Skip to Content
Seton Hall University

Co-Curricular Initiatives

Alumni Relations

In the Fall of 2009, Seton Hall University conducted a comprehensive survey of alumni in conjunction with the PEG Group. A total of 13,112 surveys were distributed, and we receive 1,628 responses. The Office of Alumni Relations has analyzed the data, and by building on current initiatives and adding additional ones, they are addressing the needs and interests identified by the alumni. They have identified three key areas of alumni engagement; some of these goals have been achieved or are ongoing, and others are planned.

Communications

  • Reviewed communication channels and implemented analytical tools to measure effectiveness
    • Began utilizing Coremetrics to monitor Web traffic in response to marketing campaigns.
    • Began utilizing new email server (Blackbaud NetCommunity) to increase ability to measure success of email marketing campaigns.
  • Assigned alumni staffer with communications responsibilities
  • Produced "Give Back, Get Back" volunteer recruitment brochure
  • Identified improved information about the benefits of being an alumnus
  • Created FY 2011 Annual Report to be shared with alumni. This piece serves both as a standard report and also highlights opportunities for engagement.
  • Created more opportunities for alumni to understand the importance of their philanthropy
  • Provided information to alumni about the Seton Hall Fund
  • Enhanced online giving avenues through NetCommunity online giving
  • Educated alumni about career services offered
    • Currently utilizing social media (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) to educate alumni about career services, job posting database and other resources.
  • Solicited and responded to alumni opinions; build upon the initial survey
    • "Young Alumni Survey" completed in August 2011 to gauge the interests of graduates of the past ten years in future programming.

Volunteerism

  • Developed and marketed a volunteer management program Alumni Attitude Survey Executive Summary November 1, 2010
  • Built affinity groups to promote alumni networking
    • 8 new Alumni Clubs created (with more in progress) to cater to alumni with specific interests.
  • Partnered with Admissions to involve alumni in student recruitment
  • Created Young Alumni programming to complement Student Alumni programs
    • Young Alumni Club formed in spring 2011.

Regional Chapters

  • Build a national alumni network; Create alumni chapters
  • Take Seton Hall "on the road" through events and social network tools

Career Center

The Career Center's mission statement declares that we work to "empower students to discover their unique calling and to engage in lifelong career management."  This is goal that is foundational both to student success and the value of a Seton Hall education.  In order to measure our progress towards this goal, the staff of the Career Center engages in ongoing program assessment to document results and drive program improvement.  Among the assessment projects that the Career Center has completed:

  • The annual Survey of Baccalaureate Graduates documents employment and graduate school outcomes, as well as utilization of and satisfaction with Career Center services.
  • Internship Employer Evaluations are completed by supervisors at internship sites.  They provide valuable feedback to our students and help the Career Center to better prepare students for success in the job market.  To further the learning component of an internship, students are asked to reflect on their work experiences. Questions are designed to encourage them to consider what they learned about challenges and professional ethics, and how the experience might influence their career plans. They are also asked to evaluate the quality of the work environment and the internship itself.
  • The Career Center also solicits feedback from employers who participate in the various recruitment opportunities that are available on campus.  This data monitors satisfaction both with the services that we provide, and with our students' level of professionalism.

Community Development

Community Development provides a wide range of programs and services that enhance the experience of Seton Hall students.  The department oversees student clubs and organizations, provides leadership opportunities, manages the University Center, and administers Community Standards.  We strive to monitor usage, satisfaction and outcomes for these diverse areas.  Recent assessment initiatives include surveys on the following topics:

  • Administered satisfaction and outcomes surveys of new freshmen for both the Pirate Adventure and Orientation Weekend programs. Each year, the data from the Pirate Adventure survey is analyzed, and a report is shared with the planning committee for the event. At this point, we have four years of data and so we are able to discern trends that have allowed us to make evidence-based decisions on programming. In addition, by surveying students right after their attendance, we are able to identify and resolve any issues that a new student might have with registration.
  • Conducted a survey of student alcohol use. Drinking behavior is tracked every year through a number of data sources. This type of data has helped to drive the recent decision to create a new position to coordinate prevention initiatives. Going forward, the same data will help to document the effectiveness of this programming.
  • Surveyed student satisfaction levels with SAB programming throughout the academic year, and participated in a national benchmarking project on student activities. Surveys of student satisfaction with programming are a regular part of our assessment agenda. Over the last few years, these assessment projects have allowed us to document the effectiveness of the new student activities fee, and they also help to drive decisions about the types, timing and number of programs offered. In addition, data from the surveys have been useful for marketing events. For example, we are able to state in marketing materials that a majority of students have asked for or enjoyed a certain event that we are offering. We are in the process of analyzing the data from the benchmarking survey. We are hoping that, by comparing our data to those of other institutions, we can identify both areas of strength, and opportunities for further development.

Residence Life

The Department of Residence Life provides housing related services and also creates living learning environments within the residence halls which promote academic success, personal and spiritual development and foster opportunities for students to develop as student leaders and global citizens. In order to ensure continual improvement in our programs and services, HRL conducts a variety of assessment measures on an annual basis:

The results from the annual Educational Benchmarking Incorporated (EBI) survey are used both internally to ensure continual improvement as well as shared institutionally with a variety of offices to enhance satisfaction with the student experience. These offices include Community Development, IT, Business Affairs, Dining Services and Institutional Research. Data is shared with the associate deans of each school or college which is specific to their students.

Each year we ask students to report the number of weekends per month they remain on campus, knowing remaining on campus is connected to satisfaction and retention.   In the 2010- 2011 survey 56.7% of residents reported remaining on campus regularly on weekends with 41.6% being satisfied with weekend programming.

Based on that data, we have modified our programming model to include weekend requirements for Resident Assistants and have been pleased to see not only increases in the number of students remaining on campus for weekends, but also in  their satisfaction with our weekend programming. Our 2013-2014 survey showed 74.6% of students reported staying on campus 3 or more weekends a month and 52.8% reported being moderately to highly satisfied with weekend programming.

Information Technology

When Seton Hall University (SHU) began planning for its Mobile Computing Program in 1995, the University recognized the need to systematically assess the value of the program in support of the University's teaching and learning objectives. With the first large scale pilot of the Mobile Computing Program in 1997, the University launched the Mobile Computing Assessment Program. In the beginning, the Mobile Computing Assessment Program had two primary objectives: (1) To assess the impact of ubiquitous computing on the learning environment at SHU, and (2) To provide prompt feedback to the Mobile Computing Program planning team to continually improve the quality of the program.

As the program has grown and evolved over the past 15 years, the goals have also expanded to include the following:

  • To evaluate the community's level of satisfaction with technology services at the University.
  • To measure the extent of student technology use both inside and outside the classroom.
  • To examine how students are using technology, including the specific tools and functions of the learning management system and other instructional technology tools available at the University.
  • To assess students' self-reported skill level with various tools and procedures involving the use of technology.
  • To identify ways that technology services and practices can be improved and expanded to meet the demands of the Seton Hall community.
  • To compare the survey results of SHU students with students at other institutions.

In order to meet these objectives, annual and biennial surveys are administered to students and faculty, including an Educause sponsored survey that allows us to benchmark against other institutions of higher education.  All instructional technology projects include an assessment component to measure both the success of the project and the degree to which it may have impacted all aspects of the teaching and learning process.

University IT Services administers satisfaction surveys to each customer that utilizes any service offered and  key performance metrics are collected and monitored across the Department of Information Technology to ensure stable and secure systems.  Additionally outside firms are contracted to conduct third party audits, intrusion detection and penetration testing for to meet University security standards.

Institutional Research

The Office of Institutional Research (IR) is responsible for a number of key activities at Seton Hall, including operational planning, managing data for planning and budgeting, and planning and implementing data collection and analysis for a number of divisions across campus.

One of the major undertakings of the Office of IR is the analysis and communication of data from the annual National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). On an annual basis the NSSE survey generates data on student engagement, which is the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educational activities, as well as the resources deployed by the University to engage students inside and outside of the classroom.  Each year, the Office of IR provides a summary of NSSE results for the University, and provides a comparison of our data to that of our peer institutions.  NSSE data from each academic year are provided in the annual Fact Books and housed on the IR website.

In September 2012, the Office of IR compiled a report on Highlights from Seton Hall's then latest NSSE Results + Review of 12 Years of NSSE Outcomes, entitled the NSSE Outcome Report.

The Office of IR regularly communicates the results of the assessment data they collect to the University community. In this way, they assist the entire community in an ongoing effort to engage in continuous improvement.