A well-designed sophomore living experience program applies student development theory to sophomores, fosters student engagement, increases interaction with faculty and staff, and increases retention.
Join us online to learn specific steps you can take to get your sophomore living-learning community program off the ground or what you can do to improve an existing program. Our expert instructors will share information about the following:
- Considerations to use when designing a sophomore living-learning community
- Identifying partnerships you need to pursue for an effective sophomore living-learning community
- How to assess the success of your program using best practices and national assessment instruments
Included with Your Registration
Included with your registration is a 30-minute recording taken from a portion of a 2010 Academic Impressions webcast. This recording will orient you to our instructors’ theoretical framework for sophomore-year programming and will provide a brief overview of the history of sophomore initiatives.
Who Should Attend
Administrators interested in creating a living component for the sophomore-year experience or those who are seeking ways to enhance their existing program will benefit from this webcast.
Learning Outcome
After participating in this webcast, you will be able to identify best practices for implementing or improving a sophomore living-learning community at your institution.
Agenda
- Guiding framework for a sophomore living-learning community
- Theory and models
- The developmental stages of sophomores
- Student needs and learning outcomes
- Sophomore living-learning program design considerations
- Important partnerships
- Policies and procedures
- The resident advisor’s role
- Community, academic success initiatives, and faculty-student interaction
- Institutional Examples
- Brief overviews from 7 institutions
- In-depth look at University of South Carolina
- Anticipating and avoiding common stumbling blocks
- Tips
- Student involvement in planning
- Assessment
Instructors
Jimmie Gahagan, Director of Student Engagement, University of South Carolina
Jimmie Gahagan oversees the Office of Student Engagement and teaches a University 101 class for first-year student success. He has presented and published widely on such topics as residential learning initiatives, the first-year student experience, academic advising, leadership development, the sophomore-year experience, spirituality, and student retention. He has a BA in political science from the University of Richmond as well as an MA in higher education and student affairs and a PhD in educational administration from the University of South Carolina. Jimmie has worked with AI for more than five years presenting on sophomore-year experience and leadership topics, consistently receiving high ratings from attendees.
Molly Schaller, Associate Professor; Coordinator, College Student Personnel and Higher Education Administration Master’s Program, Department of Counselor Education and Human Services; and Learning Teaching Center Fellow, University of Dayton
Molly has conducted extensive research on students’ sophomore-year challenges and successes. Prior to her faculty position, she worked for ten years in student affairs administration. Molly conducts research on college student development, specifically on sophomore students and the sophomore-year experience. In addition, her research has been to understand the relationship between learning space, learning, engagement, and pedagogy.