ACPA Commission for Admissions, Orientation,
and the First-Year Experience

2007 Award Winners

Grant Recipient
The Commission is pleased to announce that the 2007 recipient of its research grant is Jennifer Hodges, with her proposal entitled, College students’ reasons to attend college and learning community participation.  Ms. Hodges is a doctoral student in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Michigan State University, and is graduating in May 2007.  She is currently a research assistant in the Assessment, Research, and Technology Office of the Department of Residence Life.  She also serves as the Co-President of the Michigan College Personnel Association.

Ms. Hodges’ research, which is intimately connected with the core areas of the Commission, offers an innovative approach to the topic of learning communities and addresses a gap in the literature and our understanding of the subject.  Her findings could potentially be used in the promotion of learning community opportunities, the design of learning community programs, and outcomes assessment of learning community participation, as well as other pedagogical innovations and programmatic initiatives. 

Award Winners

• Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award: Ms. Blair Rhodes, George Mason University
• Outstanding New Professional Award: Ms. Britta Gibson, Program Manager, University of St. Thomas
• Outstanding Experienced Professional Award: Roseanne Fong, Director, New Student Services, University of California, Berkeley
• Outstanding Project Award: College Eight Sustainability Project-Susan Welte, University of California, Santa Cruz

Grant Competition Information

Deadline: February 3, 2008

Download the 2008 Grant Competition Guidelines (.doc file)

Introduction

The Commission for Admissions, Orientation and the First Year Experience will award one grant in the amount of $500 to promote:

1. original, descriptive or evaluative research;
2. philosophical studies; or
3. institutional assessment or evaluation

on issues surrounding admissions, orientation, and/or the first-year experience.

All ACPA members, especially graduate students, are eligible and encouraged to apply for this research grant.  Research at all stages will be considered, although priority will be given to projects that are further along in the research process (i.e., recently or soon to be completed).

Program Requirements

• The principle investigator must be a current member of ACPA, and must maintain that membership throughout the term of the grant. Commission membership is not required. Commission Directorate members are not eligible to apply.
• The principal investigator shall submit a semi-annual progress report to the Commission Chair by August 1 and February 1 for the duration of the research.  This report should include notification of any changes in the original project proposal.
• The principal investigator is expected to submit a final report to the Commission Chair within 90 days of completion of the project. In addition to providing a summary of the project, the final report should articulate the outcomes and implications of the research.
• The principal investigator is required to submit a program proposal presenting findings of the funded project at an ACPA National Convention after completion of the study.  A copy of this proposal shall be submitted to the Commission Chair. 
• Grant recipients are strongly encouraged to submit the study and research findings to an ACPA publication.

Proposal Guidelines

Please e-mail proposals to Drew Koch for initial processing at akkoch@purdue.edu
with “2008 AOFYE Commission Grant” in the subject line. Proposals should be prepared using American Psychological Association (APA) format – 5th edition.  The following materials must be submitted together via e-mail to be considered for the award:

A COVER PAGE.  The body of the e-mail will serve as the cover page and must contain:

• The title of the proposal.
• The principal investigator’s name, address, institution, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and ACPA membership number.
• The names and e-mail addresses of other researchers working on the project.
• A brief (80 words or less) abstract of the proposed research.

THE GRANT PROPOSAL.  Please include this as an attachment to the e-mail.  Proposals will be considered via a blind review process so please do NOT include any identifying information (of the investigators or any institutions) in the proposal.  It should include:

• The title of the proposal.
• A brief (80 words or less) abstract of the proposed research.
• A 3-5 page description of the study (double-spaced with margins no smaller than 1 inch and font no smaller than 11-point), including:
• statement of problem/research questions
• brief literature review
• description of research participants
• description of instrument, interview protocol, or other data collection tool
• procedures for data collection
• description of data analysis
• description of findings (preliminary or final)
• theoretical and/or practical relevance of the findings for student affairs

AN APPENDIX.  Please also include the appendix as an attachment to the e-mail submission. Please note that the following items are not included in the 3-5 page limit.  Again, do NOT include any identifying information (of the investigators or any institutions) in the appendix:

• A detailed budget and explanation of how the funds will be used
• A project time line
• Copies of the instruments to be used
• Reference list

Please note that additional information, such as a letter of support from a faculty member (for graduate students) or supervisor (for professional staff) as well as a biographical statement of the principal investigator may be requested later in the review process.
Review Procedures
All complete proposals received by the stated deadline will be reviewed. Proposals will be reviewed by a single blind review committee. The criteria that each proposal will be rated on include originality; rigor of proposed method; appropriateness of design, instrument, and data analysis; and implications for theory, practice, and/or policy in the areas of admissions, orientation, and the first-year experience. Award recipient(s) will be notified on or about March 3, 2008 and will be invited to receive their award at the Commission Business Meeting held during the 2008 ACPA Convention in Atlanta, GA, March 29-April 2.

Deadline

11:59 pm EST, February 3, 2008. All proposals must be submitted electronically.  All documents must be in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format.  

Contact Information

For additional information or questions about any part of the process, please contact the following members of the Commission Directorate Board:

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General Award Guidelines

This ACPA Commission seeks to recognize the outstanding contributions of ACPA members in the areas of Admissions, Orientation, and First-Year Experience. The criteria for each award follow the guidelines below. All institutions are encouraged to participate in this program by nominating deserving individuals or projects. Institutions may submit only one nomination per category. All nominations are to be no longer than 4 pages with a page defined as a side of type.  Nominations should be accompanied by a title page (the title page is not included in the four page limit) that includes: 1) the award for which the individual is being nominated; 2) the nominee’s name, title, address, phone number, e-mail address, institution, and ACPA membership number; and 3) the nominator’s name, title, address, phone number, e-mail address, and institution.

Nominations can be or e-mailed or faxed to:
Sarah K. Cunningham
Assistant Director for Orientation Leaders Programs
George Mason University
(703)993-2475 phone and (703)993-3966 fax
scunnin3@gmu.edu

All nominations are due by December 12, 2006.

Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award

This award is presented to a full-time undergraduate student who has significantly contributed and impacted his/her institution. The award recipient will receive free registration to the Next Generation Conference. Suggested criteria include but are not limited to:

• Outstanding service/special contributions to admissions, orientation, or a first-year experience program within his/her own system.
• Evidence that the student has gone above and beyond normal expectations.
• Special projects and/or ideas that have been implemented at his/her institution.
• Evidence that the student has high academic standards.
• Experiences in fostering inclusiveness and appreciation of differences.

Nomination must include a letter from either a direct supervisor or a faculty member supporting one or more of the above criteria.

Outstanding Graduate Student Award

This award is presented to a full-time graduate student/graduate assistant studying at the Master’s or Doctoral Degree level who has greatly contributed to his/her institution. Suggested criteria include but are not limited to:

• Significant contributions to the nominee’s area of academic study regardless to the program of study (i.e. internships, lab/practicum experiences, papers/thesis, projects, publication, etc).
• Outstanding service/special contributions to admissions, orientation, or first-year experience programs within his/her own system.
• Significant contributions to the nominee’s institution and the profession.
• Contributions made above and beyond normal expectations (i.e. committee membership, participation in professional organizations, community service, etc.)
• Experiences in fostering inclusiveness and appreciation of differences.

Nomination must include a letter of support from a faculty member which also conveys academic success/GPA and that the nominee’s primary function at the institution is as a graduate student/graduate assistant. The letter does count against the four page limit.

Outstanding New Professional Award

This award is presented to a new professional. A new professional is defined as a professional with no more than four years of full-time experience. Suggested criteria include but are not limited to:

• Excellence in overall job performance.
• Initiative or creativity displaying that the nominee has gone above and beyond normal expectations.
• Outstanding service to the admissions, orientation, or first year experience program within his/her own system and/or other student development efforts.
• Involvement in professional organizations and/or community service.
• Experiences in fostering inclusiveness and appreciation of differences.

Nomination must include a letter of support from someone who has worked with the nominee, preferably in a supervisory capacity.

Outstanding Experienced Professional Award

These two awards (one for a professional with 4-10 years of full-time experience, and another for a professional with 10+ years for full-time experience) are given to experienced professionals. Suggested criteria include but are not limited to:

• Significant contributions to the nominee’s institution.
• Contributions to the admissions, orientation, or first-year experience program through program presentations, publications, innovative project implementation, and/or grant writing.
• Active membership in professional organizations.
• Willingness to support and promote their profession through mentoring and positive role modeling for other professionals.
• Experiences in fostering inclusiveness and appreciation of differences.

Outstanding Project Award

Outstanding Project Award

This award is presented to recognize and share an outstanding project or program developed by an institution for its campus community. The project must be originated in an admissions, orientation, or first-year experience setting. Selection criteria are based on the following:

• Project implemented during the previous academic year (August 1-July 31).
• Project is inventive and provides a creative solution to problems or issues faced by the profession.
• Project components: adaptability, creativity, cost efficiency, educational value, goals, quality, resources utilized, and thoroughness of program evaluation.
• The project’s ability to meet the needs of a diverse population and/or special campus needs.

The Outstanding Project may be eight pages of type. On a cover sheet, please use the nominator information on the general guidelines as well as: the name of the project, target population, number of people participating in project, number of people needed to organize, time needed to organize, time span and/or length of project, cost of project, and list of resources utilized for the project.

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