SEAHO Report - Summer 2024 - 30

Finding the Why Behind Curriculum:
Part 1
By Nicole Solomon, Rollins College
At a private Liberal Arts residential college, traditions run deep in everything that occurs on campus. Most of
these traditions are welcomed with open arms, especially amongst our students. For example, Fox Day is a
day that is deemed " too perfect for class, " by the president. All classes are canceled, and the campus rejoices
in a day off and spending a picnic together on our main lawn. While this tradition holds importance to many
faculty, staff, and students, the same cannot be said for everything that occurs at Rollins College.
In the Office of Residential Life and Explorations, the office has used a programming model for at least the
past decade. This model involves resident assistants (RAs) putting on an activity that lacks focus and hopes
for attendance. This has been the trend in many of our residence halls, along with increasing dissatisfaction
amongst residential students and RAs. Our students are more different than ever before, and old techniques
and tactics just don't cut it anymore. This is why Rollins is making the effort to move towards a curriculum
model. This process has been arduous and long, but the benefits are worth it. " A curricular approach
systematically transforms the degree of intentionality for designed learning experiences collectively in a
sequenced and integrated way that allows student to maximize their learning in deeper and more meaningful
ways and allows student affairs educators to articulate this learning to students, colleagues, accrediting
bodies, and budget office, " (Kerr, et al., 2020, p. 19).
It should be easy to make the shift, right? As my colleagues and I have found out, yes and no. This process
began with a charge from our Vice President of Student Affairs. Beyond that, all the learning has had to come
from outside resources on how to build a curriculum. Two directors, two ACPA Institutes, and two years later,
our office is almost ready for launch! Part of the difficulty in creating this curriculum is that while it was easy to
think about the amazing things Rollins does, the why was missing. Our archeological dig consisted of not what
to do in our residence hall, but why. The answer lay in those traditions that we love dearly. At Rollins, I truly
believe that 90% of the campus community could recite the college's mission without referencing it: Creating
global citizens and responsible leaders that lead meaningful lives and productive careers. Here lies the " why "
our office was missing when putting on programs prior to this curriculum.
After finding out why, getting others to understand it was a new task. At Rollins, our entire professional staff
of eight individuals, four of those being entry-level. Getting the others on board with the curriculum model
has not been difficult, but it has been challenging to break old habits. To combat this, I've implemented
group readings for our staff. I created a reading guide which included the chapters we would discuss that
week during our staff meeting, as well as questions that would get conversations going. Essentialism by Greg
McKeown is a great read for all Student Affairs professionals; however, this book really sets the tone for the
importance of a curriculum. " Essentialism is not about getting everything done, it's about getting the right
things done, " (McKeown, 2020, p. 5). From here, the entire office staff was better able to understand why
having a department curriculum is essential, and how they can play a role in its success.
As aforementioned, the curriculum has not been fully launched into the residence halls, but we are confident
it will go well! From constructing our educational priority to beginning the process of writing facilitation
guides, I am optimistic that our residential experience will change for the better. After leading a few focus
groups with RAs on their initial thoughts with this model change, their responses were positive. Being an
RA at Rollins lacked the why just as much as the Area Coordinator and Directors. It was always there, but
now it is explicitly stated and practiced that we are creating global citizens and responsible leaders that lead
meaningful lives and productive careers (see what I did there?). This creates purpose behind everything the
office does and now the RAs can find more passion in their work beyond just being policy enforcers. I hate to
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SEAHO Report - Summer 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Summer 2024