Summary Reports

The DSA New Staff Orientation half-day workshops held during 2017-2018 were mandatory for new staff within the DSA to attend. Three workshops were held throughout the year, on September 15th January 26th and May 25th to ensure new staff could attend a workshop near to their start date within the Division. Topics included the history and culture of Student Affairs at Texas A&M, current strategic initiatives, scope of services and resources available through the DSA (http://dsastaff.tamu.edu/NSO). Participants were also provided information regarding how to get involved in networking opportunities within and outside of the Division. At the end of the NSO participants receive surveys to provide feedback regarding their experience at the orientation. The attached report summarizes the results of those surveys.

The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) Staff Wellbeing and Appreciation Committee worked with graduate students in the Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (SAAHE) program in developing a survey to understand division staff’s current behavior in the areas of wellbeing and appreciation, as well as what they needed in these areas. Additionally, the SAAHE students worked with Student Life Studies for the administration and analysis of the survey. This is the first time a survey focused on these topics has been conducted with staff in the Division of Student Affairs and the first assessment for this division-level committee.

The Step IN, STAND Up campaign on the Texas A&M University campus invites Aggies to Step In and Stand Up against sexual harassment and sexual violence. Per its website, https://stepinstandup.tamu.edu/, the campaign proclaims, “It is up to us – students, faculty, and staff – to step in as active participants to end sexual harassment and sexual violence in our community, and stand up to support the survivors of these behaviors. What harms even one of us harms us all.” As an educational component of the campaign, the STAND Up workshop “is designed to assist individuals in learning positive and helpful ways to have conversations with individuals who have been involved in a traumatic event.”
The Offices of the Dean of Student Life (ODSL) Health Promotion trains the STAND Up workshop facilitators and coordinates the workshops. In the fall of 2017, ODSL contacted Student Life Studies for the second time to help develop an assessment for the workshops, in effort to measure its learning outcomes and participant satisfaction with the presentations. Workshops held for primarily faculty and staff and those held for students were assessed. The attached report summarizes the results of those assessments.

The Leadership Education for APIDA Development (LEAD) Conference intends strengthening the campus identity and development of Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American (APIDA) students on campus. Facilitated by the Department of Multicultural Services and the Asian Presidents’ Council, the purpose of the conference is to support and advocate for the APIDA community. Student Learning outcomes identified for students attending the inaugural conference, on April 22 2018 were:
Students will...
• Identify current issues and needs of the APIDA community
• Learn how their personal values connect to leadership and social change
• Engage in networking with their peers to positively impact their communities
• Address the social and educational needs of the APIDA community
The attached report summarizes the results of the survey provided to the attendees at the end of the conference. Survey intended to measure conference attendees’ satisfaction with the conference as well as what they gained from attending.

The GLBT Resource Center Mentorship program offers support and guidance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning students (LGBTQ) within Texas A&M University. In 2016, this program was awarded a Division of Student Affairs College Completion Grant, intending to sharpen its focus on retention, persistence, and graduation of students involved in the program. By connecting these students with a mentor who is like them, the Mentorship program proposes that its student participants will gain efficacy in persisting to graduation at Texas A&M University. The attached report summarizes the results of an end-of-year survey sent to both participants of the mentorship program (mentees) and the mentors.

The Graduate and Professional Student Council (formerly the Graduate Student Council) created Student Research Week (SRW) as a one-day poster event in 1994. This year, the program celebrated its 21st annual research extravaganza March 19-23, 2018. Feedback was collected from the judges and competitors who participated in the SRW programs regarding their experience in registering and participating in SRW. The attached report summarizes the assessment results which covers the responses from both groups.

According to the Health Promotion website (http://studentlife.tamu.edu/hp), Sex in the Dark is a program hosted by the student organization The Sex Project. The Sex Project “strives to empower individuals to make informed decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health by providing awareness, education, and advocacy to the Texas A&M University student body and surrounding communities.” Sex in the Dark is a Q&A-style program that can be requested year-round by any student group. The attached report summarizes the program participants' learning and satisfaction with the workshops they attended within the 2017-2018 academic year.

Every couple of years, Disability Services gathers feedback from faculty members to understand how they can best work with faculty to serve students. Disability Services wanted to understand faculty’s training needs as it relates to serving students with disabilities and working with the Department of Disability Services. This is the third time Disability Services has conducted an assessment with faculty members, the last time being in 2016.