The Evolution of NSP
(through August of 1997)
November 1993
Michael Dunn hired as New Student Programs Director (former Associate Dean of Students since August, 1985.) Major responsibilities included Quest, Family Weekend, and the Radford Night program.
January 1994
Office physically opens in Walker Hall. Secretary, Etta Whitaker, hired. The staff also included a 1500-hr wage position, Theresa Mathis.
Mike Dunn appointed by interim President Owens to serve on Admissions Coordinating Team (with Debbie Brown, Chris Knauer, and Penny Helms White)
May 1994
Mike Dunn teaches EDCS 460, Student Transition to Higher Education, for the first time to Quest Assistants during Summer School to prepare them for their role as QA’s.
May 1995
Krista Smith hired in 1500 hour wage position to coordinate Quest reservation system and Freshman Advocate program (CSI).
June 1995
Administer the College Student Inventory (CSI) to all entering new freshmen at Quest. The inventory is scored on-campus, individual reports generated, and each student is matched with a “Freshmen Advocate” for the fall ’95 semester. Approximately 130 Faculty/Staff are trained by NSP to interpret the CSI with students and to serve in the role of Freshmen Advocate.
August 1995
Hired Molly McGuire as the Coordinator of Freshmen Retention Programs to coordinate the implementation of UNIV 100. Debbie Carr moves from the Office of Academic Enrichment to serve as secretary for NSP.
Offered UNIV100 for the first time as a 1 credit, P/F course for entering new students. Used Gardner/Jeweler textbook Your College Experience. Offered Faculty Development grant and reimbursed Peer Instructors for training, travel, and loss of summer job revenue for their training in August. Training for a week in August included Betsy Barefoot, Co-Director, Freshman Year Experience at the University of South Carolina, leading a workshop.
January 1996
NSP is asked to create and implement a new “academic recovery” program for new students subject to academic suspension after their first semester. Entitled SORTS (Students on the Road to Success), approximately 75 students entered into a contracted arrangement for their “exception to suspension.” Ann Yearick, an adjunct faculty member in English and Matt Ginipro, a Graduate intern, spearheaded the implementation of this effort during the Spring ’96 semester.
March 1996
NSP is asked by the University to create a program to support “students to be admitted to RU who could benefit from additional support” in an effort to increase freshmen enrollment. FIRST (Freshmen in Radford’s Success Track) was developed to accommodate these students, admitted after signing a contract agreeing to participate in the program. Approximately 119 students entered RU during the Fall of 1996 in this program.
August 1996
Sharon McGuire, a doctoral student at Virginia Tech, was hired on a part-time basis to coordinate both the SORTS and FIRST efforts.
Krista Smith and Michael Lawrence, an undergraduate student, develop of EDCS 450: “Instructing the First Year Student”, a two credit course that was taught to all Peer Instructors teaching UNIV 100 during the Fall Semester. Molly McGuire and Krista Smith taught the two sections of the course.
UNIV 100 moves to a 1 credit graded (A-F) course. UNIV 100 becomes part of the integrated curriculum of the Freshmen Connections program. UNIV 100 developed its own custom textbook, "UNIV 100: Getting to Know You and RU," edited by Molly McGuire. This book combined traditional new student success materials (copyrighted) with RU specific information designed to inform and educate students about RU.
Converted the 1500-hour wage position into a nine-month position (Assistant Director of New Student Programs) to direct Quest, the Freshmen Advocate Program (CSI) and to assist with the UNIV 100 effort. Krista Smith was selected to fill this position. Molly McGuire’s position title also changed to Assistant Director.
January 1997
Continued with the second year of the SORTS program. Conduct a mandatory, pre-semester experiential workshop (led by Gary Nussbaum) for all participants. Also, created five sections of UNIV 100 for the Spring ’97 semester specifically for these students to increase the teaching/counseling support.
March 1997
Implemented the first formalized, application based, interview procedure for hiring Peer Instructors. A complementary recruitment of Faculty/staff instructors nets teaching teams for 40 sections of UNIV 100. Spring training for all teaching staff is implemented, including an experiential workshop, coordinated by Mary Henton. UNIV 100 enters into a collaborative effort with the College of Business and Economics and the College of Education and Human Development to offer “thematic” sections of the course designed for intended majors in these colleges. Also, “theme” sections with the Center for Service-Learning, the FIRST program, the continuation of Freshmen Connections, and a special technology based project with Residential Life, "The Draper Project," were developed.
May 1997
Delivered a special OUR TURN course for all teaching staff of the UNIV 100 course. It consisted of the needs of new freshmen and effective teaching strategies. Mary Henton and Molly McGuire coordinated the week which was highlighted by a day-long workshop delivered by Dianne Strommer, author of "Teaching College Freshmen."
June 1997
The Quest Assistants participate in a two-day workshop, led by Mary Henton, utilizing the ropes course that is jointly managed by RU and St. Albans Hospital. This training activity was part of an intensive two-week training program for Quest Assistants, coordinated by Krista Smith.
August 1997
Mary Henton was hired as a part-time administrative faculty member to help lead the teaching instruction component of UNIV100. She was involved in training the teaching staffs for UNIV100 and the retention programs; she was involved with the building of the Freshmen Connections community; and, assisted with the teaching and delivery of all UNIV100 classes. She also developed training models for working with the FIRST/SORTS students, and helped with workshops for Resident Assistants and Student Government leaders.
NSP coordinated the delivery of “Success Starts Here,” a series of events designed to help students with their transition to college. Collaboratively designed and funded by a number of offices, it dealt with the important topics of alcohol awareness, AIDS and sexual decision making, sexual assault, and personal decision making. These programs were a mandatory requirements of all UNIV 100 sections.
Due to the demand for UNIV 100, 7 sections are added (bringing the total to 47) and we delivered the course to approximately 1150 students.
Fall 1998
Assisted with the new fall opening schedule which included bringing in new freshmen one day earlier, the Highlander Picnic and the New Student Welcome event on the Moffett Field
Expanded the Freshman Learning Communities program into RU Connections, where students in these all-freshman buildings were required to take UNIV 100 and had the option of enrolling in optional General Education courses (taught in the residence hall). In addition, each RU Connections building had a theme: Floyd - Social Issues; Draper - Technology; and Muse 10-13 - Career Exploration.
50 sections of UNIV 100 were offered, enrolling 1138 students. New training and support mechanisms for Peer Instructors were established, including weekly check-in sessions and in-service workshops. In addition, the textbook was produced locally and sold solely through the RU bookstore. This made for a better text, and reduced the price from over $30 to $9.
Spring 1999
New components to the SORTS program were introduced, including workshops, more individual contact with participants, and a four hour workshop held at a ropes course facility designed to help students identify roadblocks to their success.
130 students applied for the Peer Instructor position, up from 69 applicants for the fall of 1998.
A recognition dinner was held to recognize the UNIV 100 teaching teams to recognize their efforts above and beyond their other responsibilities.
Summer 1999
Melissa Chase was hired as the Retention Coordinator, responsible for the FIRST and SORTS programs.
Krista Smith left in order to pursue her Ph.D. in Instructional Technology at Virginia Tech. After a national search, Marc Jacobsen was hired as the new Assistant Director, primarily responsible for Quest.
The Pre-Major Advising Center was administratively relocated from the Academic Enrichment Office to New Student Programs.
Fall 1999
The study hall was refurnished with new desks and chairs, carpet, and wall decorations in order to provide an environment more conducive to studying.
UNIV 100 offered 66 sections, with over 1300 (approximately 80% of the freshman class) students enrolled. One section was specifically for commuting student. Some classrooms received new, more comfortable furniture, which also allowed for varying seating arrangements. To clarify roles and better the relationship between Peer Instructors and Resident Assistants, several joint training sessions took place. A partnership with the Office of Experiential Learning paved the way for integrating service-learning UNIV 100 classes.
To enhance the RU Connections program and make faculty a more integral part of the freshman learning communities, three faculty leaders were hired. Those faculty were Dr. Clay Waite in Muse 10-13, Dr. Betty Dore in Floyd, and Dr. Joe Chase in Draper.
Spring 2000
SORTS program enrolls 105 students, the largest group in the program's history. For the first time, study hall credit was given for spent at the library, computing center, and other learning resources.
Freshman retention rate for fall 1999 to spring 2000 was 89.47% for those who took UNIV 100, and 82.45% for those who did not.
Fall 2000
Established a UNIV 100 section specifically for international students
more to come...
