DMS Focus Area Program Proposal
The Focus Area Program Proposal approves an idea to move forward into the event planning, marketing and communication, budgeting and fiscal responsibility, and event management phases. Form approval does not supersede any other required review or approval expectations. Proposal development and final review must incorporate all staff members of the area and provide thorough content for each area of the form before submission. Feedback or approval should be expected within 5 days.
This process assists in ensuring conscious and methodical coordination of department programming by providing a framework for:
- intentionally aligning program and service ideas with the mission, vision, goals, area outcomes, and function of the department for what students will gain as a result of engaging
- identifying potential physical, reputational, emotional, financial, and facility risks and issues, that could damage the department’s brand or cause vulnerabilities
- developing effective plans to ensure alignment of outcomes and successful navigation or mitigation each risk and issue
Ensuring alignment with DMS Role & Scope Mission
DMS has a mission to provide multiple developmental experiences to cultivate transition through meaningful social engagement, foster a culture where students can thrive, and develop students’ capacities to work productively and collaboratively with others in preparation for an increasingly complex world.
Function
DMS is a well-established unit at one of the largest Research 1 universities in the country that actively and intentionally engages best, holistic, theoretically supported, and visionary practices to benefit the transition, retention, persistence, graduation, and post-graduation outcomes of students. Research 1 is defined as US universities that engage in the highest levels of research activity setting expectations for high levels of learning throughout campus activities. The department supports social integration aspects of transition and engagement:
- to persist to graduation, students need integration into formal (academic performance) and informal (faculty/staff interactions) academic systems and formal (co-curricular activities) and informal (peer-group interactions) social systems
- the quality and quantity of a student’s involvement in formal and informal social systems on campus has a direct impact on the amount of learning and personal development they experience, and
- the feeling student’s have of connectedness or feeling cared about, accepted, valued by, and important to and within the campus community positively correlates with motivations to achieve
Focus Area Outcomes
Given the department’s role and scope, Focus Area outcomes include:
- Transition – to provide meaningful connections to incoming students as they transition to campus life that provide feelings of connectedness or feeling cared about, accepted, valued by, and important to and within the campus community.
- Persistence – to positively impact emotional, mental, and psychological needs and develop personal agency and self-efficacy.
- Skill Development – to grow students’ self-awareness and capacities to work productively in groups and engage in social exchange with anyone by focusing on leadership, self-development, critical thinking, professionalism, teamwork, and communication.
- Advancement – identifies and supports efforts associated with development and fundraising, former student engagement,
and outreach to internal and external stakeholders.
Goals & Objectives
1. Expand department understanding of how students involved with DMS activities define belonging, determine how DMS contributes to that definition, and integrate findings into wellbeing practices and programming with campus partners.
1.1 – Implement strategies to assess student belonging.
1.2 – Review current programs and services to determine how they align with students’ definitions of belonging based on data
collected from the FY24 assessment.
1.3 – Develop new programs and partnerships that align with students’ definitions of belonging based on data collected.
2. Expand developmental experience offerings that foster meaningful student connection, engagement, and learning.
2.1 Launch new or expanded department initiatives.
3. Full-time professional staff will contribute to the higher education profession and share insights about the experience with supervisors.
3.1 Provide autonomous opportunities for staff to contribute to the higher education profession as part of leadership or other formal structures.
3.2 Grow the department into a Deliberately Developmental Organization where staff continuously develop and improve.
3.3 Expand the practice of staff linking professional development to staff position responsibilities.
4. Assess department student involvement efforts to capture engagement and experience.
4.1 Capture feedback from specific stakeholders about the department’s long-term impact.
5. Evaluate all aspects of the department, including an assessment of the department’s financial, technical, and human resources.
5.1 Complete the DSA Comprehensive Program Review process in the fall of 2024.