From Dean Benjamin Rifkin’s Weekly Letter (Feb. 1, 2015):
As many of you know, in the fall, HSS administers a survey of all our students about a number of topics, including student participation in these signature experiences.
The data from the fall 2013 and fall 2014 surveys show significant increases in participation in the signatureexperiences by HSS seniors graduating in May 2014 and May 2015, respectively. Take a look at these data:
Study Abroad
2014 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 15.3%
2015 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 36.4% (more than double!)
Internships
2014 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 36.4%
2015 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 47.7% (close to 33% increase!)
Undergraduate Research
2014 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 19.5%
2015 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 46% (more than double!)
Experiential Learning (enrollments in courses taught in prisons or archives, etc.)
2014 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 19.5%
2015 Seniors’ Participation Rate: 29.5% (about 50% increase!)
In addition, in the past year or so, HSS has rolled out advanced-level community-engaged learning courses in every HSS major with the support of our colleagues at the Bonner Institute. Those colleagues have helped us track HSS student participation in its courses:
Calendar-Year 2013 participation in advanced CEL courses in HSS: 144 students
Calendar-Year 2014 participation in advanced CEL courses in HSS: 228 students
This represents a 58% increase in community-engaged learning course participation in HSS from 2013 to 2014, although we have not tracked whether these students are sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
The data for our seniors graduating in 2015 is stupendous. Members of the Class of 2015: I congratulate you! In record numbers, you have reached for your dreams and have chosen to create your own futures. I predict that you will have greater success in your professional lives following Commencement 2015. Way to go! All of your faculty and staff, as well as your friendly neighborhood dean, are proud of you!
For students in the classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018: the challenge is set! Can you beat the records of the seniors graduating in May 2015? I think you just might be the ones to do it – if you set your mind to it! (This is my subtle way of suggesting that you should set your minds to it!)