Co-Curricular Annual Report Public Summaries 2020-2021
(Full reports available in the H Drive under Assessment Committee)
Athletics
This year’s assessment report for the athletic department displays continued growth within the assessment structure and the overall athletic department. We recognize the importance of evaluating all components of our athletic teams and department.
This past year, Areas of growth were within our retention rates, with overall student-athlete retention at 71%. Sport-specific programs aided in this tremendously and were well above the national average, such as football, which had a 73% retention rate. This was an improvement of over 20% from the previous year in that specific sport. Bethel, for the 4th year in a row, achieved the NAIA Champions of Character gold standard, one of only three programs in our conference to achieve that and only 60 programs nationwide. This coincided with the best finish in school history in the KCAC Commissioners Cup standings.
However, growth areas are still needed in the team and the athletic department’s GPA. This past year, we dropped to a 2.91 overall GPA as a department, below the 3.0 target goal. The most significant improvement areas are needed within a few specific male sports. This past year we also had our first ejection in over two years as a department. While it was only 1, it is still an area we pride ourselves in not occurring. The ejection that occurred allowed for a great learning experience for the individual, program, and athletic department as a whole. As we continue to seek growth and improvement areas in the athletic department, this coming year, we will be focusing more specifically on more specific data, which would include: team cumulative GPA, individual GPA, academic probation and suspensions per semester, KCAC and NAIA Academic Awards (Team and individual), and team-specific retention numbers. This data will allow us to be more individualistic regarding improving and taking a more hands-on approach toward overall growth in Bethel Athletics.
Career Services
Career and Leadership Development met two of the five goals. This was the first time since beginning these assessments that any initial goals were met. Since moving offices from the Administration Building to the Will Academic Center, the department has seen a 51.5% increase in student appointments and interactions. I do not plan to change my departmental goals; they are attainable. I plan to continue examining my advertising strategy for the department to see which method results in more student interaction.
Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
(The office was not staffed during the 2021-2022 school year as this has become a Strategic Plan Initiative)
Student Life (Student Activities, Residence Life, Community Connections, Religious Life)
Student Activities: No data is available to the current Coordinator of Student Activities and Engagement, so a summary cannot be provided. Plans for the future will be to continue to improve the Thresher Day experience by encompassing student development theories and additional goals and objectives for the three main student organizations; Student Activities Council, Diversity Council, and Student Government Association.
A survey will be conducted to gauge students’ level of engagement and, what they would like to see on campus/what they feel is missing from their experience at Bethel College.
Residence Life: It was clear that our collaborative extensive outdoor program in the spring semester was highly successful and popular. This has led to an interest in collaborating with other colleagues in the department for a few more of these larger programs for the 21-22 academic year. In addition, now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased this academic year, more programming for the freshman-year experience will occur.
Community Connections: The Host Family program and the Bethel College Parent’s Association (BCPA) are essential for students. Both programs are centered on interacting with students in person, on campus, and in their homes. Although COVID-19 impacted participation last year, connections with students were made and felt through long-standing traditions like seeing the Christmas tree in the cafeteria, homemade cookies for the holidays, dessert at the Bubbert’s Awards, etc. The assessment process is data-driven, and we will continue to work and find ways to gather data and set realistic, achievable, and measurable goals.
Religious Life: With the COVID-19 pandemic being a constant reality and stressor to many, if not all, students, the primary question for Campus Ministries (Campus Pastor and Student Chaplains) to answer shifted from “What spiritual life opportunities can we offer this year?” to “How can we provide the best support possible to meet the needs of students, in whatever capacity (physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological). Part of this work was to continue offering Chapel and other worship times in a virtual format. One advantage of Virtual Chapel and Virtual Lighting of the Green was that it allowed people who otherwise would not have been able to come to campus. The number of Chapel service YouTube views routinely exceeded the number of people present for in-person Chapels even in a non-COVID year; another part was partnering with Diversity Council and Student Wellness to pack and distribute “de-stress kits,” which included snacks, drinks, encouraging notes, games, coloring sheets, and prayers. A third was to offer a come-and-go breakfast night early in the Spring ‘21 semester as an opportunity to gather safely when gatherings were scarce. Overall, the Bethel College community, including Campus Ministries, successfully made it through the school year, culminating with in-person Baccalaureate and Commencement services. That is the most significant indicator of success in such a strange and challenging school year.
Academic Co-Curricular
Center for Academic Development: Student evaluations continue to indicate high satisfaction with the tutoring that they receive through the Center for Academic Development. We will continue selecting highly qualified and diverse tutors and train them to support Bethel College students in their efforts to be successful in their academic endeavors. As COVID restrictions ease (hopefully) in the coming year, we plan to encourage tutor usage in the CAD office and in remote locations on campus. With a new instructor in Introduction to College Writing, we also hope to have better insights into the effectiveness of tutors in writing development.
Library: The first year assessing our co-curricular goal at the Bethel College Library was a valuable experience. While some assessment instruments require adjustments, much helpful data was gathered and analyzed. Moving forward, surveys will receive edits that will increase clarity for students and result in more useful data for librarians. Successful assessment instruments such as focus groups will be used again with only minor adjustments for efficiency. While some assessment strategies proved more effective than others, designing and implementing them and analyzing the data taught us much about the students we teach and inspired us to develop new ways to engage and support them.
Collegian: Because of the impact of COVID-19, outside agencies altered some activities, and some activities were not achievable under current circumstances. Therefore, once again, several of the desired outcomes were not met. However, this report’s goals, outcomes, instruments, and objectives indicate that Collegian leaders have progressed toward the desired goals. We are confident that the 2020-2021 assessment report will assist us in planning for and maneuvering through the 2021-2022 academic year. We anticipate that the 2021-2022 assessment report will prove just as revealing as the 2020-2021 report and will assist us in our goal of consistent improvement.