Co-Curricular Annual Report Public Summaries 2022-2023
Academic Co-Curricular
Collegian
While several of the desired outcomes were not met, the goals, outcomes, instruments, and objectives listed within this report give clear indication that Collegian leaders have made significant progress toward desired goals. In fact, the totality of this progress is not captured in the report above. The staff members, under the guidance of the current editor-in-chief have transformed The Collegian by
leaning heavily into the production of online content, changing the format of the newspaper in its physical form, and by starting a podcast. We are confident that the 2022-2023 assessment report will assist us in planning for and maneuvering through the 2023-2024 academic year. We anticipate that the 2023-2024 assessment report will prove just as revealing as the 2022-2023 report and will assist us in our goal of consistent improvement.
Library
This year, assessing our co-curricular goals at the Bethel College Library was an overall positive and valuable experience. Our improved assessment tools made it possible to better understand the quality of our patrons’ experiences with locating and using our library’s resources and services. In surveys given after one-on-one research consultations and group library instruction sessions as well as our end-of-the-year campus-wide community survey, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our patrons. The feedback showed strong appreciation for our fast, friendly, and effective library services. We will maintain the educational strategies, daily workflows, and dedicated and talented personnel that made this possible. According to suggestions from our community survey, we will work to improve the accessibility and discoverability of library resources by maximizing the use of our new integrated library system, Alma, and Primo discovery layer. Additionally, we will research and implement new tools that can connect our institution to the modern information landscape, as resources allow. Our assessment goals will guide library staff to continue improving our library services to support students in their research pursuits.
Co-Curricular
Athletics
The athletic department continues to improve on several areas critical to the college. Our retention rate has improved which has led to overall growth of the institution. We strive to have strong students and our overall GPA of 2.98 is solid. We will work to move the GPA back over 3.0 in the future. We were thrilled to see 72 student-athletes achieve a dream of completing their degree at Bethel.
Developing The Whole Thresher Athlete is a concept which requires effort by many persons. Coaches who embrace this mission, along with administrative support, is critical. Being named a Champion of Character school for the 6th consecutive year is evidence of many of the values that are being stressed in our athletic department. There were 62 schools nationwide who received this award and only three from the KCAC, including Bethel.
Career Services / Employment Experiences
Development of the Employment Experiences program ramped up during the 2022-2023 academic year in preparation for 50 incoming freshmen to join the program. The director received direction from administration to focus more on program development and community partner recruitment rather than individual career appointments. As a result, there was a 19.5% decrease in student engagement. On a positive note, the Employment Experiences Office was granted permission to create and hire a new Career Counselor to provide ongoing and individualized career support to students.
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Assessment in this area will resume once the office is fully staffed.
Student Life
Operations
Auditing the Host Family program will provide opportunities to identify ways to improve the overall participation of students and families. The host family program provides a very positive connection to the community. Planning strategically and focusing on processes will help steer it in the right direction
Student Activities
This year saw the first-ever leadership training during Thresher Days, which led us to two conclusions. The first is that our student leaders need time to train and unwind before other students arrive. The second is that our students are spread thin between work, school, activities, and sports. Our future plans will focus on helping find a healthy balance between everything going on in their professional and personal lives.
Residence Life
We will continue to develop our practices around health and safety checks to provide consistency and ongoing care for our residential facilities. And additional change was made this Fall 2023 semester that all Community Assistants in a residence hall work together as a group to go through and complete health and safety checks as a group to provide greater consistency and accountability as there was feedback that some CAs did not regularly commit to completing health and safety checks. As mentioned earlier, the hope is that more transparency about damage billing with the student athlete teams in early August will also assist in reducing damage billing significantly next year, and that will continue to be tracked every year.
With updates and upgrades to the Haury Hall lounges, the hope is that students will make good use of the expanded recreational activities as well as enjoy congregating for studying and meeting together. To further assist community building in Haury, the two changes in the Student Handbook regarding quiet hours and visitation will hopefully create a more positive and studious environment.
Campus Ministries
During the course of the 2022-23 school year, Campus Ministries saw more involvement, participation, and attendance at nearly every program held, which was a result of making changes from the prior year’s assessment and further independent assessment sent out from Campus Ministries directly. The flexibility for students to obtain Convocation credit for Chapel and other faith-based experiences gave students an additional incentive to at least walk through the door, which for some students turned into more regular participation. The most significant plans for change involve creating more measurable goals and objectives within the programs and activities of Campus Ministries. While “growth” is difficult to assess quantitatively, using numbers and ratings will point toward areas that need attention.