Assessment Details
Academic Year: 2021-2022 Level: Undergraduate
Campus Department: Mission & Ministry [UG and Grad]
Program Type: Co-Curricular Program [UG and Grad]
Program Name: Orientation Leaders
Description of Data Collection:
Over the past two years, we have conducted two focus groups of past Orientation Leaders. Invitations to Orientation Leader alumni were sent via email. The focus groups took place virtually over Zoom and were conducted by colleagues within the division of Mission & Ministry who were familiar with Orientation, but did not have direct responsibilities for the operation of the program. Focus group transcripts were analyzed by our assessment cohort (described below) and evaluated in light of the program learning outcomes.
In addition to focus groups, data was collected by the Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment Office, sourced from the 2020 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the 2018 Boston College Undergraduate Experience Questionnaire (BCUEQ). This data was also analyzed by our assessment cohort and evaluated in light of the program learning outcomes.
Review Process:
The Orientation Leader assessment was spearheaded by my former colleague Joelinda Coichy Johnson (Assistant Director, First Year Experience). When Joelinda left the University in September of 2021, I (Ali Bane Hammond, Director, First Year Experience) took over the assessment effort. Throughout the two year assessment period, three other staff members collaborated on this effort and met monthly for two years in preparation for the program review: Burt Howell (Director of Intersections), Carly Anderson (Campus Minister for 4Boston), and Meyer J. Chambers (Campus Minister for Liturgical Arts). Decisions surrounding learning outcomes, data collection, and analysis were made in consultation with these colleagues. The collective wisdom of the group was instrumental in assessing our Mission & Ministry programs.
Resulting Program Changes:
Results of our assessment revealed some ways in which the Orientation Leader program is not only meeting, but exceeding our stated learning outcomes. These areas include: developing professional competencies (ie., communication, dependability, collaboration), building confidence as a leader (ie., working in groups, facilitation), and operating as a well-balanced representative of a complex organization (ie., ambassadorship, the responsibilities of being a public person). The latter competency is exemplified in the following quotation from a focus group participant: “… every job has ambassador-like qualities. I am still an ambassador of my office, a representative with all the meetings I go to or the people I meet.”
However, through the assessment process, we also identified a concerning pattern in which participants found challenges related to retaining their individuality within the larger Orientation Leader community of ~40 students, with whom they also live (and oftentimes, socialize) during their summer employment experience. The intensity of the Orientation Leader community is both emblematic of the role, but can also be detrimental in particular ways (ie., group think, unclear work/social boundaries). The following quotation from a focus group participant exemplifies this finding: “We are living with each other. It’s like a big old family and that’s good in some sense. I also saw where the mob mentality happened or where it was like an organism, like a hive mind. I don’t know if that hinders. I would assume that might hinder self thought or self understanding.”
In order to mitigate the difficulties that Orientation Leaders experience in retaining a clear sense of individuality and self-directed decision-making within their community, we will implement changes to our Orientation Leader training and development curriculum to provide them with spaces and strategies to better navigate the tension between self and community that is at play during the course of their summer employment. Up until now, the community building and professional development for our Orientation Leaders has been front-loaded. By this, I mean that in the weeks prior to the start of Orientation sessions, Orientation Leaders have moved through a three-day retreat and two week training experience in which all of the team building, informational resources, and workshopping for their role is crammed. Once the Orientation sessions begin, our efforts to build community and skills are quite limited. Moving forward, we will change this by implementing ongoing development sessions for the Orientation Leaders that will take place weekly, following each Orientation Session. These additional touchpoints over the course of the summer will allow us carry forth the practices of reflection and conversation that are so plentiful during their initial retreat experience, in the hope that Orientation Leaders can continuously reflect upon their experience as individuals within this unique community.
During these development sessions, FYE Staff, Graduate Assistants, and Orientation Coordinators, will lead the Orientation Leaders through intentional exercises (i.e., Ignatian Examens, strengths-based leadership, identity development) and powerful questioning (ie., What has surprised me most about this experience? How is this community helping/hindering me to/from becoming the person I want to be? How do I know if I am drawing healthy boundaries between my work and my social life?) intended to help them grow in their self-understanding of themselves as individuals, and leaders. Beginning in the spring, GAs and Coordinators will work on a biweekly basis with the Assistant Director of FYE who oversees the Orientation Team to design each development session. The agendas for each development session will remain flexible in order to best address emerging group dynamics, areas for concern, or needs for development that are observed by the professional staff, GAs, or Coordinators throughout the summer. Importantly, these development sessions will feel and function differently than the more rigid and informational “training” weeks that prepare the students for the core functions of their Orientation Leader responsibilities. The goal is that the development sessions serve as a restorative, reflective, and enjoyable space for Orientation Leaders to convene in between the busy and tiring Orientation sessions.
It remains to be seen whether previous changes made to our Orientation Leader program have resulted in improvements to our stated learning outcomes. We look forward to reporting in 2026 how the intended changes outlined herein have impacted program’s learning outcomes.
Date of Most Recent Program Review:
Results of our assessment revealed some ways in which the Orientation Leader program is not only meeting, but exceeding our stated learning outcomes. These areas include: developing professional competencies (ie., communication, dependability, collaboration), building confidence as a leader (ie., working in groups, facilitation), and operating as a well-balanced representative of a complex organization (ie., ambassadorship, the responsibilities of being a public person). The latter competency is exemplified in the following quotation from a focus group participant: “… every job has ambassador-like qualities. I am still an ambassador of my office, a representative with all the meetings I go to or the people I meet.”
However, through the assessment process, we also identified a concerning pattern in which participants found challenges related to retaining their individuality within the larger Orientation Leader community of ~40 students, with whom they also live (and oftentimes, socialize) during their summer employment experience. The intensity of the Orientation Leader community is both emblematic of the role, but can also be detrimental in particular ways (ie., group think, unclear work/social boundaries). The following quotation from a focus group participant exemplifies this finding: “We are living with each other. It’s like a big old family and that’s good in some sense. I also saw where the mob mentality happened or where it was like an organism, like a hive mind. I don’t know if that hinders. I would assume that might hinder self thought or self understanding.”
In order to mitigate the difficulties that Orientation Leaders experience in retaining a clear sense of individuality and self-directed decision-making within their community, we will implement changes to our Orientation Leader training and development curriculum to provide them with spaces and strategies to better navigate the tension between self and community that is at play during the course of their summer employment. Up until now, the community building and professional development for our Orientation Leaders has been front-loaded. By this, I mean that in the weeks prior to the start of Orientation sessions, Orientation Leaders have moved through a three-day retreat and two week training experience in which all of the team building, informational resources, and workshopping for their role is crammed. Once the Orientation sessions begin, our efforts to build community and skills are quite limited. Moving forward, we will change this by implementing ongoing development sessions for the Orientation Leaders that will take place weekly, following each Orientation Session. These additional touchpoints over the course of the summer will allow us carry forth the practices of reflection and conversation that are so plentiful during their initial retreat experience, in the hope that Orientation Leaders can continuously reflect upon their experience as individuals within this unique community.
During these development sessions, FYE Staff, Graduate Assistants, and Orientation Coordinators, will lead the Orientation Leaders through intentional exercises (i.e., Ignatian Examens, strengths-based leadership, identity development) and powerful questioning (ie., What has surprised me most about this experience? How is this community helping/hindering me to/from becoming the person I want to be? How do I know if I am drawing healthy boundaries between my work and my social life?) intended to help them grow in their self-understanding of themselves as individuals, and leaders. Beginning in the spring, GAs and Coordinators will work on a biweekly basis with the Assistant Director of FYE who oversees the Orientation Team to design each development session. The agendas for each development session will remain flexible in order to best address emerging group dynamics, areas for concern, or needs for development that are observed by the professional staff, GAs, or Coordinators throughout the summer. Importantly, these development sessions will feel and function differently than the more rigid and informational “training” weeks that prepare the students for the core functions of their Orientation Leader responsibilities. The goal is that the development sessions serve as a restorative, reflective, and enjoyable space for Orientation Leaders to convene in between the busy and tiring Orientation sessions.
It remains to be seen whether previous changes made to our Orientation Leader program have resulted in improvements to our stated learning outcomes. We look forward to reporting in 2026 how the intended changes outlined herein have impacted program’s learning outcomes.
Attachments (if available)