Sponsored Programs

Las Vegas, 2013

CCSAL has a diverse lineup of sponsored programs this year! We are also co-sponsoring a program with another Commission. Below are the sponsored programs in addition to other programs of interest, some even presented by our very own.

Making the Drive Worth It: Connecting to Your Off-Campus Student Community

Tuesday, March 5 9:00-10:00am, Flamingo – Lake Mead II

As the number of students living off campus increases at institutions across the nation, universities and colleges need to adapt to this evolving group by innovatively and effectively engaging commuters and off-campus students. Learn from two universities how they have developed promising practices for serving this growing population. Whether your role is assisting with off-campus housing, and/or building commuter community, this session will help enhance your institution’s initiatives to better serve the needs of commuting and off-campus students.

More Than a Place to Park

Wednesday, March 6 10:30-11:30am, Flamingo Valley of Fire I

This program will be an interactive presentation consisting of a five-minute introduction from a representative from the National Clearinghouse for Commuter Programs (NCCP), followed by three 15-20 minute presentations on innovative commuter programs and adult learner practices from members of the Commission for Commuter Students and Adult Learners and the NCCP. After the presentations, there will be 15-20 minutes for questions and critique of the programs and ideas presented.

Bucking the Trend: Balancing Work, Family, Commuting, and Academics

Wednesday, March 6 4:30-5:30pm, Flamingo Red Rock I

Co-sponsorship: Commission for Admissions, Orientation and First-Year Experience

What do successful commuter students look like? Although commuter students typically have more difficulties adjusting to college than residential students, there are large variations between successful and unsuccessful commuter students. Using data collected from a national retention project, we explore behaviors and characteristics of commuter students who were able to adapt and succeed (GPA >= 3.0) despite reported financial concerns, work schedule conflicts, and family obligation interference. Recommendations for turning data into action to support commuter students will be shared.

The Parent Trap: Building Supportive Communities for Single Parent Students

Thursday, March 7 11:30am-12:30pm, Planet Hollywood Sunset 1

As diverse populations continue to obtain access to higher education, colleges and universities throughout the country are making gains in providing support services that meet the unique needs of underrepresented groups. Single parent college students are becoming more prominent in the postsecondary sector, thus support services should be made available that are reflective of their experience. The presenters will therefore engage participants in considering policies and practice centered upon the retention of this distinctive community of students.

Other Programs of Interest

New Student Orientation and the Nontraditional Student

Tuesday, March 5 7:30-8:30am, Flamingo Lake Mead II

New student orientation programs are uniquely poised to address the needs of nontraditional students enter the higher education setting. With this student population comprising more than a third of all college enrollments, administrators must seek out creative and innovative ways to address the needs of nontraditional learners through programs that promote inclusion, success, development, and retention. Through deliberate and effective design, new student orientation programs can aid in the successful transition to college for nontraditional students.

Promising Practice: The Students Have Left the Building – Viva Las E-Student Affairs!

Tuesday, March 5 7:30-8:30am, Flamingo Red Rock I

With over 30% of all students in higher education enrolled in at least one online class (Allen & Seaman, 2011), universities are struggling to connect these growing numbers of distance learners to traditional campus life. Come to our session to be inspired to create your own online co-curricular programs. We will identify the needs of online students, examine best practices, and share concrete examples of multiple successful programs – including a fitness program, an honor society and more.

Student Parents: Factors contributing to successful engagement in community college

Wednesday, March 6 12:00-1:00pm, Planet Hollywood, Sunset 4

This presentation shares findings from a qualitative study examining the experiences of student parents enrolled at a community college and support services they used to overcome barriers to success. Nora’s (2006) Student Engagement Model is utilized as a theoretical framework, helping practitioners understand the role of social and academic engagement for student parent persistence. Student affairs practitioners will learn about the demographic profile of student parents, understand their needs and challenges, and learn ways to support this unique population.

2012

Without Walls: Best Practices in Services for Distance Education Students

Presenters: Laurie Hulcher, University of Maryland University College; Geraldine Panelo Elizando, Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley; Amy O'Keefe, Texas Women's University

As the growth of students attending classes on-line and off-campus continues to outpace the growth of on-campus students, the separation between service provider and learner has become commonplace. This raises unique challenges as we strive to successfully provide services and support to engage distance education students and foster completion. Roundtable participants will discuss the diversity of distance education populations, how services are provided, challenges to providing distance education student services, and high impact practices that make a difference.

Civility Near Campus: Students Becoming Positive Community Members Around Campus

Presenters: Josh A. Hengemuhle, University of St. Thomas; Jes Berdnt, University of Wisconsin

This program seeks to introduce student affairs professionals to high-impact practices related to working with students living in the communities surrounding our institutions. These practices are often in response to demonstrated needs from both our students and feedback from our neighbors and local leaders. Example programs address renter education, educating students regarding being positive community members in a diverse off-campus community, and creating a developing a civil environment between students and neighbors near campus. We will also discuss important constituents when discussions occur regarding off-campus behavior and community impact from our students.

Merging Leadership and Service to Engage First-Year Commuter Students

Presenters: Zach Harrell, New York University; Paulina Abaunza, New York University

There is little research on leadership confidence amongst commuter students in college. With this premise in mind, New York University initiated a program (CommUnity) to address and assess commuter student involvement and leadership self-efficacy during their first-year. This presentation will examine research that supports the importance of developing this confidence amongst first-year commuter students, and will specifically explore how this can be done through service-learning and faculty interaction on your campus.

More Than a Place to Park

Presenters: Melissa Mahan, Northeastern State University; Kristi Mindrup, Western Illinois University - Quad Cities; Paulina Abaunza, New York University; Olivia Seifert, Michigan State University

Identifying Success Markers: Creating Possibilities for Commuter Students

Presenters: Jennifer Hodges, The University of Akron; Greg Dieringer, The University of Akron; Trillah Culver, The University of Akron

Are your commuter students transitioning successfully to college? In general, commuter students have more difficulties adjusting to college compared to residential students. But within the commuter student population, there are large variations between successful and unsuccessful students. Using data collected from a national retention project, we build a profile of a successful commuter student and compare those students to less successful students. Practitioners from a predominantly commuter university will discuss their work identifying and supporting struggling commuter students.

Past Programs

2011

More than a Place to Park

Presenters: Melissa K. Mahan, Northeastern State University; Jeannette Passmore, Owens Community College; and Carolyn Palmer, Bowling Green State University

This program was an interactive presentation consisting of a five-minute introduction from a representative from the National Clearinghouse for Commuter Programs (NCCP), followed by three 15-20 minute presentations on innovative commuter programs and adult learner practices from members of the Commission for Commuter Students and Adult Learners and the NCCP.

Invisible Medals of Honor: Successful Transitions for Veterans

Co-Sponsored with Commission for Student Development in Two-Year Colleges

Presenters: Denise L. Davidson, Bloomsburg University and Jeannette Passmore, Owens Community College

The population of student veterans has increased in the last decade. As educational benefits increase, a sustained veteran presence is likely, especially at two-year campuses where student veterans are disproportionately represented. The transitions of student veterans are substantially different from non-military students, impacting the roles of student affairs practitioners. This program will explore the transitions encountered by student veterans and the utility of self-authorship theory for this student population, and will examine implications for practice in the two-year college environment.

Reaching Out to Distance Learners from Student Affairs

Presenters: Carolyn Palmer, Bowling Green State University and Melissa K. Mahan, Northeastern State University

Student affairs' provision of student programs and services to the rapidly growing numbers of both online and onsite distance learners will be discussed in conjunction with relevant CAS Standards in Higher Education (CAS, 2009). Examples of best practices in student affairs‟ efforts to reach out and address the needs and interests of distance learners will be identified. Participants will be encouraged to discuss related issues, describe current practices and future plans at their own institutions, and offer suggestions to others.

Why do First-Year Commuter Students Struggle with Transitioning to College

Presenters: Jennifer P. Hodges, University of Akron and Darlena Jones, Educational Benchmarking (EBI)

Are your commuter students transitioning to college successfully? Commuter students often have a difficult time "fitting in" to the campus community since their main contact with other students is in the classroom. This presentation describes an assessment study focused on the factors that predict the early integration experiences of first-year commuter students and which factors make the transition to college more difficult. A practitioner from a predominantly commuter university will discuss her assessment work and practical implications of similar research.

Accountability Training for Off-Campus Student Leaders

Presenters: Amy E. Golden, Arizona State University and Ian Goodwin, Arizona State University

At Arizona State University we believe in achievement, engagement and responsibility, the Sun Devil Way. Campuses often struggle with connecting and engaging offcampus students, inspiring them to achieve and make responsible choices. This dynamic and interactive session will explore ways to address town/gown issues, residential life transition issues, and leadership development through a framework designed to work with off-campus students (applicable for all students) based on the ASU‟s Sun Devil Way: achievement, engagement, and responsibility.

Commuter Student Engagement and the Structured First-Year College

Presenter: Robert J. Cottrell, University of Virginia

This study is a quasi-experimental post-test of a structured model first-year experience, University College (UC). The research question driving this study is, “are first-year colleges a factor in engaging and integrating commuter students?” Ten goals exist for UC that were measurable and often coincide with data from the National Survey of Student Engagement. The analysis determines whether commuter students who experienced University College have statistically different levels of engagement as compared to those who did not experience University College.

2010

Tailgating on the Internet: Campus Traditions Online (ROUNDTABLE!)

Sheraton Boston Hotel - Beacon G

Monday March 22 - 7:30 AM - 08:30 AM

This roundtable will address the relationship between campus traditions and online students. Specifically, we will discuss both campus traditions that can be delivered online and also traditions that originate online. We will come prepared with examples of our traditions and look forward to learning about the traditions of other institutions.

Presenters: Amy O’Keefe, Texas Women University, Allison Mabry, Texas Women University

Commuter Programs that Generate Revenue

Sheraton Boston Hotel-Liberty B

Monday, March 22 10:15-11:30 A.M.

How can we meet the needs of our commuting students in this challenging economic climate? Research shows that residential students persist at higher rates than those who live off-campus. It's critical for colleges to connect with, engage and ultimately retain their commuter populations. Easier said than done. How do we do this with limited or no resources? This session will discuss numerous ways in which commuter programs have generated additional revenue for themselves and how some have become self-sustaining operations.

Presenter: Amy Greenland, Arizona State University

Supporting All Graduate Students at the University of New Hampshire

Sheraton Boston Hotel - Liberty A

Monday March 22 - 10:15 - 11:15 A.M.

Through a variety of assessment methods, the student union at the University of New Hampshire determined several shortcomings in meeting the needs of our diverse graduate student population. Many programs were developed to meet some of these needs and to better serve this population. Discover what was learned and return home with ideas and methods to engage your graduate students.

Presenters: Brett Gagnon, University of New Hampshire, MaryAnne Lustgraaf, University of New Hampshire

Commuters in Service – Local Alternative Spring Breaks

Sheraton Boston Hotel - Fairfax A

Monday March 22 - 1:15-2:30 P.M.

A lively program, we will narrate the building of an alternative spring break program for commuter students at a rural public university with an intention on developing commuter student leadership experiences. Celebrations and pitfalls will be discussed from the theoretical and practical sides, as well as narrative from the accompanying faculty.

Presenter: Jonathan M Calabretta, Shepherd University and Alan Tinkler, University of Vermont

More Than a Place to Park: Successful Programs for Commuters

Hynes Convention Center- 203

Monday March 22 - 4:15-5:30 P.M.

Presenters: Katie Munsch, University of Maryland, Melissa Mahan, Northeastern State University, Amy O’Keefe, Texas Women University, Shadia A. Sachedina, Baruch College City University of New York