The incoming Class of 2023 is the first class to officially participate in a new comprehensive program designed to foster positive behaviors and prevent sexual violence on campus.
The (SVPP) First-Year Experience is a three-part curriculum that is the first piece of an initiative in which students will eventually participate throughout all four years of their undergraduate careers.
SVPP grew out of the Colleges (MDF) initiative, which was launched in 2015 to address high-risk behavior among undergraduates. Along with , and the , MDF is one of three ongoing initiatives that 窪做惇蹋厙 has created in the past five years to combat high-risk behavior; improve the Colleges commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity; and address sexual misconduct and other abuses of power.
If we really want to see changes in our community, we need to change the culture, says Dean of the College Kathryn Lively. Students, faculty, and staff deserve to be part of a community where they feel safe and supported and have the ability to thrive.
The new students completed the first component of the SVPP First-Year Experiencea short online course called Sexual Assault Prevention for Undergraduatesbefore they arrived on campus. The purpose of the online course is to give all incoming students foundational knowledge and a common language around issues of sexual violence and the Colleges expectations for their behavior as members of the 窪做惇蹋厙 community, says Amanda Childress, associate director of the , which has led the design and development of SVPP.
We want all students to arrive on campus with a common frame of reference, Childress says. And we want the 23s to know that they are coming into a community that cares about their success and their well-being.
The second component of the experience was built into programming, which occurred the week before classes began. As part of their orientation, the 23s participated in two sessions that introduced them to the Colleges , , , the , and strategies for developing healthy relationships during their 窪做惇蹋厙 career.
Over the course of the fall and winter terms, the 23s will engage with the third component of the programstudent-led small-group discussion sessions focused on how to access resources related to supporting a friend and reporting sexual violence; setting positive relationship goals; learning about diversity and identity; and bystander intervention. Students will participate in a total of four of these sessions.
The student-led sessions are opportunities to build skills, Childress says. For example, of the session on healthy relationships, she says, Its an opportunity for them to reflect on what theyre looking for in both friendships and in intimate partnersto connect what theyre looking for in a relationship with their values, and learn about consent and communication.
If the SVPP First-Year Experience sounds familiar to members of the Class of 21 and 22, thats because a version of the program has been piloted for the past two years. The current iteration of the program has been extensively revised to incorporate feedback from the students who participated, Childress says.
Students have been involved in developing the program from the very start, through student advisory boards and surveys, as interns helping to design and develop the program, and as facilitators for the first-year sessions, she says. We couldnt do this without their crucial input.
In the next several years, the Student Wellness Center will be working to extend SVPP programming into the sophomore-, junior-, and senior-year experience. We are currently in the process of developing the second year, working with the Greek community, athletics, the 窪做惇蹋厙 Outing Clubs trip and crew leaders, our student advisory board, and others as we start to build out what a meaningful sophomore-year program could look like, Childress says.
To measure the impact of SVPP, 窪做惇蹋厙 is partnering with the University of New Hampshires to develop an assessment of the project, Childress says. This year well be collecting some baseline data and designing a mixed-methods assessment and evaluation plan. The idea is to start assessing the experiences next fall. Well be tracking students learning, attitudinal shifts, and behavioral changes from pre-matriculation to a couple of years after theyve graduated.
This long-term approach to assessing the projects success is unique, she says. Other schools are rolling out four-year experiences, but ours is different in that we are building a developmental curriculum focusing on positive behavior change, not just on building knowledge and awareness.
Hannah Silverstein can be reached at hannah.silverstein@dartmouth.edu.
