breaking up is hard to do what to do when students realize their major isn’t “the one” amy...
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BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DOWhat to do when students realize their major isn’t “The One”
Amy TreboniDirector
Before you are over 200 eligible majorsYou have in your possession 12 red roses. In the next 2 minutes your task is to give your 12 roses way to the majors you find the most attractive at this time
THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE
• University Exploration is an academic, non degree granting unit housed in Undergraduate Education at Ohio State University
• We have a “bouquet” of outstanding services to help students flourish during their first years at Ohio State.
• Our program has been designed to provide students with a structured, guided and developmentally appropriate experience when choosing a major
• We have 10 full time advisors who fulfill other responsibilities as assigned (ie. working with special populations)
WHAT IS UNIVERSITY EXPLORATION
• Those who want to learn about the 200 majors offered before committing to one
• Those who have narrowed their choices to just a few but want time to confirm their decision
• Those who have chosen a major but need to fulfill the entrance requirements
• Those who started in one major and are “re-deciding” whether by choice or program dismissal
WHO ARE OUR STUDENTS
• The number of freshmen starting in EXP has ranged from 10% to 15% or more of the incoming class for the past several years.
• 2511 of the 2014 NFYS enrolled cohort changed majors or sub-plans at some point between the time they applied to OSU and when they left orientation.
• Over 60% of EXP’s NFYS cohort from Autumn 2014 had a 3.0 or higher GPA in their first term of enrollment.
• EXP first year retention rates continue to increase (93.4%), despite a slight drop in first year retention institutionally in Autumn 2012.
• 410 students moved into our unit from other majors during the 2013-2014 academic year
RE-DECIDING: BY THE NUMBERS
• EXP four and six year graduation rates are near equal to university averages for students who START their OSU career in EXP.
• Students who start elsewhere and move to EXP later have lower graduation rates—as much as 25% under the university’s averages.
• We even have a small number of students who start in EXP and graduate in under 4 years from each cohort.
LONG RANGE
• EXP students are admitted into all major programs across the university* and have graduated in all disciplines.
• Just under half of our students go to majors in areas within Arts and Sciences, while the others are spread across the university.
• Less than 2% of students who start in EXP return to EXP.
• About half of our students declare in the first year and the remainder declare during their second year—they are limited to 3 or 4 semesters total in EXP depending on affiliations.
LONG RANGE
• University Exploration has a set of 8 student learning outcomes that we assess. The SLO adhere to CAS and NACADA standards for advising and are included in your handouts.
• Academic Success Planning Workshop• Students on probation or special action
probation• Participants have more significant GPA
increases than non-participants
• Support from the Start• Developing strategies for better
resource referral and usage with new students
• Piloted AU13, collecting data with hopes of building predictive model in future
• Received IRB approval and a NACADA grant to conduct a research study with data collected from this initiative
ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT
THE RE-DECIDING EXPLORATION EXPERIENCE
Handling the Break Up
• Re-deciding by choice• What led them to their initial
major?• Why and how have their
interests changed?• What did they like about
previous major?• What didn’t they like about
previous major?
• Program dismissed• What led them to their initial
major?• What has been impeding their
success?• What is working?• What isn’t working?• Address the Emotions
WHAT LED TO “THE BREAK UP”
• Review their academic record• What classes have they chosen and
why?• What classes have they done well in?• What classes have they struggled with?
• Help them recognize their strengths and weaknesses
• Do they think society doesn’t value their strength (liberal arts)
• Are they “Identity Foreclosed”
• They highlight features they don’t really like and disregard their other strengths
• Are external influences heavily involved• Have they been exposed to other
options• Did someone foreclose on their identity
for them
HELP THEM RECOGNIZE THEIR BEST FEATURES
• We invite students to complete Holland Code assessments.• mynextmove.org & FOCUS II• Simple assessment in the
handouts
• We have broken down all Ohio State majors to fall into Holland Code areas. • This project was a collaborative
effort with Career Counseling and Support Services
• Could easily be replicated in an advising office with time and patience
• We try to help students see that the academic content in each major is individualized and unique. • Marketing vs. Strategic
Communication• Academic Content
IS THEIR PERSONALITY COMPATIBLE WITH THEIR CHOICE?
• What do they value most about finding a new degree • Time to degree
• Classes left v. Classes taken• Ability to meet GPA/pre-
requisites• Career-directed/Broad-based• Flexibility• Job Placement/Internships• Faculty contact
• What do they value in their career • Work/Life balance- Nurse• Prestige and earnings potential• Relocation- Polar Bears• Helping others• Helping the environment
HELP THEM FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY VALUE IN THE RELATIONSHIP
Fields of Study
Setting Realistic Expectations
Why are they re-deciding
Mechanisms to get information to a lot of people
• Infomercials• Workshops• Web/online course
Know the academic content like the back of your hand
• General Education• Major Courses• Outcomes
Holland Codes or your favorite Type IndicatorCollaborating with Other Units
ADVISOR STRATEGIES
• Management and Industry (65 related majors)• Are you interested in managing and
leading people, looking at data and numbers, analyzing or persuading consumers?
• Science, Technology, and Environment (61 Related Majors)• Do you enjoy investigating how and
why things work? Are you interested in how science is applied to everything in our lives?
• Education and Public Service (56 related majors)• Do you enjoy teaching, training and
educating others? Are you interested in working directly with people from a leadership position?
META-MAJORS: BROAD FIELDS OF STUDY RATHER THAN JUST ONE OPTION
• Behavior, Culture, and Context (55 related majors)• Do you love learning about people, society,
culture and how they intertwine? Are you interested in communication & relationships?
• Arts, Innovation, and Design (38 related majors)• Are you excited about fine arts and
performance? Do you enjoy design and having creative control of your work? Do you enjoy helping to increase awareness of the arts?
• Health and Human Services (63 related majors)• Are you interested in science and in helping
people become healthier and well in all areas of their lives? Are you fascinated by the healthcare industry on all levels?
• Choose Your Own Adventure• Ceramics to Dentistry• Public Health Sociology • Arts Management
META-MAJORS: BROAD FIELDS OF STUDY RATHER THAN JUST ONE OPTION
• Acknowledging grief
• Graduate options for competitive majors
• Do you want to be an X or do you want to be a Buckeye• The hard conversation about
transferring
• Exposure to what can be done with a non-competitive (often non-linear) major • http://exploration.osu.edu/
current-students/what-can-i-do-with-a-major-in
COMPETITIVE V.NON COMPETITIVE
• Workshops for New Freshmen not in UEXP during first 3 months of the year
• Workshops for current students in beginning of spring
• Workshop specifically for students dismissed from competitive programs near end of Spring
• “Carmen Course” • Individual Appointments
OUR METHODS OF DELIVERING THE MESSAGE
• Orientation presentation introduces these key theme areas
• Residence Hall Programming by request
• Programs/workshops by request for specific populations (engineering students, health science scholars)
• E-mail• Total Operating Cost for
these methods– $0/minimal printing costs
OUR METHODS OF DELIVERING THE MESSAGE
Questions?
• We are happy to talk more about any of the materials in your tool-kit and can be reached at
THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING OUR SESSION!