FOUR-YEAR DEVELOPMENT
– A Path for Every Ole
The four-year path cultivates a channel of meaningful touchpoints for all students throughout their time on the Hill while championing student agency in the curricular and co-curricular realms of their St. Olaf experience. The Four-Year Development Path advances students through four co-curricular Threads – Belonging, Holistic, Career, and Impact – all anchored by the Curricular Core.
THE FOUR-YEAR PATH
- Launch For Every Ole with incoming students – enhancing New Student Orientation for first years and NSO: Transfer Track. Begin to implement additional class year specific programming.
- Begin roll out of GROW program (mentoring between supervisor and student employee linking academics to employment and future career) student with a focus on first year student employees.
- Collaborate with Carleton College to revise the Northfield Community Partners student employment program
- Develop and implement for first year and transfer students (a) an onboarding workshop for student employment; (b) a workplace expectations and communication workshop; and (c) a transferable skills/resume workshop, primarily
- Reevaluate all student employment jobs and address the issue of a pay differential for roles with different levels of leadership and responsibility
- Develop sophoMORE experience; continue to offer Quo Vadis, Sophomore Experience programming
- Develop Junior Jumpstart
- Develop New Alumni Orientation, continue to offer and enhance Senior Week and Commencement
- Begin rollout of Life After Olaf series
THE ADVISING MODEL
- Link the transition from the new Orientation & Transition and Common Read programs to pre-major advising teams
- Address retention through a new team-based advising model, adding success coaches to the current advising structure. (Faculty Pre-Major Advisor + SOAR Peer Leader + Success Coach); Hire CAAS success coaching staff in summer 2022; Hire Associate Dean of Advising and Mentoring
- Develop extended SOAR curriculum and conduct a rigorous evaluation and assessment of student learning using several models for enhancing pre-major advising, SOAR program; share all findings with faculty
- Roll out a third- and fourth-year advising team (major advisor, industry specific Piper Center coach, alumni mentoring pods)
- Expand pilots of alumni/student mentoring pods (industry and identity) based on feedback from students and faculty involved in the inaugural program.
- Identify and support faculty pre-professional advisors
- Collect ‘Plan of Study’ samples from each department, concentration, pre-professional program
ELIMINATION OF THE GAP
- Address retention through increased support for the ~800+ students with temporary or permanent disabilities (physical, learning, sensory, health, psychological)
- Focus attention on implementation of the Retention and Success Committee’s recommended strategies for increasing retention, inclusion, and belonging
- Fund foundational needs programs outline in Appendix C: Transitional Grant, Emergency Fund, Taylor Center Equity Fund, Food Insecurity and Equitability, Access to Transportation, Access to Technology
