College Has Award-Winning Program for Incoming Freshmen

INVOLVED (Intelligently Navigating Volunteer Opportunities and Leadership Values for the Educationally Determined) --- a program to engage freshmen in campus life at Ithaca College --- has been selected by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators as one of the 10 best efforts of its kind in the nation. NASPA reviewed some 200 programs from across the country and designated INVOLVED an "exemplary program 2001" for its innovative approach to connecting new students to campus and community life and providing a structured approach to volunteer and leadership opportunities.

INVOLVED was developed four years ago from a collaboration among the Office of First Year Programs and Orientation, the Office of Campus Center and Activities, and several academic units. The intent was to find a way to make incoming freshmen feel more at home in their new environment and at the same time get them connected to the campus.

"There are so many kinds of events taking place on this campus, it’s astounding," says Sharon Policello, director of first year programs and orientation and INVOLVED coordinator. "But new students in our freshman focus groups were consistently telling us they didn’t know what was going on. They wanted to get involved, but they found it an overwhelming task. What we started to ask ourselves was, Is there a vehicle to let students know what is going on and how they can participate?"

That vehicle turned out to be INVOLVED, in which all freshmen were invited to join small groups where upperclassmen inform them about activities on and off campus. The program began with about 40 students in 6 groups; by last fall it had grown to almost 200 freshmen and 34 peer leaders in 15 groups.

"The two major components of the program are the new students, who meet and interact with their peers, and the upperclassmen who serve as peer leaders," Policello says. "A lot of the time, the leaders turn out to be students who went through the program as freshmen. Since peer leaders aren’t paid, INVOLVED also teaches lessons in service and volunteerism."

Groups are limited to 15 members with at least two leaders. Keeping the groups small allows the students more opportunity to interact and connect with each other. The groups meet once a week during the first part of the fall semester for members to learn about activities and share experiences. Each student is given a journal containing 12 categories of suggested activities, such as cultural, service, athletic, and spiritual events. The student decides which events to attend and afterward can write about the experiences in the journal or simply discuss them with the group. Not only do the students find out about campus life, they also have a chance to make new friends. After the first semester, group members decide if they want to continue through the spring semester or go their own way.

"If our efforts are successful, students will leave the group because they’ve found out how to be involved on their own," Policello says. "This award is a nice validation of that success."

For more information on INVOLVED call the Office of First Year Programs and Orientation at 274-1908.

Peer leader Kristin Haegele ’03 (top) and first year students (from left) Eric Lieb, Dan Prince, and Katherine Hasenauer enjoy a trip to Taughannock Falls State Park as part of the College’s INVOLVED program.