Description
The purpose of this case study was to determine what characteristics influence second-year college students? curricular and co-curricular development at a faith-based, liberal arts university in the Western United States. Seventeen individual interviews and a document analysis were conducted as the primary data collection methods for this case study, as students described their sophomore year experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Students reported the importance of a strong connection to faculty and staff at this faith-based university as being paramount to a successful sophomore year. They also spoke of the significance of engaging in the co-curricular and the impact that coping strategies played in their development as young adults. The document analysis produced findings similar to those found in the individual interviews. Coping with heightened levels of anxiety, adjusting to a more rigorous academic schedule, and trying to avoid becoming another attrition number was all data extracted from the document analysis exclusive to the sophomore year. Some conclusions and recommendations from these findings would be to provide more opportunities for sophomores to connect with faculty, staff, and administration on a regular basis, create more initiatives that focus on combating sophomore student attrition rates, and to garner support from major stakeholders on campus in order to develop a sophomore year experience program at this institution. Two potential barriers to implementing a sophomore year experience at this institution would be the lack of time that sophomore year students have during their second-year in college as well as the lack of knowledge from faculty, staff, and administrators on what SYE's offer and how they impact student development and retention.
