Talking Stick - January/February 2014 - 35

	 The	development	of	a	sophomore	
success	program	is	an	institutional	
commitment.	A	successful	and	
comprehensive	sophomore	success	
program	is	built	with	many	
partnerships	and	stakeholders	from	
across	campus	in	order	to	serve	
second-year	students	well.	Sophomore	
student	exploration	takes	place	in	the	
classrooms	and	residence	halls	and	by	
means	of	student	activities,	leadership	
development	programs,	career	services,	
high	impact	initiatives	like	community	
service	and	study	abroad	opportunities,	
programs	addressing	lifestyle	and	
wellness	choices,	and	beyond.	

to	welcome	students	back	to	campus,	
reintroduce	them	to	resources	they	were	
exposed	to	in	the	first	year,	set	a	positive	
and	supporting	tone	in	order	to	increase	
student	satisfaction	in	the	second	year,	
and	target	populations	with	lower	
persistence.

new york University
At	New	York	University	(NYU),	secondyear	student	success	is	also	built	on	
coalition	building.	NYU	is	a	large	
private	university	with	more	than	
50,000	students	and	more	than	12,000	

residential	students.	Residential	life	
professional	staff,	faculty,	and	housing	
professionals	come	together	in	order	to	
best	support	second-year	students	in	the	
thriving	metropolis	of	New	York	City.	
NYU	houses	all	its	first-year	students	
in	specific	halls	in	order	to	actualize	
the	first-year	experience	at	the	world's	
largest	private	university	and	within	
the	nation's	largest	city.	NYU	created	a	
marquee	residential	college	program	
for	first-year	students	that	funnels	into	
an	upper-division	residential	college	for	
Continues

50

University of soUth
Carolina, ColUmbia
Jimmie	Gahagan,	Jr.,	director	of	the	
Office	of	Student	Engagement	at	the	
University	of	South	Carolina,	Columbia	
(USC),	sums	up	the	primary	impetus	
of	their	program:	"Connect	the	
second-year	experience	to	institutional	
goals."	Institutional	goals	may	vary,	
but	persistence	and	retention	are	
perpetual.	Connecting	the	second-year	
experience	to	institutional	goals	builds	
partnerships,	indicates	how	resources	
may	be	delivered	to	second-year	students	
through	various	campus	entities,	and	
provides	opportunities	for	campus	
partners	to	share	valuable	and	timely	
data	on	students	within	the	same	cohort.	
	 USC	Columbia	is	a	flagship	
state-supported	institution	located	in	
a	suburban	community	in	the	South.	
The	growing	size	of	first-year	student	
cohorts	at	USC	linked	with	residence	
hall	occupancy	restrictions	created	
an	opportunity	for	the	second-year	
experience	program	to	grow	beyond	
residential	life.	USC	Columbia	
addresses	second-year	students	through	
programs	and	initiatives	mutually	
supported	by	many	campus	partners.	As	
Gahagan	states,	"USC	looks	to	empower	
sophomore	students	to	actualize	the	
exposure	they	received	in	their	first	year	
on	campus."	Campus	partners	come	
together	to	collaborate	on	initiatives	like	
Sophomore	September,	which	aims	

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