In recent years, the Office of the First-Year Experience has received several regional and national honors. These have included accolades for publicity, use of theme, and individuals. This year, however, brings a new first: the 2007 Gold Excellence Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Enrollment Management, Orientation, Parents, First-Year, Other-Year, and Related Programs category.
Executive Director of NASPA Gwendolyn Dungy said in the congratulatory letter to campus administrators, “It is clear that your program stands out among the best in the country.” According to Joseph DeSanto of NASPA, there are several criteria used in judging, including impact on learning and retention, use of resources and technology, collaboration with other departments, and creativity. He added via e-mail that RPI’s “selection as the Gold winner is a testament to the dedication and commitment that RPI has to providing high quality student affairs programs.”
Lisa Trahan, dean of FYE and acting director of Residence Life, described the award as “one of the biggest honors in the profession.” She explained that this award is the first to recognize the overall FYE program and stressed that the award should not simply be seen as one for just her office. Rather, she said the award comes due to the work of the entire campus community.
Trahan said that she believed one of the reasons RPI was selected for the award is “the fact that it is a comprehensive program—it’s really affecting campus culture.” Its proposal to NASPA for why it should be considered for an award discussed retention increasing from 91 percent to 94 percent since the Office was formed. The proposal also included discussion of collaboration with other departments, the Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond program, and its link to The Rensselaer Plan.
FYE was started under The Rensselaer Plan and thus has not yet seen a full decade. Even so, this award was preceded by several earlier accolades. Trahan said, “We’ve accomplished a lot at Rensselaer and we should be proud of it,” saying that the award indicates “we’re set on the right path.” Because of this, while the Student Life Performance Plan may bring a few welcome changes to FYE, the Office plans to continue the programs for which it has become known.
Vice President for Student Life Eddie Ade Knowles said, “This is a highly-significant affirmation of the quality of the first-year experience at Rensselaer. For us to have been selected as the best in this category is proof positive that we have delivered a high-quality program that benefits our students and their parents.” Knowles also commended Trahan and the staff of the Office of the First-Year Experience for “putting together a campus-wide effort that has been embraced by faculty, staff, and our students.”
NASPA has over 11,000 members at 1,200 campuses in 29 countries. Gold, silver, and bronze excellence awards are given in six categories besides the one for which RPI’s first-year experience program received gold. A total of nine gold award winners were selected from all the categories.
