Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 13 college in which students are empowered to develop initiatives that promote stu- dent success and community engage- ment. At the beginning of each academic year, the Office of Student Affairs team hosts a leadership conference for students at the main campus in Fort Lauderdale and coordinates individual student gov- ernment mini conferences for teams at each NSU campus. During the leadership development trainings, elected student leaders complete personal assessments to determine how they can best contribute to their team, learn about campus poli- cies and resources to support their suc- cess, and develop goals and correspond- ing action plans to achieve their goals. Student government teams are asked to select one Signature Community Service Initiative they will focus on throughout the year. The goal is for each team to work with its peers to address a commu- nity need and create a charismatic com- mon purpose that positively impacts that issue or group. The College of Health Care Sciences offers students the opportunity to serve alongside their faculty on the Multicul- tural Affairs Committee (MAC), whose mission is to support students from vary- ing cultural backgrounds while collabo- rating with other academic support services. MAC members represent a wide range of academic programs, cultures, generations, and genders and promote awareness and appreciation for diverse experiences, beliefs, traditions, and world- views. Students and faculty members work together to plan and implement workshops and events that engage and educate their peers as they prepare to practice in an increasingly diverse society. C ULTIVATING S TUDENT S UCCESS In addition to programs and initiatives that promote student engagement and leadership development, the college has strategically invested resources to pro- mote students’ academic success. In 2012, the CHCS Student Success Task Force was developed, consisting of faculty members and administrators across the college, including those located at the var- ious NSU campuses and online. The task force looked at the factors that currently promoted student success and areas of opportunity that, if addressed, would bet- ter support students’ academic success. T HE E FFECTIVE W RITING C ENTER One area of opportunity that all agreed upon was assistance to help stu- dents improve their writing skills. As a re- sult, the college partnered with the Health Professions Division Library and created the Effective Writing Center (EWC), which uses best practices that have been proven to help students im- prove their writing skills. The coaches use appreciative inquiry practices to help stu- dents learn new skills, reflect on their own areas of strength and improvement, and practice their newfound skills. The number of students that has uti- lized the center has grown steadily over the last three years from 288 in the 2012- 13 academic year to 539 appointments in the 2013-14 academic year. The center has already exceeded the number of coaching appointments that were com- pleted last year at this time, so the team expects the 2014-15 appointments to ex- ceed that of the previous year. Survey data show that 93 percent strongly agreed they received valuable coaching from the EWC, while 99 percent planned to use the EWC again to continue to improve their writing skills. Finally, 93 percent re- ported having a better sense of how to improve their writing as a result of using the EWC. Additional information about the EWC is available at http://nova.campusguides.com c.php?g=112257&p=727068. G RADUATE P ROFESSIONAL S UCCESS S ERIES Another initiative designed to promote student success is the Graduate Profes- sional Success (GPS) Series. This monthly workshop series covers topics identified by student leaders and faculty members as important for student success. Topics have included test-taking and study skills, financial management, time manage- ment, stress management, professional networking and development, and healthy eating. Student leaders are also provided the opportunity to develop ideas for topics, organize the event, and co-fa- cilitate the workshop with guest speakers. All GPS sessions are broadcast to the various CHCS campuses. Additionally, the sessions are recorded so online stu- dents and those unable to attend can view the sessions at their convenience at http://www.nova.edu/chcs/studentaffairs/suc- cess/gps-videos.html . As added support, the college also offers one-on-one success coaching by appointment for students that want to improve their academic per- formance through the EWC. A CADEMIC A DVISING C OACHING T OOL Academic advising is a collaborative educational process whereby students and their advisers are partners in meeting the essential learning outcomes, which facili- tates student academic success and achievement of the students’ personal, academic, and career goals. This ad- viser/student partnership requires partici- pation and involvement of both the adviser and the student as it is built over the student’s entire educational experi- ence at the university. Both the student and the adviser have clear responsibilities for promoting a successful partnership. In the College of Health Care Sci- ences, academic advising provides stu- dents with the opportunity to build a relationship with their adviser for the pur- pose of gaining assistance in planning their educational career, learning the skills needed for academic success as well as understanding how to access the vari- ety of resources and services available to them at NSU. The CHCS Academic Ad- vising Expectations is a tool faculty mem- bers can use to guide their conversations with their advisees regarding the roles the faculty member and the student will play in promoting student learning, develop- ment, and success. It is based on national best practices in student advising and is used during the first week of orientation. The college is committed to preparing emerging health care professionals that can succeed academically, work collabo- ratively to address community needs, and Continued on next page...