Measuring for Success: My Apprenticeship with Campus Living & Learning

In your time at Baylor it will not be at all strange to hear people in the cafeteria say things like, “Well, I’m a Woo, so…” A colleague may pipe up in a meeting to tell you that, “if Strategic is not in your top five, it has to be in your top ten!” At Baylor, we care about utilizing people’s strengths to best effect, and it is convenient to talk about them with one another using the terms given in the Clifton StrengthsFinder. My own Strengths have been very important in my role as Grad Apprentice for Academic Initiatives and Marketing in Campus Living & Learning (CL&L). My Input and Context strengths were particularly useful early on in my time at Baylor, as there was so much to learn about my position, the culture of the department, and the story behind CL&L’s unique approach to housing.

CL&L has taken the traditional role of a Residence Life department and expanded upon it. Baylor’s traditional campus housing options are not “dorms,” but residence halls. They are not just barracks that students come back to when they need to sleep; CL&L has built a culture in which the lines are blurred between the classroom and housing. One of the ways that it does this falls within my duties as a GA, namely faculty involvement.

I hope that you have enjoyed rewarding relationships with at least one faculty member outside of the classroom context at some point over the course of your time as an undergraduate. If you have, I do not need to tell you how much that connection can enrich and enhance the college experience. It has long been established that students who enjoy semi-regular interaction with faculty outside of class are more likely to graduate, perform better academically, and are more satisfied overall with their college experience (Kuh, et al., 1994; NASPA, 1987; Parscarella & Terenzini, 1991; Astin, 1985). A growing number of our communities have faculty-in-residence, living and interacting with students every day as an integral part of their community. We are working on including faculty more in the regular rhythm of life in our other communities, as well.

Another portion of my apprenticeship involves various assessment initiatives. Assessment is a scary word for many people, but the truth is that there is a great deal that one is simply guessing at until there is hard data to be had. It is fascinating to see intuition challenged by reality and to begin to work out how to change in response to new information. For example, using a recent survey, I was able to tell our Resident Chaplains how many residents felt that they knew their Resident Chaplain, how involved their residents were in faith-related activities, and how many students wanted more faith-related conversations in their community. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In this position, I have learned so much about what it takes to get faculty involved in residential communities, how to back up ideas with good research and hard data, and how to handle the multi-faceted challenges of programming and marketing. I have been challenged, supported, and have ultimately been changed by my time in Campus Living & Learning. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work under a great supervisor who not only wanted to see me succeed, but also challenged me and helped me to develop as both an individual and a professional. It is so rewarding to look back on my time at Baylor and to think of how far I have come through the combination of my time in the classroom and in the office.

Micah Wheeler
2^nd Year HESA Student