The Citadel - Office of the Associate Provost

Procedures for Student Development

The responsibility for helping our students develop outside the classroom is assumed by a number of separate offices and activities. Central among all student development activities is cadet life itself, which is the responsibility of the Commandant of Cadets. Many of the academic student support services will be consolidated upon the completion of the renovation of Thompson Hall in fall 2001.

Different aspects of student development are reported on each year. In the 1999 report, the College Success Institute (a program designed and administered by Special Academic Support Services) and Career Services are being assessed.

Special Academic Support Services

This operation ensures that members of The Citadel faculty and staff are aware of the rights of students with disabilities and the responsibilities of the College in protecting those rights. Specially trained staff members from Special Academic Support Services work with students to develop a service plan for individual help, which may include some or all of the following:

Study Skills Assistance: Walk-In Individual Help; Peer Mentoring; Time Management; Study and Test Preparation/Test Taking Skills; Standing Appointments for Individual Help; Organizational Skills; Referral to and Facilitation of Access to Other Support Services; Test Anxiety/Stress Management Skills.

Subject-Area Tutoring: Mathematics; Spanish; French; German; Biology; Chemistry; Computer Tutorials in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus.

Study Groups and Exam Reviews

Section 504 and ADA Service: Classroom and Testing Accommodations; Proctoring of Examinations; Faculty Consultations; Assisting with Applications for Non-Standard Testing on the LSAT, GRE, MCAT, etc.; Special Advising and Registration; Textbooks on Tape; Special Technology.

These services are offered with the highest regard for, and enforcement of, the student's right to privacy. His/her self-disclosure upon reaching eighteen years of age is completely voluntary. Any disclosure and subsequent reports are kept absolutely confidential and will not be discussed with anyone without written consent ("Release to Share Information").

Special Academic Support Services has been extremely pleased with its ability to help students with documented learning disabilities once those students seek our services or are referred by a member of the faculty or staff. Unfortunately, the student is often in rather severe academic difficulty before this operation becomes involved. The College Success Institute was developed in an effort to find and help students with special learning problems before they enroll at The Citadel.

College Success Institute

Special Academic Support Services has developed the College Success Institute (CSI) to help high-risk students prepare themselves to enter college, and specifically The Citadel.

Making a successful transition from high school to college may be difficult for all students, but is especially so for high-risk students. Adjusting to these changes can be so overwhelming for these students they may, in fact, find themselves falling behind as soon as they have begun. Many of the changes may lead to new and unforeseen obstacles, and the students may find themselves unprepared in many ways. Leaving school prior to completing even the first semester may seem to them to be their only course of action.

CSI offers incoming freshmen who are designated at-risk the opportunity to attend one four-week academic course that meets daily and focuses on academics and learning strategies with practice sessions and workshops relating directly to the academic course and cadet life. Mini-workshops addressing minority life on campus, substance abuse, and mental health issues are provided by selected staff from the Counseling Center.

CSI is designed for incoming freshmen at The Citadel who are designated at-risk because of a high school GPR between 2.0 and 2.5 and/or an SAT score of 980-1000. CSI provides students: 1) comprehensive guidance with respect to academic, mental health, cadet, and social aspects of the college and Citadel experience; 2) immediate access to faculty and support services; 3) opportunities to interact with students from other backgrounds who have similar learning problems.

Expected Results:

It is well documented that Citadel students improve their academic performance dramatically once they begin to work with Special Academic Support Services. In addition to this improved academic performance, it is expected that students participating in CSI will matriculate at The Citadel at a higher rate than the overall applicant pool. It is also expected that retention rate will be higher for students who participate in CSI and then matriculate at The Citadel.

Assessment Results:

CSI for At-Risk and Minority Students was initiated in the summer of 1998 with 30 participants. Of these 30 students, all completed the academic course and the CSI program with 9 receiving grades of A, 19 receiving grades of B, and 2 receiving grades of C. This was a remarkably strong performance and represented much greater student achievement than would have been expected in a typical beginning class at The Citadel. In addition, 100% of these students matriculated at The Citadel and successfully completed the fall semester of their freshmen year. Only one of these students failed to complete the entire freshman year.

Action Taken:

The CSI program has been expanded to include more participants, and a similar program has been developed for at-risk members of the sophomore class.

Career Services

Mission:

The mission of Career Services is to enhance each graduate's preparedness for the world of work by offering opportunities for interaction between prospective employers and the individual through career counseling, planning, job search, and graduate school research instruction, and by providing resources to cadets, students of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies, and alumni.

Expected Results:

The number of firms and organizations with interests in visiting campus to recruit Citadel graduates will be maintained at approximately 100. Career Services seeks to enhance the quality of interaction of students with a limited number of carefully selected employers rather than to bring an ever increasing number of employers on campus. Career planning and preparation instruction and services will be made available to every Citadel student who seeks these services and to alumni as resources permit.

Emphasis will be placed on helping graduates who choose military contracts to prepare for their ultimate transitions to civilian sector employment. Emphasis will continue to be placed on helping students to begin career planning early, on providing expanded resources to students for career and graduate school research, and on bringing Career Services programs into the classroom.

Assessment Tools:

Career Services uses a variety of assessment tools to ensure that its mission is being addressed.

1. Citadel Experience Survey

This survey is completed each year by each graduating senior.

Assessment Results:

56% of respondents used Career Services.

96% of those who received resume and portfolio assistance were Satisfied or Very Satisfied with service.

98% of those who used Career Services were Satisfied or Very Satisfied with interview opportunities.

Actions Taken:

Career Services at The Citadel continues to be pleased with the level of satisfaction of those students who seek its services. However, it continues to struggle, as do all such operations, against student apathy and to pursue new approaches to encourage students to use its services. It should be noted that in a typical graduating class, 30% will accept a contract to enter military service and 15% will go directly into graduate or professional school. This means that normally only about 50 to 60% of each graduating class may feel the need to use Career Services. Nonetheless, the following actions/initiatives have been taken.

International Opportunities: Citadel Career Services and The World Trade Center of Charleston continue a cooperative effort to help students learn about opportunities in international business.

The Citadel Job Search Handbook: A comprehensive Citadel Job Search Handbook is revised and published annually, and is distributed to all seniors. This handbook is also available to alumni using the Career Services Office.

Establishing Career Direction: FOCUS, a comprehensive software program to assist students in selecting appropriate majors and to aid them in establishing career direction, has again been leased by The Citadel Family Association for student use. Student response to this program continues to be extremely positive.

Career Services Presentations and Seminars: Orientation sessions were conducted for freshmen, seniors, and all new students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Additional presentations and seminars were made to specific undergraduate and graduate classes. Also, approximately 60 practice interview sessions for juniors were conducted by 15 Charleston-area human resource managers to provide members of the Class of 2000 early preparation for their career searches.

Distributing Information: Career Services continues to pursue its goal to ensure that all students are aware of its services. Announcements of on-campus recruiting and other career opportunities continue to be distributed to all students via The Citadel e-mail network, the fastest and most cost-effective means of campus communications.

2. Employer/Recruiter Evaluations

The Department of Business Administration conducted a "Corporate Recruiter Survey" of all employers visiting campus. This survey was directed at improvement of our business graduates to move directly into positions of employment.

Based on a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best), employers were asked to rate how effectively Citadel graduates have been able to demonstrate their ability to: communicate their ideas orally, communicate their ideas in writing, master technical business subjects, solve problems creatively and analytically, make ethical business decisions, work effectively in the global market, have a realistic perspective of the work environment, apply computer technology to solve business problems, become future business leaders, appreciate diversity in the work-force and the potential to manage a diverse work-force, set and achieve goals as individuals, work as a member of a team, and adapt to a changing business environment.

In addition, taking all of these categories into consideration, employers were asked to rate how graduates of The Citadel compare to the best graduates from other undergraduate business schools. Employers were also asked to identify emerging hiring trends about which The Citadel should be aware.

Assessment Results:

Employers gave Citadel students a mean evaluation of over 4 (on a rating scale of 1 to 5; 5 being best) on most areas. Those areas needing additional emphasis included: communicate ideas in writing, master technical business subjects, and appreciate workplace diversity.

Comments made by employers stressed the need for more writing and research; practical experience through internship programs; analytical and problem-solving skills; a good "grasp" on computer skills; and knowledge of information systems.

Actions Taken:

Career Services will put the results out through campus e-mail. The areas of concern/emphasis, such as internships, written communication, and computer training will be stressed.

Career Services has also added several services that are intended to provide prospective employers needed information:

Alumni Career Network: The Alumni Career Network serves as a mentoring base for students and alumni in career-related issues. Approximately 1,100 alumni have volunteered to serve as such mentors and advisors.

Resume/Credential File Referrals: The Career Services Office continues to provide resume and credential file referrals to companies and educational agencies for undergraduate and graduate students and alumni. Recruiters also increasingly visit Career Services to view the databases of alumni and student resumes. The office is now linked to JobTrak, a national internet-based resume posting service sponsored by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

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