1. North Carolina Central University University College
Soaring to Sophomore Year Success: A Framework for Developing a Sophomore Year Experience
North Carolina Central University
University College
David S. Hood, Dean
Angela Street, Training and Seminar Designer

2. Today’s Agenda Presentation Overview & Goals Brief Introductions
An Overview: What is the Sophomore Year Experience (SYE)? National & HBCU Retention Rates
NCCU Student Retention & Achievement
A Programmatic Framework: The NCCU Soaring to Sophomore Year Success (SSYS) Program
Discussion/Question & Answer Period

3. Why the Second Year Experience (SYE)?
The concept evolved as early as 1983:
Attrition
Year one to year two rate of 29.1% in 1983
vs. 28.3% in 1992 (Tinto, 1993).
Lack of support
The institution relaxes or withdraws support and attention during the sophomore year (Pattengale and Schreiner, 2000).

4. The SYE Experience Defined
Emerging and existing research suggested:
Students were experiencing similar challenges they may have experienced during the first year due to:
Academic deficiencies
Academic disengagement
Dissatisfaction with the collegiate experience
Lack of clarity on major and career decisions
Development confusion (Hunter et al., 2010)

5. What academic factors impact students Sophomore year Experience?
Pop Quiz!
What academic factors impact students Sophomore year Experience?
Advising (frequency and satisfaction )
Learning Community
Courses Dropped
Uncertainty of Major
GPA
Faculty Interaction (Quantity, Quality, and Type)
Service Learning Courses

6. What campus experiences impact students Sophomore year Experience?
Pop Quiz!
What campus experiences impact students Sophomore year Experience?
Involvement in Student Organizations
Leadership
Campus Activities
Greek Organizations
Athletics
Community Service
On-Campus Housing

7. Other Factors Impacting SYE
Deciding on a career… “biggest personal problem” (Gardner, 2000)
The sophomore slump…related to adjustment stressors experienced by students during their second year of college (Cuseo, 2005).
Sense of belonging and approachable faculty are important (Juillerat, 2000)
Capable of developing a sense of purpose (Foubert, Nixon, Sisson, & Barnes, 2005)
Higher certainty about major leads to higher grades (Graunke and Woosley, 2005)

8. The SYE Experience
The national conversation began to be shaped by research recommending a necessary focus on the following areas:
Increased faculty-student interaction and engagement
More focused attention on academic advising to make more meaning of major selection and career decisions
Heightening opportunities to develop a stronger sense of belonging and peer relationships through involvement
Direct and intentional strategies to assist students’ with navigating campus resources
Encouraging students to reflect upon their strengths and apply these to their academic and career goals (Heier, 2010).

9. Outcomes from the Discourse
The research and national discussion has shaped a robust set of practices on college campuses and universities that typically include but are not limited to:
Academic learning communities
Living and learning communities
Credit-bearing career development courses
Internship and leadership development programs
Collaborative efforts between student and academic affairs

10. Why is the SYE Relevant today?
Retention & Persistence
Graduation
External Impact (local, regional, and global)
The Budget!-The Bottom-Line

11. Click to edit master subtitle style
The National Landscape: Retention & Graduation (Chart retrieved from NCES’s Condition of Education Report, May 2015)
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Roughly 59% of students who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a 4-year institution in fall 2007 completed their degree in 6 years.
For public 4-year institutions, the overall retention rate was 80% (NCES 2012 data)

12. HBCUs: Retention & Graduation
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13. NCCU Student Retention (Data retrieved from the NCCU Division of Research, Evaluation and Planning)
First year retention has fluctuated over the past 6years ( ). In 2014, the reported retention rate was 76.6.
However, the persistence rate after the second year (full sophomore year), for the same cohorts decreased by 10 or 15 percentage points.
Year of
# of Students
After Yr. #1
After Yr. #2
2011
1244
71.5
58.4
2012
1387
73.2
60.8
2013
922
76.6
64.2
2014
923
79.8

14. Setting the Context!
Pre-Assessment & Planning Activities for the NCCU Sophomore-Year Experience

15. What have we done? Administered UNC-GA Sophomore Survey
Sophomore Listening Tour Engaged in conversations with Sophomore students in their space (e.g. residence halls, student union)
Less structure and more freedom in the sophomore year (In the freshmen year there is more handholding
Getting more involved and being a student leader helps with feeling more connected
Much of financial aid offered is used in the first year and more is needed in the second year
Still not having the autonomy to select courses even in the second year

16. Our Proposed Framework
NCCU Soaring to Sophomore Year Success Program

17. Year Success (SSYS) Program
Soaring to Sophomore
Year Success (SSYS) Program
Through participation in this program, students will be able to…
identify educationally purposeful engagement experiences;
implement strategies leading to professional success;
construct coping mechanisms that enable a strong sense of belonging; and
develop a Personal Development Plan based on their individual self reflection.

18. Four Key Pillars to Academic and Student Success
Development
Academic
Personal and Professional Development
Social Integration
Institutional Resources

19. Key Program Components
Academic Development
Summer Sophomore Connections Academy
A Pilot Sophomore Year Experience (SYE) 2-credit course
Group Advising for Sophomores
University College Sophomore E-alert Newsletter
Personal & Professional Development
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants for UNIV
Professional Development Networking Conference
“Hire Me” Summit
Eagle Exploration Program
Sophomore Minute Clinic

20. Key Program Components
Social Integration
Sophomore Week (partnering with sophomore class council to emphasize career development, internships, etiquette, and other high impact practices)
A “Second Steps” formal event where prospective second year students are acknowledged for progressing from University College to their major of choice
Inventory of Institutional Resources and Support
Assess National Survey of Student Satisfaction data with a focus on sophomores
Identify collaborations that ease the transfer student experience
University wide committee focused on Sophomore Student Success

21. Summary
Sophomore student persistence is critical to institutional sustainability and enrollment growth .
Key areas of support include strong academic advising and coaching to aid in making degree and career choices.
Peer interactions and relationships are critical and often times a HUGE influence on student retention and persistence.
Access and increased awareness are key to student navigation on campus.

22. Questions? Comments? Ideas?

23. References
Cuseo, J. B. (2005). The sophomore-year experience. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from
Foubert, J., Nixon, M., Sisson, V. S., & Barnes, A. C. (2005). A longitudinal study of Chickering and Reisser’s vectors: Exploring gender differences and implications for refining theory. Journal of College Student Development, 46(5),
Gardner, P. D. (2000). From drift to engagement: Finding purpose and making career connections in the sophomore year. In L. A. Schreiner & J. Pattengale. (Eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping sophomores succeed (Monograph 31) (pp ). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

24. References
Graunke, S.S. and Woosley, Sherry A. (2005). “An Exploration of the Facotrs that Affect the Academic Success of College Sophomores.” College Student Journal, 39.
Heier, M. (2012). Summary report: understanding the sophomore year experience. University of Washington Division of Student Life. Retrieved from content/uploads/2012/02/SYE_SummaryReport_FINAL_ pdf.
Juillerat, S. (2000). Assessing the expectations and satisfactions of sophomores. In L. A. Schreiner & J. Pattengale. (Eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping Sophomores succeed (Monograph 31) (pp ). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
Pattengale, J., & Schreiner, L. A. (2000). What is the sophomore slump and why should we care? In L. A. Schreiner & J. Pattengale (Eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping sophomores succeed. (Monograph No. 31) (pp. v-vii). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press