Summary Reports

According to its website (http://fishcamp.tamu.edu/), Fish Camp “welcomes the freshmen class to Texas A&M each year with the purpose of giving them an opportunity to have fun, make friends, and learn more about life at Texas A&M.” Furthermore, Fish Camp “is led by A&M students who are passionate about making the first year of college a success for freshmen!” Fish Camp, a four-day extended orientation camp through Texas A&M University, provides a transition from high school to college for about 6,500 incoming freshmen, out of the approximately 11,000 students in the freshman class. Freshmen attend various programs to learn about campus life, Aggie traditions, and a variety of services and resources to help students succeed. Additionally, freshmen are divided into smaller Discussion Groups (DGs) to meet other students and have the opportunity to ask questions in a smaller environment.

This year, the seven sessions ran from July 27th through August 17th, 2018. Fish Camp has partnered with Student Life Studies to assess participants’ camp experience since 2000.

Student Assistance Services wanted to conduct a needs assessment with the students in the former foster and adopted Aggies program to better understand how to serve them and assist them in being successful at Texas A&M. This was the first time this assessment has been conducted.

The Student Experience in the Research University (SERU), a national survey provided to all Texas A&M undergraduate students in spring 2017. Students were asked a series of questions about their political beliefs, experiences, and interactions with others who might have different political views.

Student Life Studies wanted to assess the clients who utilized the department’s services to understand their satisfaction and how they use assessment results in making program improvements. Student Life Studies has conducted various forms of a client assessment since 2005.

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.