University of the West Document March 15, 2013:

Petition for participation on the Retention and Persistence Committee

Submitted by M.H. Lopez, Enrollment Assistant and Graduate Student in College Counseling and Student Development

Dear Vanessa, I would like to be a part of the Student Retention and Persistence Committee. I feel that my seven years in higher education makes me well prepared to actively contribute to creating systems of student retention for the University of the West. My work experience has given me a strong understanding of student interest and student success. It has included working with first-generation college students implementing the federal Talent Search Program, and presenting in school districts dominated by students from lower socio-economic backgrounds where students are often coming to a university ill-prepared both academically and culturally. My interests in serving students fuels my graduate studies. Currently, I am enrolled in Masters of Science in College Counseling and Student Development at Azusa Pacific University [APU]. I have been enrolled in the program for the two years. I attended as a full time student my first year, and part-time my second year. I have two-thirds of the program completed with only three classes and my capstone project remaining. These will be completed during the 2013-2014 academic year on a part-time basis. My experience in the College Counseling and Student Development program at APU have profoundly influenced my student affairs philosophy, and have yield me the awareness, knowledge, and skills to contribute immensely toward the betterment of the University of the West. I consider assisting students to be my vocation. The University of the West is only twenty years old. It is a relatively new institute, and even more recently WASC accredited. Here is an opportunity to create a great educational institution at its very foundations. This is the reason, and passion, why I joined the University of the West. With its mission statement To provide a whole-person education in a context informed by Buddhist wisdom and values. To facilitate cultural understanding and appreciation between East and West the spirit of the student affairs profession is captured succinctly within two fundamental axioms of the profession. Whole person education in a liberal arts setting is a major curricular theme in U.S. post-secondary education since the founding of Harvard. Part of the mission of educators at the undergraduate level is to assist young adults in their chosen paths of both academic and holistic growth. It is a privilege that student affairs professionals happily mantle. Understanding issues of diversity is critical in helping students develop the ability to examine, evaluate, dismantle, and recompose their culturally fixed ideas as they move from the dualistic thinking of older adolescence, and develop the critical thinking skills of multiplicity needed to fully matriculate into adulthood. Culturing an understanding and appreciation between the ideals of the East and West has the potential as a mission statement to contribute powerfully to this student development process. Awareness: My knowledge and study of the student affairs profession is a unique asset for the university. It has been a journey in how to better understand and define my ethics and values in order to better assist the traditionally aged undergraduate students on her or his journey toward self-definition.

University of the West Document March 15, 2013:

Petition for participation on the Retention and Persistence Committee
Submitted by M.H. Lopez, Enrollment Assistant and Graduate Student in College Counseling and Student Development

Knowledge: The knowledge acquired has been extensive include areas such as the student affairs profession itself, adult human development, history of education, student counseling; diversity in relation to issues of power, privilege, and marginalization; co-curricular learning, program development; and statistical analysis, program assessment, and the development of assessment tools. Skills: I have had the opportunity to develop programs in the classroom setting, and to participate in the evaluation of departments and programs at local universities. As a graduate student I conducted a statistical assessment of the Academic Advising Program at Pomona College, and had the opportunity to evaluate and the programs and effectiveness of the Career Counseling Department at Fullerton College.

If selected to participate on the Retention and Persistence Committee based on my experience and education as a student affairs professional it is my opinion that student retention, persistence, and satisfaction can be approached cohesively by focusing on the five distinct arenas that follow. Below would be some of the concerns for which I would hope the committee would discuss, generate ideas and solutions, and for which I feel I am uniquely positioned to contribute. STUDENT ADMISSIONS: o What systems have been established so that students are successfully able to overcome any issues of educational remediation matters in regards to academic preparation upon entering as first year undergraduate students? o Are the universitys admissions standards setting the tone for future issues of retention? o What tools are being used to ensure that GPAs and other academic scaling test scores are an equal measurement of student learning from our different secondary feeder high schools or community colleges? Does the university have a standardized admissions assessment tool to uniformly measure prior student learning? o Might the universitys retention and persistence program benefit from the development of such an instrument? STUDENT COUNSELING: o Do the students programs of study match their declared and continually evolving academic and career interests? Is student participation an accurate measurement of this? o What are the academic and career interest safeguards that the university, faculty, and staff have in place currently? Or, could be put in place to better ensure student success? o And which departments would be involved, and what would be their roles? CO-CURRICULAR LEARNING: o Are there the opportunities for student enrichment provided by the universitys culture? o Are there opportunities for co-curricular learning provided by Student Life, and the other student affairs departments at the university? What are the existing co-curricular learning activities offered by the university?

University of the West Document March 15, 2013:

Petition for participation on the Retention and Persistence Committee
Submitted by M.H. Lopez, Enrollment Assistant and Graduate Student in College Counseling and Student Development

Could additional student learning programs further enrich co-curricular learning through its student affairs divisions [i.e. Student Success, Student Wellness, Student Admissions, and Financial Aid]? What assessment tools are being used, or need to be created, to effectively measure cocurricular learning so that its success and be demonstrated by department, and for accreditation purposes?

ACADEMIC SAFEGUARDS: o What systems have been established to assist students experiencing academic distress? o How does the university measure academic distress in regard to its undergraduate and graduate student populations? o Do further systems need to be developed to better ensure academic success in addition to those already in place? What would these systems look like? What would the different roles of students, faculty, department chairs, and the dean of academics be in such a system? And how would each interact in any systems of reporting and communication to facilitate such a safeguard? HOLISTIC SAFEGUARDS: o What systems have been established to assist students experiencing personal distress? o How does the university measure distress in regard to the holistic development of its undergraduate and graduate student populations? o Do further systems need to be developed to better ensure that students physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well beings are areas addressed as part of its cocurricular learning, and its stated university mission? o Do safeguards need to be further created for students in distress in relation to their holistic development? What safeguards are already in place? What would these systems look like? What would the different roles of students, faculty, resident life, student affairs, academic affairs, and administrators be in this system? And how would each interact in any systems of reporting and communication to facilitate such a safeguard?

I have has the opportunity to speak to Glen about this opportunity, and about how it is that my knowledge and skills can be of service to students at the University of the West. I am looking forward to this opportunity, and am confident that you will find my contributions insightful and effective.

Sincerely, Michael Lopez