Abstract The sophomore year is one that is of high importance in a students’ academic career, and one that is often overlooked. Studies, such as those by Schaller (2005) and Graunke & Woosley (2005), show that Sophomores face challenges that are unique to a student in their second year that are often not addressed by Universities, which leaves students feeling lost. Starting in Fall 2013, Salisbury University created a Sophomore Year Experience (SYE) Program to address and support these students with hopes to improve retention, satisfaction, and engagement. This program targets Sophomore year students and creates a comfortable environment, through a series of activities and events, that allows second year students to maximize their knowledge of SU opportunities, while providing support and assistance for smooth transitions, and acquainting students with the variety of opportunities that their college career offers through academic programs and related services that are available across campus and in the community. In order to assess the success of the SYE Program, a survey was created and distributed to gain feedback from all academic year students of their awareness and feelings about the program. This presentation will discuss both SYE events and additional findings from this online survey.

Sophomores, a Work in Progress: A Reflection of the Importance of the Sophomore Year and an Evaluation of the Sophomore Year Experience (SYE) Program

Introduction The Sophomore year is one that is of high importance in a students’ academic career. After students progress from numerous Freshman affiliated programs, they are often overlooked and deserted. Without individualized attention, these students feel lost and lack commitment. Random exploration is a period of time that is often experienced by incoming Freshman, however, some Sophomores become fixated at this stage and face academic difficulty (Graunke & Woosley, 2005). These Sophomores do not reflect, nor do they engage in critical decision making about the future (Schaller, 2005). Commitment to a major, involvement on campus, and satisfaction with faculty interaction has shown to be significant predictors of Sophomore’s academic success and retention to the University (Graunke & Woosley, 2005). In Fall 2012 a program was created at Salisbury University that was coined the Sophomore Year Experience (SYE) Program, which is often referred to as “Sophomore September.” This program targets second year students with goals of improving retention, satisfaction, and engagement. Specifically, the SYE program creates a comfortable environment in which students can engage with peers and staff to discover various opportunities and resources on campus and within the community. The SYE Program proudly promotes a series of activities and events that allow students to explore their academic career and their community.

• Events

• Student Activities Fair • Study Abroad Fair • Major and Minors Fair • Departmental Gatherings • Third Friday • Sophomore Dinner • Surfmore Dinner • SYE Photo Contest

• Promotional items • Summer Mailing • SYE Website • Posters • Informational Tables

• Giveaways • 1st year t shirt • 2nd year t shirt • Surfmore t shirt • Cups • Stickers

Methods: 394 current Salisbury University students completed an online survey to assess their

general awareness, satisfaction, and engagement in the Sophomore Year Experience

Program on campus.

o 308 (78.2%) Female; 84 (21.3%) Male

o 53.6% of respondents were between the ages of 18-20 years.

Age mean was 20.84

o Race: 71.9% White/Caucasian, 10.7% African American/Black

Awareness scale measured using dichotomous categories where 1= somewhat

aware or very aware, and 2= not aware

Importance scale measured using a 5 point Likert scale from 1=Very Important, to

5=Very Unimportant

146 students, 37.1% were SYE eligible, selected using those from Fall 2012 and Fall

2013

o All 248 other students were not eligible for the SYE program, 62.9%

Results: All Salisbury University schools were well represented (See Figure 1)

Event Awareness- (See Figure 2)

o Those campus events open to all academic year students were rated with slightly

higher awareness

o SYE eligible were more aware of several events

Event Importance- (See Figure 3)

o Overall, students thought each of the SYE affiliated events were important.

Those campus events open to all academic year students were rated of a slightly

higher importance

A series of One Way ANOVAs reveal no significant differences between SYE eligible

and all other students

Giveaway/ Promotional Items Awareness- (See Figures 4 and 5) Chi Square Analyses

compare SYE eligible to non-eligible students

o SYE eligible students were more aware of giveaways and promotional items than all

other students

o Non SYE eligible students were aware of giveaways and promotional items

The SYE Program overall awareness, and the Purpose and Goals Overall Awareness were

higher among SYE eligible students than all other students (see Figures 6 and 7)

Discussion: All students, regardless of SYE eligibility, rated the

Sophomore Year Experience (SYE) Program as being

important

SYE eligible were more aware of SYE events, giveaways,

and promotional items

Findings show campus wide awareness of the SYE

Program was high. Of particular note, the fact that non

SYE eligible students were aware of the SYE Program,

especially freshman, suggest that future participation

may increase.

Presented By: Samantha Rinker