Being a successful student may now become easier with the support and help from MAP-Works, a program launched to lead freshmen and prepare them for graduation.

In order to assist students with their first year on campus, the office of the vice president for student affairs and the department of residence have launched the Making Achievements Possible program, or MAP-Works, to assess the challenges students face.

“Our goal is to get students across the stage … you do best when you have a support system and we hope to equip students with that support system,” said Pete Englin, director of the department of residence.

Ball State University created the MAP program nearly 20 years ago, and since then partnered with Educational Benchmarking Inc to create MAP-Works, an online assessment providing feedback to students’ goals and matching them with services and areas of campus that could help make a successful start at Iowa State.

Since its creation, 40 institutions have used or are using the program.

Ginny Arthur, associate director of the department of residence, was introduced to MAP-Works at an annual conference through the Association of College and University Housing Officers International in the summer of 2007. Arthur said she brought the idea to Iowa State because of the connections it makes.

“It’s very powerful and ultimately you can decide to connect different staff members to the information about specific students,” she said.

Arthur, a co-coordinator of the project, along with Mary Jo Gonzales, associate dean of students and director of the Academic Success Center, said this connection will help advisers, students and the university.

“It’s a chance for staff to zero in to them [students] quickly and offer them support,” she said.

Englin said the assessment takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. He said he thought the time is time well-spent.

“We’re excited to give students an opportunity to reflect and take advantage of our services early,” Englin said.

Gonzales summed up her view toward MAP-Works:

“I think MAP-Works puts a tool in the hands of students to help them be successful college students,” she said.

By the afternoon of Sept. 14, 17.4 percent of the freshman class had responded to the survey. By Sept. 15, nearly 21 percent had completed the survey.

Although this is the project’s first year at Iowa State, Gonzales said he already had ideas as to how the survey results can be used in the Academic Success Center.

She said student responses will help determine the areas in which more tutors are necessary and what additional information students need.

The cost of the project is expected to be $52,000 between the survey, cost of analyses and incentives. The dean of students office will pay for the assessment for freshmen living off campus — approximately 500 students — while the department of residence will pick up the tab for the approximately 4,000 freshmen living on campus.

“It costs about $8 per student, but we look at the benefits and we believe it’s a great value,” Englin said.

The incentives for completing the survey include one $3 coupon for Cold Stone Creamery, 1310 S. Duff. Ave., Dairy Queen, Flying Burrito, 2712 Lincoln Way, or Pizza Pit, 207 Welch Ave. #201, or a free smoothie from ISU Dining retail outlets. Additionally, students living on campus will have the chance to win free room and board for one year. On-campus ‘houses’ with 80 percent participation will receive a pizza party.

Arthur said she hopes the incentives will motivate more students to take part in the program.

“It’s better to incent than it is to require,” Arthur said, regarding the program. “Ball State has 85 percent participation rate, largely because of the incentives but also because it’s more of a norm, and that’s what we’d like it to become eventually,” she said.

In order for students to receive the incentives, surveys must be completed through AccessPlus by Sept. 30.

SIDEBAR:

MAP-Works process:

    1.    Log onto AccessPlus

    2.    Click on the “Student” tab

    3.    Click on MAP-Works

    4.    Print confirmation page and take to CA (on-campus) or Academic Success Center (off-campus residents).

    5.    Utilize personal results as a tool to succeed.

— Information provided by the department of residence and the Academic Success Center.