle with the sophomore slump, but most don’t know what to call it or fully understand what is going on.

We created a variety of unique initiatives and programming specific to our second-year students. By specifically addressing the sophomore slump and its challenges, we try to demonstrate that we understand and care about the difficulties students may encounter during their second year. This validation can create a sense of belonging and support, reducing the likelihood of students feeling overwhelmed or isolated. 

Students are always looking for discounts and deals to save money. Additionally, community businesses are always looking for ways to attract more customers. Given these two realities, creating a community coupons, deals, and discount packet (or website) and giving it to all incoming and returning students can be a great way to help students save money and drive more customers to local businesses. This initiative is also a great way to build partnerships with the community and foster a greater sense of community among students.