Running head: SECOND-YEAR EXPERIENCE

Second-Year Experience: Theory, Design, and Feasibility

Rebecca Hartman, Donavon Barbarisi, Liz Brunner, Michael Roberts

University of Central Missouri

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Second-Year Experience: Theory, Design, and Feasibility

Second-year students have a unique role on campus—they are expected to have

extensive knowledge of the campus and its resources yet are given little help on how to utilize

those resources to achieve success. Faculty and staff help first-year students because they are

new to campus and are still learning about the college or university and how to navigate higher

education. Juniors and seniors are also assisted by faculty and staff because they are preparing

for internships and full-time employment after graduation. Second-year students, however, do

not get the help they often need because they are seen as the “middle child” of higher education;

their career needs are not as pressing as for those who are preparing to graduate and they are

expected to know enough about campus to be able to get the resources they need academically

and socially. The Second-Year Experience is a series of events that address the specific needs of

second-year students regarding academics, future career goals, and community-building.

Problem Identification

Sophomore Support

While the University of Central Missouri does have a variety of resources related to

involvement and professional development, those resources sometimes get lost in the hecticness

of freshman orientation. One main determinant for the necessity of this program is that students

will have the opportunity to be reintroduced to these offices and interact with them on a more

regular basis. Another major issue that this intervention would seek to address is the image that

approaching offices can have. By opening these offices up in a more social setting, it will allow

the students who are less likely to take advantage of their services to see them in a separate light.

Major Ambiguity
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Students during the course of their second year year at UCM are expected to declare a

major, and one issue that this intervention will seek to abate is understanding the choice they are

about to make. While undeclared students do take a course regarding major exploration, this

intervention would introduce students to peers in the various fields who can discuss the impact of

being a certain major, an interaction that students with this choice could benefit from. It could

also serve as a resource for those students at any educational level who are deciding to change

their major.

Career Planning

Again, there are resources available to students regarding career development, but it is

important to make sure they are taken advantage of. Students during college are expected to start

establishing a professional network with peers and members of their field; however, without

seeking out the resources, it can be difficult to understand how. Similarly, students can gain vast

experience by working an internship during their college career, but not all students are aware of

the various opportunities available or how to follow-up once they know of them. This

intervention will seek to reach out to these developing professionals and provide the information

they need to best succeed in these endeavors.

Comfort Zone

As students transfer from their first year to their second, they often find themselves

associating with the same people and pursuing the same activities that they had previously. This

stagnation could lead to slowed development and as such, one goal would be to introduce

students to additional social networks (e.g. new friends and clubs) by allowing socializing time

with each activity.

Theoretical Background
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Baxter-Magolda’s Theory of Self-Authorship

In Baxter-Magolda’s Theory of Self-Authorship, there are four phases in which students

develop: following formulas, crossroads, becoming the author of one’s life, and internal

foundations. Most second-year students would fit in the second phase, or crossroads, in which

the pre-prescribed notions of plans begin to conflict with the independence of one’s life, and this

leads to internal conflict for the student. Second-year students may also be in the third phase, in

which they become the author of their own lives. During this phase, students choose their own

paths in life and begin to live out their own beliefs. A strong sense of self develops and self-

reflection occurs during this time, according to Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, and Renn (2010).

For students in phase two, the Second-Year Experience can be used to guide a student

who seems to have lost his or her way at the University. A program designed specifically for

those students can make them feel more included and potentially allow them to find a new

direction for themselves. Partnerships with the career center could enable students to reach the

third phase and discover what they want to do with their lives and develop a purpose that they

can pursue. This would enable second-year students to become more focused on final goals in

college and allow them to make the most out of the rest of their college experiences.

Additionally, providing resources for second-year students would enable them to become the

author of their own lives by learning how to make strong decisions on their own rather than

providing them with the answers. This type of experience would also allow students to come

together and discuss similar situations and gain new outlooks and ideas for how to proceed with

their own lives and college experiences.

Baxter-Magolda’s Epistemological Reflection Model

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Baxter-Magolda’s Epistemological model emphasizes four stages that include patterns

specific to gender. Second-year students in college are likely to be in the transitional knowledge

stage or the independent knowing stage of the model.

In the transitional knowing stage, students accept that some knowledge in certain (Evans,

et al., 2010). For females, this is seen in interpersonal knowing in which students use personal

judgment to resolve uncertainty and use feedback from peers to make decisions. For males,

transitional knowing is seen as impersonal knowing, where students use logic and research to

make decisions and enjoys being forced to think. Through the Second-Year Experience, the

program can increase the students’ peer groups and give them access to more feedback which

could enable them to analyze further information. The program could also offer resources that

offer information on places to find research and logical solutions to resolve uncertainty.

In the independent knowing stage, students explore possible answers and options to

challenges and problems. Evans, et al. (2010) concluded that females value thoughts from peers

as well as individual knowledge, whereas men discuss with peers but are more likely to pay

attention to their own thoughts and opinions about the issue. The program would enable second-

year students to receive feedback from both peers and staff or organizations that add to their own

opinions about challenges and issues. This is an opportunity to offer students more support in

processing ideas gathered from others as well as their own opinions, values, and ideas, and

finding out what the best route for them would be.

Sanford's Challenge and Support Theory

Sanford's Challenge and Support Theory is important in that if students are pushed too

hard during the Second-Year Experience, they may lose interest or stop participating; likewise, if

they are challenged too much during this year overall, they may transfer to another institution or
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leave higher education altogether. On the other hand, some students may require a more

advantaged challenge in terms of career development as they have prepared for their career

already.

Second-year students are going through a transition, and higher education administrators

and faculty must serve as support networks for the students. Students must also be challenged,

and it is critical for administrators and faculty to understand whether students are ready for the

level of challenge presented. The Second-Year Experience can do an initial assessment of career

readiness to determine how much challenge students need and are prepared for. Smaller

programs can employ differentiated instruction and reach out to students to meet them where

they are in terms of readiness. Motivation would also be employed as it plays a key role in

getting students to challenge themselves in academics and career preparation.

To challenge second-year students, the Second-Year Experience can introduce students to

jobs in their fields as well as encourage them to be involved in new areas on campus. While this

may not be beneficial to students with clear goals in mind, it would benefit students who have

not found their way in college and are struggling to determine a path in life.

The program volunteers and coordinator of the Second-Year Experience would serve as a

support system for second-year students and would provide guidance to students in need.

Additionally, as the coordinator of the program talks to students, he or she will learn what

programs would be beneficial to other students who may be struggling with similar challenges.

By providing support and resources, the Second-Year Experience encourages students to learn

how to solve their own issues with help from others.

Super’s Theory of Career Development

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Due to the career development focus of the Second-Year Experience, Super's Theory of

Career Development is vital to understanding the students. Many second-year students fall under

the explorative stage of life stage development in which students are looking to settle on their

ideas and begin implementing them. This is an opportunity to reach out to students and guide

them along the path they set out for themselves; many of the activities involved would help

students help themselves through challenges.

Students in college experience a major transition of life roles; they are less children and

more students. These students may find leisure and citizenship play a bigger role following

arrival to college and leaving home for a second time. These students may begin considering

finances when choosing a college major and potential career path. It is important for the Second-

Year Experience to provide programs geared to students considering financial information when

choosing a major; by providing students with financial information and skills, they will be able

to make a more informed decision on a career path (Schuh, Jones, & Harper, 2011).

Schlossberg’s Transition Theory

Schlossberg’s Transition Theory as outlined in Evans, et al. (2010) highlights various

aspects of a transition that can affect how a person handles the transition, including anticipation,

control, support, and strategies. For second-year students, the transition from first-year to

second-year is anticipated, but the transition can still be difficult for some. Students are impacted

by less help from administration and faculty because it is assumed that second-year students

know their path and know the resources available on and off campus, and the assistance offered

to third and fourth-year students is not available to second-year students because they are not

looking for internships or full-time employment in preparation for graduation.

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Students during this transition may feel they have less control because much of the

impact depends on how much or how little college administrators provide resources or give

feedback to the students. Because of concurrent stress such as choosing a major, extracurricular

activities, part-time jobs, internships, harder classes, and social groups changing, students may

feel they have little control Students do have control, however, on how they handle the situation.

The support a student receives during this transition can vary—students who declared a

major early and are invested in the major may have support from upperclassmen from the major

and professors, and students who are already involved on campus may have support from their

social groups or organizations. Students who are not involved or who are struggling to declare a

major may feel they have no support on campus and may struggle to get through the transition

because of it.

Some students may seek help from college administrators, faculty, friends, or family

members. This strategy can be helpful if those people have been through similar transitions or

know a lot about the transition for college students. Students may also seek mentorship from

upperclassmen, either within a particular major or within a particular organization or friend

group. These strategies are essential to successfully handling the transition through college.

Astin’s Theory of Involvement

Astin’s Theory of Involvement has two distinct parts that are relevant to the Second-Year

Experience. The first is the I-E-O Model in which input and environment help determine what

the output for the student is. The input describes the experiences and knowledge of the student as

well as the background information that is important to the student. The environment refers to

the entire college experience and environment. Finally, the output is what the student looks like

walking across the stage at graduation and how the new and different experiences the student has
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had makes them different from when they started college (Schuh, et al., 2011, p. 322). The

Second-Year Experience hopes to create a more beneficial environment that will help students

reach their goals for the output stage.

Astin also found five postulates that describe the involvement of students, stating that

involvement is the physical and psychological energy invested in a group, project, or activity,

and that involvement happens along a continuum with different amounts of energy invested for

different activities at different times. Involvement also has quantitative and qualitative features

(Astin, 1999). Student learning and development affects the quality and quantity of student

involvement and the effectiveness of campus policies and practices is related to the capacity of

those policies to increase involvement of students.

Second-year students may be highly involved in both academics and extracurricular

activities or may only be very involved in one. The amount of involvement can also change for

these students drastically depending on the time of year and what classwork is required during

certain times of the semester. The Second-Year Experience can assist students by providing

information about different ways students can be involved on campus as well as provide

resources for time management if students are very involved in a variety of activities.

Loevinger's Stages of Ego Development

The Second-Year Experience will assist students in the stage of self-awareness to

conscientiousness of Loevinger's Stages of Ego Development. The career development aspect of

the program will challenge students to think about their own perspectives of their future as well

as what career path would best fit their values. The program will also encourage and support

students as they begin to consider their own unique feelings, the feelings of others, and their

perceptions of right and wrong in life as they begin to seriously consider what they want their
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future to look like in terms of relationships, major, college education, and work experience

(Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991)

Loevinger's stage of moving from conscientiousness to individualistic will also be

considered for the Second-Year Experience; the program will support students through

continuous self-evaluation and self-criticism by encouraging students to explore their options

and connect with others going through similar experiences. Additionally, the program will assist

students in valuing achievement, responsibility, pursuit of high ideals, and long-term goals by

helping them pave the path to career, academic, and relational success (Pascarella & Terenzini,

1991). The staff of the program will encourage and connect to students in a one-on-one setting as

they discover their personal morals and standards for conducting themselves, especially as they

mature in professional settings.

Chickering's Theory of Identity Development

The Second-Year Experience provides support for students in all seven of Chickering's

vectors. The first, developing competence, is carried out through the relationship and career

development focus of the program because it will provide opportunities for students to improve

their intellectual skills while in class, while conversing one-on-one with professors, and engaging

in lively debate with classmates about issues their chosen field faces. This will also challenge

their interpersonal skills as they learn how to navigate a variety of different relationships, such as

peer to peer, student to mentor, student to professor, and student to staff (Evans, et al., 2010).

Students will learn to manage emotions in the second vector by being around others very

different from themselves in the Second-Year Experience, and this educational experience will

allow students to continue recognizing their own emotions and the emotions of others, along

with continuing to learn how to appropriately express and control emotions as their maturity
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levels rise. Learning how to interact with faculty and staff, along with potential coworkers in

their field in classes and in internships will be a foundation of how they approach their careers

post-college (Evans, et al., 2010).

Students in the Second-Year Experience will be challenged to solve their own problems

and recognize the issues they face as they take more responsibility in the path they are on in the

moving through autonomy towards interdependence vector. Through relationship building with

peers, mentors, faculty, staff, employers, and coworkers, students will begin to understand and

value their interconnectedness with others (Evans, et al., 2010).

In the establishing identity vector, students connect with each other and with faculty and

staff with the goal of being in a supportive, caring, open atmosphere where the students can be

themselves and learn from others. This has the potential to assist in the acceptance and comfort

of personal issues students face on a daily basis, considering body and appearance, gender

identity and sexual orientation, and their sense of self (Evans, et al., 2010, p. 68). Connecting

with others who are going through similar experiences or have moved through that experience

themselves will be beneficial to a student's development and establishment of his or her identity.

Giving students the opportunities to connect with other second-year students, explore

majors, and explore potential career paths will help give students a sense of purpose within their

own campus community and social groups, along with giving them a higher purpose, or career,

to work toward. Assisting students in reflecting upon their values and hopes for the future, or

helping them find what brings them happiness will move them through developing more purpose

than they may feel they have at the beginning of the second-year. Making meaningful

commitments to personal interests and activities while establishing strong interpersonal

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commitments within the relationships fostered through the program will assist in the

development of a student's sense of purpose (Evans, et al., 2010).

In the last vector, developing integrity, students are challenged and supported through

discovering their own values and the creation of their values system and morals. The

development of their integrity will move forward and become more clear throughout the program

as staff members engage students in career development and provide them with opportunities

such as work-study and internships. Students will be challenged by those new experiences and it

will help them move toward awareness that their values have implications and their values will

be more humanizing and personalized (Evans, et al., 2010).

Program Design

The Second-Year Experience is a year-long orientation for second-year students that

focuses on development in the areas of career preparation, academic preparation, and social

involvement. These areas are focused on in various programs that highlight the importance of

learning new life and academic skills.

.Career Development

Career development is a major focus for the Second-Year Experience because many

second-year students feel alone when choosing a path in life. First-year students have support

from administrators and faculty members to help choose a major and potential career in the

future, whereas second-year students lose that support. Similarly, the career center on campus

works for juniors and seniors in order to help them secure internships and prepare for full-time

employment after graduation.

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One of the biggest decisions for second-year students is the declaration of a college

major. Some students may feel forced to declare a major but may be unsure of what they can do

with the major or what the major entails. To assist these students, a major exploration fair would

be held during the fall semester. The exploration fair would feature faculty members and current

upperclassmen students in the major to explain what the major is like and what to expect within

the field. Another option for choosing a major would be creating mentor/mentee relationships

within particular majors; this would allow students to reach out to upperclassmen in their

intended majors to develop academic plans and offer advice for choosing classes as well as

helpful tips for learning the material. Mentors could also provide study tips, tutoring, and

networking opportunities.

Another option that may help students decide their major and career field is a Meet Your

Major event in which professors and alumni come to campus to network with students who are

thinking about different majors. Students can talk to alumni to determine whether the major is for

them and how the major would help them reach their career goals.

Second-year students also must consider potential internships between their second and

third years. An internship panel would be helpful for second-year students by giving them ideas

of what to do for an internship as well as provide examples of what interns do for the companies

they intern for.

Lastly, it is common for second-year students to lack skills in resume and cover letter

writing. The career center would provide a resume and cover letter workshop to introduce

professional writing to students who may have never written a resume or cover letter for a job

before.

Student Involvement
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Student involvement is an important aspect of college life for students—involvement in

college looks better on one's resume and most students who are involved in some form in college

are more successful than those who are not. First-year students are encouraged by faculty and

administrators to join clubs and organizations on campus, whereas second-year students are

assumed to already be involved on campus. It is critical for second-year students to be

encouraged to be involved as much as first-year students.

An involvement panel would include leaders from various groups on campus who would

be given time to discuss what they represent and what students can gain from being involved in

the group or organization. This would allow students to learn about organizations on campus that

they may not have known about through friends or classes.

Community outreach is another way for students to become involved during their second

year. There are more pronounced opportunities for students to reach out to the surrounding areas

to do volunteer work, and this would allow students to gain important skills that can be used to

get a full-time job after graduation.

In addition to involvement in the community and in clubs and organizations, it is

important for students to have a social group on campus that provides support and fun outside of

the classroom. The Second-Year Experience would offer social events that would allow second-

year students to build relationships with one another and with others on campus, building

friendships that may not have been formed without the help of the Second-Year Experience.

Impacts
The Second-Year Experience has a broad range of benefits for second-year students at

the institution. The purpose of the program is to ensure that second-year students are not lost in

the shuffle after trying to hard to engage them during their first-year of college, and it will make
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living on campus more worthwhile for second-year students. Students who participate in the

program will be prepared for academic and career success and will be ahead of the curve in

experiences by connecting with professors, internship, and career and personal development

opportunities. The Second-Year Experience will connect students with faculty and staff who are

invested in their success and who will make personal relationships and positive impact on

retention rates for those students.

Students in the program will also have the opportunity to engage in their community on a

small and large scale, as well as connect with others who are both similar and different from

them. Second-year students will also connect with upperclassmen students in their majors to

assist with their success both academically and socially.

Overall, the Second-Year Experience will assist in retention efforts by providing

programs, events, and opportunities that assist with challenges specific to second-year students,

especially regarding academics and community. Students in the program will be better prepared

to declare a major and potential career path, and they will learn how to network and connect with

others despite differences in culture and experiences.

Feasibility

To determine whether a Second-Year Experience program would be feasible, the college

or university must take into account costs, staffing, attendance, support, location, and schedule.

The program would initially be expensive to create and implement. It would be essential

to secure either the backing of a group on campus, such as student activities or the Union, or hold

fundraising events to build the funds for the program. Donations to the Second-Year Experience,

such as free event spaces and equipment, would allow the program to get off the ground. Funds
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would be required for staffing, equipment, entertainment and activities, refreshments, and event

spaces.

Partnering with other organizations and departments on campus would allow the Second-

Year Experience to hold events by providing funds as well as volunteers; the program itself

would only need one staff member to plan and implement the events if volunteers, whether it be

students or other staff members, assisted the staff member. Scheduling with other organizations

and departments on campus would be a struggle but those organizations and departments would

get the word out to more second-year students than the program doing all of the advertising

itself.

Second-year students may not have strong ties to the campus if they are struggling

academically or are not involved in organizations or groups on campus; those are the students

who would benefit the most from this program. However, students who are more involved would

be more likely to attend than students who are not already involved with friends or groups on

campus. For a program to be successful, it must draw attendance from its intended audience.

Giving students incentives to attend the programs would likely bring more students to the events

and make them more involved.

The Second-Year Experience events and resources will give second-year students the

tools needed to continue a successful path through college and will increase retention rates and

graduation rates for students. It is expected that with this series of programs, second-year

students will experience less stress in declaring a major and career path and will be able to help

themselves by finding resources, networking, and interacting with others.

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References

Astin, A.W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal

of College Student Development 40(5). p. 518-528.

Evans, N.J., Forney, D.S., Guido F.M., Patton, L.D., & Renn, K.A. (2010). Student development

in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Pascarella, E.T. & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affects students. San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Schuh, J.H., Jones, S.R., & Harper, S.R. (2011). Student services: A handbook for the profession

(5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.