2022 Summary
Summary
Penn State faculty and staff from all campuses and a multitude of disciplines converged at the HUB-Robeson Center for a summit on student engagement. The Student Engagement Network on November 13 brought together 130 Penn State employees from a diverse range of backgrounds. It was a full day of sessions, from identifying the societal impact of student engagement to designing the scholarship of engagement.
Key Findings
Based on keynote talks, comprehensive breakout sessions, and a panel discussion, the 2019 Student Engagement Summit resulted in multiple significant findings.
Finding #1
Students who are overwhelmed or at capacity, for whatever reason (e.g., mental wellness, life/school balance, lack understanding, lack motivation, lack resources, inoculated from success, etc.), will benefit from greater organization of what is being offered, greater accessibility, lower barriers to entry (financially and logistically), and may benefit from someone willing to show them how to get started.
Finding #2
Promoting a culture of engagement and belonging is paramount. Unique student stories should be shared more frequently, including stories that represent different pathways, entry points, and successes. The stories will create a sense of inclusion, encouragement, and belonging.
Finding #3
Faculty, staff, and student leaders are encouraged to leverage social media and digital ‘places’ students go to message, showcase, communicate, and otherwise inspire them to action as much as possible.
Challenges
Concern remains to build learning communities and experiences for students to feel safe, trust others, and feel a sense of belonging. Working both within and across units, leveraging community partners, creating cohort models where students feel connected with others, and connecting with students on a personal level builds feelings of value, trust, and belonging.
Student mental wellness is lower than normal. Students appear to have less energy, lower attention span, inability to commit to extra activities, and less capacity to build relationships that last. Faculty and staff are encouraged to take the extra time to develop personal connections, direct them to resources, offer incentives, connect them with others, and encourage participation, even if just socially at first.
Strategies
Offer hybrid events and opportunities, provide students with a menu of remote and in-person options to consider their level of involvement or participation.
Incorporate different levels of engagement (e.g., observer, participant, leader or introductory, exploratory, immersive) to enable choices for students to promote accessible entry points into engagement activities and foster inclusion.
Build in constant/frequent ‘touch points’ that reinforces engagement across the entire college (administrators faculty staff advisor admissions/NSO parents student)
Celebrate and elevate: Create the culture you want on your campus, in your department, or in your office. Acknowledge effort. Let students know they are seen and heard. Recognize their efforts, as well as that of faculty and staff who go beyond their job description to engage students.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to continue building cross-campus