Student Support & Equity Programs Assessment Report

Summer Bridge 2007 Residence Life Assessment
Purpose of Assessment / To determine the student awareness of the benefits of the residential experience in the transition from high school to the university as a result of living on campus during the five-week residential Summer Bridge Program.
Learning Outcome(s) / As a result of living on campus during the five-week Summer Bridge Program and participating in several informational and recreational activities, all students will be able to list three benefits of their residential experience in making the transition from high school to the university.
Methodology / 100 participants of the Summer Bridge Program (EOP, first time freshmen) will respond to a survey at the end of the program that asks them to respond to the impact of the residence hall experience in making the transition to the university. The residence life staff will administer the assessment.
Results / Residential Life Questionnaire – at the close of the Summer Bridge Program, students were asked to list three benefits of living on campus which assisted them with the transition from high school to college. All 100 participants responded to the questionnaire. The list of benefits fell into twelve major categories, and are listed below in the order of the frequency which they were listed:
  • Develop friendships and socialize/bond with other EOP students who may differ ethnically and culturally, yet shared similar economic backgrounds (70 responses)
  • Improve/enhance education through easy access to tutoring, instructor office hours, study groups, other college resources (computer labs, library, etc.) (40 responses)
  • Get to class and other events on time (30 responses)
  • Explore the campus and become familiar with the layout in general and the recourses specifically (27 responses)
  • Experience college and living away from home at the same time (20 responses)
  • Save money and time. No need to pay for gasoline and parking, or waste time looking for a parking space. Time saved could be spent on study (19 responses)
  • Learn personal responsibility, to take care of self (17 responses)
  • Experience campus involvement (16 responses)
  • Experience students helping students (8 responses)
  • Learn about clubs and organizations (7 responses)

Conclusion / As a result of living on campus and taking part in a variety of information sessions (Hall Meetings, Wing Meetings) and residential activities, all Summer Bridge participants were able to list at least three benefits of living on campus that aided in their transition from high school to college. Three-quarters of the students mentioned the importance of developing friendships and bonding with students both different and similar to themselves as being of great benefit in making the transition. Almost half recognized how the convenient access to tutoring, instructors and their office hours was beneficial and had enhanced their educational opportunities.
Summer Bridge 2007 Residence Life Assessment (continued)
Implications for Practice /
  • At the close of the program fewer students (61% strongly agreed) felt secure about knowing where to go or who to go to for assistance with concerns, questions and problems. Although the residential setting is not the sole venue where campus student services are discussed, perhaps we should be more intentional about informing students of the numerous referrals on campus. This emphasis can be built into residence life activity programming. Although we did get the desired results from the Community Questionnaire, the responses were rather flat in dimension. More depth in responses could possibly be achieved through focus groups in addition to the Questionnaire.
  • Greater effort should be made to assess the learning taking place from the educational presentations (Stop the Violence, College Reading Skills Program, Resident Advisor skits on conflict mediation, Stress Management – Health Center).