Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines. ..

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Recruiting and RetainingMillennial Peer Educators

• Ann Quinn-Zobeck, Ph. D.
• The BACCHUS Network
• The 2007 National Conference for Advisors of Peer
  Education Groups

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Agenda

• Are we any different than they are?
• Who are the millennial college students?
• Recruitment Involvement Theory
• Recruitment Brainstorm
• Retention Harts Ladder of Involvement
• Retention Brainstorm

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Think About Groups You Have Joined

• Discuss with a Partner
• Why did you join the group(s)?
• Why did you stay with the group(s)?
• If you left, why did you leave the group(s)?

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College University Enrollment

• According to the US Census there are 25.5 million
  18-24 year olds living in the United States
• Approximately 31 in this age group are enrolled
  as full or part time students in a two or four
  year college (9,065,848)
• We are in the midst of a decade of record setting
  college enrollments
• SO WHY ARENT OUR PEER GROUPS GROWING?

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College Students in 2007

• Beloit College Mindset List
• Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their
  parents.
• Text messaging is their email.
• The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore
  is about as scary as the student union.
• There has always been a screening test for AIDS.
• Gas has always been unleaded.
• Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
• They have never gotten excited over a telegram, a
  long distance call, or a fax.
• They are wireless, yet always connected.
• Smoking has never been permitted on U.S.
  airlines.
• They have always preferred going out in groups as
  opposed to dating.
• They have always had access to their own credit
  cards.
• "Outing" has always been a threat.

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College Students in 2007

• For many of them today, its all about the
  bling, bling.
• They know who the Heroes in a half shell are.
• Peeps are not a candy, they are your friends.
• They have been dissingand burning things all
  their lives.
• They knew how to pop a Popple and trade a Pog.
• They can still sing the rap chorus to the Fresh
  Prince of Bel-Air and the theme song from Duck
  Tales

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Millennial Generation

• Colleges and universities will buzz with
  activity, change, new pressures, and new
  arguments. School spirit and the quality of
  college life (dorms, food, library reading rooms)
  will enjoy an upswing, fueled by fussy Boomer
  parents who will have more than the usual trouble
  letting go. Grades, honor codes, internet
  behavior, and cheating on exams will all become
  major issues.
• Strauss Howe 2000

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The Millennial Generation
As a group, Millennials are unlike any other
youth generation in living memory. They are more
numerous, more affluent, better educated, and
more ethnically diverse. More important they are
beginning to manifest a wide array of positive
social habitsOver the next decade, the
Millennial Generation will entirely recast image
of youth as downbeat and alienated to upbeat and
engaged. Howe Strauss, 2000
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Millennial Generation
SO WHY ARENT OUR PEER GROUPS GROWING?
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Astins Theory of Involvement

• The involved student one who devotes
  considerable energy to academics, spends much
  time on campus, participates actively in student
  organizations and activities, and interacts often
  with faculty (Astin, 1984)
• More you are involved more you learn

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Payne DiRamio, Auburn University

• Interviewed highly involved students in
  leadership classes
• Reasons for involvement
• Job preparation
• Need to belong
• Insecure
• Responsibility to give back
• Have fun and meet people

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Payne DiRamio continued

• Millennials feel a lot of pressure to be
  involved
• From parents
• From society
• From peers
• From self

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Recruitment Brainstorm

• How Are You Recruiting?
• How do you get the word out?
• Active
• Passive
• How visible is your group?
• How are you targeting possible recruits?
• How are your current members explaining the group
  to others?
• Do you shoulder tap?
• What are the benefits to joining group?

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Recruiting Brainstorm

• When are you recruiting?
• Orientation
• Beginning or end of semesters
• All year-round

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Recruiting Brainstorm

• Who is Doing the Recruiting?
• Advisors
• Peer Educators
• Introverts
• Extroverts
• Other Students
• RAs
• Student Leaders/Mentors
• Faculty and Staff

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Recruiting Brainstorm

• Who Are You Recruiting?
• Targeting certain sub populations?
• Want to help/create change vs. want to control?
• Introverts vs. extroverts
• Leaders and followers
• Insecure vs. confident

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Time to Update Astins Research?

• Payne DiRamio, Auburn University
• Survey of 888 freshman and sophomores
• ?Involvement ?Learning
• ?Involvement ?Stress
• ?Involvement ?Self-Efficacy

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Payne DiRamio continued

• The retention piece
• They are used to being busy all the time
• They become over involved
• They become unhealthy
• Results
• They are forced to cut back
• Some learn how to balance or cope
• Others continue to be over involved stay
  unhealthy

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Retaining Millennials

• Rebekah Nathan
• My Freshman Year
• Many students are working while going to school
• Have a much wider range of significant demands on
  their time
• They regulate their academic load, workload, and
  extracurricular load, often doing no more than is
  necessary

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Involvement Must Be MeaningfulRoger Harts Ladder
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Degrees of Participation

• 8) Young people-initiated, shared decisions with
  adults decision-making is shared between young
  people and adults
• 7) Young people-initiated and directed young
  people initiate and direct a project or program
  and adults are only in a supportive role.
• 6) Adult-initiated, shared decisions with young
  people project or programs are initiated by
  adults but decision making is shared with young
  people.
• 5) Consulted and informed young people give
  advice on projects or programs designed and run
  by adults
• 4) Assigned but informed young people are
  assigned a specific role and are informed about
  how and why they are being involved.
• 3) Tokenism young people appear to be given a
  voice, but in fact have little or no choice.
• 2) Decoration young people are used to help or
  bolster a cause in a relatively indirect way,
  although adults do not pretend that the cause is
  inspired by young people.
• 1) Manipulation adults use young people to
  support causes and pretend that the causes are
  inspired by young people.

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Retention Brainstorm

• Meetings
• When do you meet?
• Where do you meet?
• What happens during meetings?
• What roles do students have during the meetings?
• How do you welcome new members into meetings?

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Retention Brainstorm

• How Can We Help Them Fit Our Group Into Their
  Lives?
• Time commitment
• Credit
• Pay
• Other Benefits?

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Retention Brainstorm

• How Can We Make Involvement Meaningful?
• Are they empowered to make decisions?
• Do they feel a sense of ownership?
• Do you build in time to reflect?

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Retention Brainstorm

• How Do We Make It Fun?
• What do you celebrate?
• Are you meeting social needs?
• Are you building a team?

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Retention Brainstorm

• Communication
• How do you communicate?
• When do you communicate?
• Recognition
• What behaviors/activities do you recognize?
• How do you recognize students?

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Suggestions

• Ask your students
• What attracted you to this group?
• Name 3 thing you like best about being a part of
  this group?
• What do you get from belonging to this group?
• What do you contribute to the group?
• How have you recruited people to this group?
• What one thing could be done to improve the
  group?
• What talents should we be looking for in new
  members?

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Suggestions

• Four Components of Recognition
• Acknowledgement make people feel welcome,
  introduce new people at meeting, use name tags,
  mention contributions
• Attention ask for everyones opinion, include
  members in decision making, ask members to build
  agendas
• Feedback ask for feedback, take suggestions, ask
  for outside opinions
• Praise certificates, member of the week/month,
  reward with small items, public thank yous

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• Ann Quinn-Zobeck
• ann_at_bacchusnetwork.org
• 303-971-0901