Goal 1: Objective 1.4 | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Goal 1: Supporting Student Success

Objective 1.4.: Enhance the undergraduate student experience by developing an engagement model that encompasses the full student life-course and beyond

Action Item 1.4.1

Rejuvenate the first-year seminar to enable a complete curriculum on the transition to university life and enhanced opportunities for departments to introduce students to scholarly topics in their areas of expertise.

Implementation Tasks

Complete the revised plan for the HHD first-year seminars and have the plan reviewed and approved by the HHD Executive Committee
Recruit a faculty leader for First-year Seminars, and submit course proposals for HHD’s new FYS
Work with HHD departments, HHD Ambassadors and the Center for Student Advising and Engagement to offer and evaluate the new FYS

Metrics: Metric 1: Approval of FYS plan by HHD Executive Committee; Recruitment of faculty leader for FYS and submission of FYS course proposals; Initial course offering of new FYS

Start and End Dates: Summer 2021- Summer 2023

Action Item 1.4.1

Develop a Suggested Engagement Plan (SEP) that guides students’ engagement from the first-year through commencement, offer engagement programming that promotes early exploration and engagement in career, research, global, service and leadership experiences and create connections from pre-major to major engagement opportunities, to build 21st century human skills development, including those fostering just engagement with diverse groups.

Implementation Tasks

Paralleling the Suggested Academic Plan (SAP) that guides student academic planning, develop a 4-year Suggested Engagement Plan that identifies actions and engagement for students in areas like internships and careers, global experiences, research experiences
Develop versions of the SEP tailored to students from DUS, transfer students and students from other colleges and campuses (HHD’s discovery students) and a version of the FYS appropriate to introduce students to the academic and engagement opportunities in HHD, and encourage enrollment for students in the second and third year (e.g., change of campus students, transfer students, and students who have changed into HHD from DUS or another college).
Review department undergraduate learning objectives and current educational research and create a list of human skill competencies necessary for success in health and human development fields
Create and implement expanded student engagement programming for pre-major students consistent with the Suggested Engagement Plan and the competency list, and support efforts by departments to expand student engagement activities for students in each HHD major

Metrics: Completion and dissemination of Suggested Engagement Plan; Creation of list of human skills competencies for HHD majors; Expanded number of first-year and overall engagement activities in HHD

Start and End Dates: Summer 2022- Summer 2024

Key Performance Indicators

Student evaluations of the new FYS; Retention rate for HHD first-year students after the first semester and first year; Number of first-year students participating in engagement programming through HHD; Retention rate of HHD students at the end of the first, second, third year and HHD overall 4 year graduation rate