Assessment

Mission

The mission of Student Orientation and Transition Services is to assist students and parents with the transition to college, and to help students navigate breaks in their education. Specifically, the office seeks to educate students about educational opportunities and student responsibilities, and to integrate students into the intellectual, cultural, and social atmosphere of Utah State University.

Objectives

The SOTS office works to provide orientation and transition programs that meet the needs of students, fulfill this mission of the institution, and keep up with current best practices.

1. Provide a comprehensive orientation program that delivers specific and timely information about educational opportunities and student responsibilities.
2. Provide an accessible orientation and transition, using universal design practices.
3. Collaborate systemwide...
4. Contribute to inclusive excellence on campus...
5. Collaborate in the development, promotion, and execution of a comprehensive first-year experience course: USU 1010 University Connections.
6. Provide information and advising for students who are deferring admission or taking a notification of leave.
7. Communicate clearly with parents of students, helping them understand available resources and services.
8. Maintain high customer service standards via a thoroughly trained workforce of current students, (A-Team and Peer Mentors).

Foundational Documents

Student Orientation and Transition Services uses the CAS standards and NODA professional competencies to guide programming and assessment.

1. Council for Academic Standards (CAS): Standards for Orientation Programs and Standards for Parent and Family Programs.
2. Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education (NODA) Core Competencies.

As a department within the Division of Student Affairs, SOTS abides by the professional competencies established by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).

Plan/Matrix

Program/Goal	Assessment Tool (Criteria)	Data Source Documentation	Timeline	Responsible Persons
New Student Orientation Work with other departments to refine orientation processes for students beginning at USU-Eastern, Statewide Campuses, and online.	Program data	Orientation reporting tool, Argos	Fall 2018	Jake V.
New Student Orientation Increase student comprehension by refining orientation pages according to 2017 survey data.	Student survey	Orientation survey	Summer 2018	Jake V.
New Student Orientation Increase the number of students who complete module 5 by 50%.	Program data	Orientation reporting tool	Fall 2018	Jake V.
New Student Orientation Assess international student arrival and orientation.	Student survey	Orientation survey	Fall 2018	Kylee H.
USU 1010 Connections Grow Connections enrollment to 64% of the freshman class.	Course enrollment data	Argos	Fall 2018	Lisa H.
Notification of Leave/Deferral Assess and update notification of leave and deferral processes.	Student data	Argos	Fall 2018	Nate J.
Aggie Passport Assess retention of Aggie Passport participants.	Civitas	Card swipes at events	Fall 2018	Nate J.
A-Team and Connections Peer Mentors Assess new customer service training.	Survey	A-Team and Mentors	Fall 2018	Lisa H.

2016-2017

Program/Goal	Assessment Tool (Criteria)	Data Source Documentation	Timeline	Responsible Persons
New Student Orientation Implement new phased, 5-module orientation.	Program data	Orientation reporting tool, Argos	Fall 2017	Jake V.
New Student Orientation Rework orientation process to separate orientation functions from registration functions, eliminating use of the course cluster website.	Registration data, student survey	Student survey, Argos	Summer 2017	Jake V.
USU 1010 Connections Add new one-word response questions to course survey to gauge student satisfaction.	AAA Course Survey	Course Survey, Tableau	Annually in the winter	Lisa H.
USU 1010 Connections Increase visibility of the Connections Luminary among community members.	Social media stats	Facebook and Instagram	Fall 2017	Kylee H.
Parent Programs Assess new parent handbook	Survey	Parent orientation survey	Fall 2017	Nate J.
Aggie Passport Grow participation in the program by at least 100% by implementing a card swiping system rather than a physical stamping system.	Stamping data	Card swipes at events	Fall 2017	Nate J.

Results

Due to assessment results, the following changes were implemented for 2017 and 2018:

• Changed the Aggie Passport program so students can swipe their ID card for credit rather than having to remember to take their passport booklet.
• Modified the on-campus orientation program to be a phased, five-module orientation that addresses registration and orientation items separately.
• Modified the Connections evaluation to better assess student satisfaction.
• Implemented a new customer service training for the 2018 A-Team training class.
• Modified the international student orientation arrival process and assigned specific A-Team members to the international team.
• Adjusted parent orientation presentations and moved the orientation to a location with round tables to facilitate discussion.
• Implemented several additional facebook live sessions for registration for spring 2018 students.
• Updated the assessment tool for 2018 international orientation.
• Updating the 2018 notification of leave and deferral website to better inform students of the leave process.
• Centralizing some presentation in Aggie Orientation, covering them as a group rather than in small groups with A-Team members.
• Modifying the 2018 A-Team training class curriculum.

Outcomes Data

Connections attendance dipped in 2017, likely because of the new registration system where students register on their own as opposed to registering at a computer with an A-team or advisor present. As a result, we are implementing some new methods to increase registration for 2018.

Parent Orientation attendance continues to rise on the whole. Parent satisfaction with the overall orientation program remains high, as indicated in the Parent Orientation Survey Report.

In evaluating what topics students were still concerned about after SOAR and Aggie Orientation, we determined that on the whole, Aggie Orientation and the accompanying online modules were better at alleviating student concerns. Additional attention will be given to financial aid, scholarships, and textbooks in 2018.

Registration changes for first-year students on the Logan campus did not have much of an impact on the number of overall credits first-year students took during their first semester. This alleviates a fear we had that students would not take a full credit load when registering by themselves.

Fewer students completed all five modules in 2017 than we anticipated. As a result, we retooled our communication plan for 2018. We anticipated that most parents were completing modules 1 and 2 in order to help their students register (largely for students on leave), and the small number completing all five modules verifies this.

The videos for the 2017 Luminary reached a combined 79,000 views on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Due to the success of the videos, particularly the full version, we plan on using video as a method of promotion in 2018.

Luminary 2017 Teaser Video on Social Media

Interaction	Facebook	Twitter
Views	15906	1184
Likes	1040	41
Shares/Retweets	146	7
Comments	201	1

Participation in the Aggie Passport had decreased in the past few years, so we switched to a new method of advertising events and verifying attendance. This resulted in a dramatic increase in students receiving awards.

International Orientation assessment for 2016 and 2017 shows an improvement in 2017, with marked improvements in overall satisfaction with the arrival and orientation process.