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Starting this summer, incoming adult learners at Wichita State University can opt in to an online orientation program that provides wellness education and campus resource connections.
Wichita State University
A $10,000 prize from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) will fund a summer bridge program for adult learners at Wichita State University, smoothing their transition into college.
The Adult Learner Community and Connections program, hosted by Wichita State’s Office of Online and Adult Learning, will launch this summer. It started with a transfer student and adult learner orientation on June 22.
The special self-paced orientation provided adult students with wellness insights and peer connections, highlighting available resources and familiarizing learners with the campus, says Brett Bruner, assistant vice president for student success and persistence.
The spark: Wichita State participated in the Urban Adult Learner Institute Program through USU in summer 2023, in which team members dug into career congruence and transition in adult learners’ experiences as students, Bruner explains.
As part of the program, WSU staff entered—and won—the Accelerate Pitch Competition, in which USU members could submit a research-backed approach for funding to scale or sustain an initiative at the institution.
The Adult Learner Community and Connections Program will expand the university’s current summer bridge offerings.
Wichita State offers 13 Shocker Pre-Season programs, named after the university mascot, that take place during the week or two prior to the start of the fall semester. These programs range from supporting students in specific majors (nursing, engineering, mathematics) to student athletes (rowing) and those who may need additional resources (scholarship recipients, those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, first-generation students).
Students who participate in preseason programs are more likely to be engaged on campus in their housing and student employment positions, according to institutional data. Students also have higher GPAs at the end of their first semester and higher rates of fall-to-spring persistence compared to a control group.
Around two-thirds of the university’s adult learners are also first generation, creating an even greater need for proactive outreach around institutional supports and student success.
Lighting the fuse: For the first year, administrators hope to reach 40 students across online and in-person modalities.
After students opt in, they will be able to participate in eight wellness modules housed in the university’s LMS, which each take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Each module introduces students to a different dimension of wellness and the respective offices on campus that can serve them in that dimension.
“The beauty of the Adult Learner Community Connection Program is it is truly self-paced,” Bruner says.
Staff piloted the program with current adult learners, and some completed the whole program in about an hour and a half, while others took time over several days or weeks to engage with the education, which is part of the goal.
Survey Says
Nationally, students who engage in bridge or other pre-academic programs rate their experiences higher. In a 2023 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed, conducted by College Pulse, students who participated in a specialized orientation experience rated their orientation as excellent (43 percent) or good (42 percent) at higher levels compared to their peers who did not. (The survey did not capture the perspectives of adult or nontraditional students).
Two-thirds of students (67 percent) say their orientation helped them feel connected to campus and helped them feel more comfortable accessing resources (60 percent), seven and 16 percentage points higher than their peers, respectively.
“Our adult learners may want to dive into academic well-being because it’s maybe a goal or focus area, and then maybe later in their first semester, they want to dive into physical or emotional or social well-being as well,” Bruner says. “Those resources are going to be there.”
Once students complete a module, they can receive a token from the office or campus partner connected to the learning, such as the career center for career wellness. Students on campus can visit the office or have the token mailed to them if they’re only taking classes online.
The program also includes peer leaders, paid student employees who are adult learners representing a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. Peer leaders will begin outreach to students during the summer and commit to working around two hours per week in talking with new students, connecting them to resources and providing advice.
“As we talked to our students, that’s one thing that they [were] very excited about … ‘I can be up here, I can help share my story, I can help other students as [they’re] transitioning,’” Bruner says.
Plugging in: Wichita State’s adult learner bridge program is relatively unique, one of a few programs geared to this population’s needs.
To build the program, staff considered the theory of differentiated care, a term used in health care to provide client-centered services.
“Recognizing that every student has a different experience, every student has a different story, so not everything [they need] is the same,” Bruner says. “That’s where we landed on the technology-based modules that can be self-paced, but then also infusing that that peer ambassador.”
Student feedback also drove program development. One example was in creating bite-size chunks of information to make it digestible and something that an adult learner could complete as they juggled their other responsibilities.
“When we think about time, place and manner, I think that’s an important key component with student transition is, what makes sense when?” Bruner says. “They’re going to find those resources when they need it, instead of trying to drink from a fire hose and trying to learn everything at once.”
The next shock: Staff will track data to gauge the program’s effectiveness, including engagement with the Office of Online and Digital learning both virtually and in person, module completion, persistence each term and annually, and GPA.
Students will receive notice about the program at in-person and online orientations over the summer and targeted communication prior to the fall term, with the modules opening Aug. 12.
Funding will be applied to purchase incentives for students and employ peer leaders. Staff hope the peer ambassador program will also develop students’ leadership experiences and provide professional development.
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