IU Indianapolis Student Experience Champions Program

About the IU Indianapolis Student Experience Champions Program

The IU Indianapolis Student Experience Champions Program is built upon a foundational element: we cannot expect instructors to serve our students and create welcoming, safe and supportive environments until we create welcoming, comfortable, safe, supportive, and organic spaces for learning, sharing, and personal and professional growth for ourselves as educators.

The IU Indianapolis Student Experience Champions Program, led by a team of faculty, provides instructors with small, easily adaptable, and modifiable strategies and resources that support students and their success throughout a semester. Our model relies on Communities of Transformation as a cornerstone of this work, regularly bringing instructors together to discover, learn, share, and support one another.

The program strives to:

  • Provide a safe and supportive space for instructors to discover, learn, share, and support one-another.
  • Discuss small, simple strategies for enhancing the student experience for all students enrolled in their courses (in-person, online, and hybrid).
  • Encourage instructors to share successes and challenges, reflect on personal and professional growth, and collectively support one another.
  • Stimulate a professional development framework that is (1) centered on 6 evidence-based constructs that can enhance one’s own personal and professional growth as an educator, (2) relies on student input and feedback, gathered throughout the semester, to make small adjustments and enhancements to the overall teaching and learning experience.
  • Empower educators to develop, enhance, and document their work to improve the teaching and learning environments.

The IU Indianapolis Student Experience Champions Program is based on a model developed by colleagues at the University of Toledo and Kent State University. The program draws upon resources, strategies, and practices developed by the Student Experience Project, a collaborative of university leaders, faculty, researchers, and national education organizations committed to innovative, research-based practices that build superior learning environments and foster a sense of belonging on campus.

The Student Experience Champions program focuses on six research-based constructs that have been shown to enhance the learning environment for all students:

Belonging Certainty

Confidence that one belongs in the learning environment

Institutional Growth Mindset

The perception that an instructor and institution believe students' abilities are malleable and can be improved with effort, feedback, and the use of effective learning strategies

Trust & Fairness

Concerns about whether one will be treated fairly in interactions, grading, and other forms of evaluation

Identity Safety

Students from diverse identities and backgrounds feel welcome, valued, respected and recognized as having the potential to succeed

 

Self-Efficacy

Confidence in one's ability to do well in the domains required by the learning environment

Social Connectedness

Feelings of connectedness to others (instructor, peers, TAs) in the learning environment

 

Prior research shows that a sense of belonging is essential in the student's experience. Students new to college are more likely to experience imposter syndrome and/or fears of failure, which makes them more likely to experience belonging concerns and weaker learning outcomes. As educators, we can change learning environments, making these spaces more welcoming for our students and rewarding for ourselves.

Program participants will explore these six key constructs in weekly Community of Transformation meetings during the semester, and implement small, simple strategies to create a more welcoming and supportive learning environment for their students. Participants will get regular feedback from students throughout the semester, reflect on their own learning and next steps, and receive support and encouragement from their colleagues.

Program expectations include:

  • Submit the application.  This opportunity is open to all full-time and part-time faculty who teach courses at IU Indianapolis, Columbus and Ft. Wayne. Applicants must identify in their application one course where they can implement ideas and constructs presented in the Communities of Transformation meetings next semester.
  • Attend the orientation session.
  • Engage in Community of Transformation weekly meetings on Zoom. Each Community of Transformation will be capped at 8-10 participants.
  • Implement evidence-based change ideas: Learn about research ideas to implement in courses. Change ideas are designed to promote a sense of belonging and enhance support for student learning. Student Experience Champions will have access to a variety of evidence-based practical resources developed by the Student Experience Project. Resources will be presented in weekly meetings or as asynchronous resources for exploration.  
  • Use the Ascend survey tool. Ascend is a brief, validated survey that assesses students’ experiences in your course aligned to key constructs such as social belonging, identity safety, and institutional growth mindset. Student Experience Champions use this survey at several points in the semester to gather real-time, actionable data that can improve student outcomes.
  • Reflect. Respond to reflection prompts at four times throughout the semester, and share with your facilitators.

Each Community of Transformation meets via Zoom for one-hour each week and is limited to a maximum of 8-10 participants. Each session will:

  • Utilize a semi-structured format
  • Provide time to chat and connect informally
  • Revisit what happened last week (e.g., Did participants try to implement something new? If so, what and how? How did it go?), share successes and challenges
  • Share new resources that connect to one of the six key constructs
  • Initiate conversation about new strategies, ideas for what might be implemented and how
  • Provide participants with meaningful reflection time