First-Year Civic Engagement: Sound Foundations for College ...

educate others about them, and how to become engaged in thecommunity, whether locally, regionally, nationally, or globally.The ongoing program, Citizenship, in the fall of 2006 is focusedon issues of citizenship in political science, history, andart. One of the goals of this Core is to “eliminate or substantiallyreduce political apathy that may exist among its participants byimproving their knowledge of the American political institutions,political culture, political power, public policy process,rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship, and majorchallenges and opportunities facing the American politico-economicsystem” (http://www.antioch-college.edu/Academics/registrar/core/0607corelcs.html;fall 07 link on Core is http://www.antioch-college.edu/Academics/registrar/core/0708corelcs.html).The program explores American citizenship through the contextof art; students consider how art both influences and reflects whogets to participate as a citizen. Studio assignments complementrequired readings and critical, written reflections. For example,students created a broadside — a political tool to engage with thegeneral public about issues they had studied. Their art expressedissues of citizenship.AssessmentWe are assessing student civic engagement and its impact onlearning, retention, satisfaction, and leadership, at three points:during the first-year Core Programs, during the first cooperativeeducation experience, and across the Upper-Level Curriculum,including the Senior Project. Assessment methods include periodicstudent surveys, formal Student Evaluations of Instructorsand Programs (SEIs), and reflective essays and interviews withinthe Cooperative Education Program. We plan to assess studentperformance by comparing our current first-year students tothose of the recent past who did not have the foundation of theCore Program or the Co-op Communities.We are currently comparing students’ civic engagement learningand practice within the various first-year Core Programs. Byexamining the broad variety of methods currently in use, and theoutcomes of these programs, the relative merits of each deliverysystem can be determined, and then compared to instructors’views of program effectiveness as well as student reports of progressand satisfaction. The necessary assessment tools, primarilystudent surveys and formal SEIs, are currently in use.We will also track the progress of students’ civic engagementskills, satisfaction, and leadership ability as they progress throughour Upper-Level Curriculum. In the past, many graduating seniorsintegrated moderate to high levels of community involvementinto their Senior Projects. By carefully assessing civic engagementearly on, we can track the development of skills acrossthe Antioch educational experience among those students whointegrate community involvement into their Senior Project.I. Contributors’ Names and Contact InformationMain contact for submission:Janice KinghornAssociate Professor of Economicsand Associate Dean of the Core ProgramPhone: 937-769-1330Email: kinghorn@antioch-college.eduEli NettlesAssistant Professor of Mathematicsand Associate Dean of FacultyPhone: 937-769-1176Email: enettles@antioch-college.eduDavid KammlerAssistant Professor of ChemistryPhone: 937-769-1171Email: dkammler@antioch-college.eduAntioch College795 Livermore StreetYellow Springs, OH 45506II. Institutional Descriptiona. Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OHb. Four-yearc. Privated. Residentiale. 350 students, 120 first-year studentsf. Primarily residentialBuilding on the First YearBeginning their second year, students experience cooperative education(work) in an organized co-op community, which includesPlace as Text: an academic component that asks students to becomeresponsible, informed citizens within their local community.We believe that this directed civic engagement experience will laya foundation upon which a student can continue to build skillsthroughout their Antioch education. The first group of studentsin this program is in the midst of that experience, and we plan toassess student performance by comparing their cooperative educationreflection papers and interviews to those of previous students.