Assessment for the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership Development Regarding

Student Leadership and Career Skills Development at Northern Illinois University

Prepared by Payton Albrecht, Christopher McBride, Alejandro Rico & Shakaria Smith

Northern Illinois University

Fall 2018

Executive Summary

The following is the assessment project created and executed by the team working in

collaboration with the office of Student Involvement & Leadership Development (SILD) to

analyze and assess the effectiveness of SILD not only in developing student leaders throughout

their time at Northern Illinois University (NIU), but also in their professional development

afterwards. The assessment team set out to determine whether the SILD office is providing

student leaders the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace after graduation through the

development of career and leadership skills. The experience of executive board members is

important to be able to determine whether SILD is doing enough to set these students up for

success, or what else might be done to make students feel ready for future career aspirations.

This document contains data that explains the importance of student involvement on

campus, such as transforming students into leaders and having academic performance due to

GPA requirements related to leadership roles. Student leaders also tend to perform above

average and stay out of trouble as they are viewed as role models, which pushes them to want to

be better. Likewise, these students are more successful professionally after graduation due to the

skills they developed from their campus involvement experiences.

The assessment conducted in this document was done via three different methods;

a survey completed by fifty-two student organization executive board members, a focus group

with two participants supplemented by two individual interviews, a document analysis including

six student resumes, and an interview with the campus partner regarding the role and vision of

Leadership Academy.

The four skills identified by the students who participated in the assessment as having

been most developed through their role as executive board members are communication,
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leadership, collaboration, and public speaking. The results show executive board members feel

they have developed numerous skills and grown in different areas within the top four reported

skills.

In collaboration, the participants listed being able to function as part of a larger

organization, team-work, finding common goals, problem solving and working with different

organizations as the biggest takeaways.

Public speaking was not discussed in detail besides being named as one of the skills

students wanted to improve on when they took their position and has been successfully

developed. It is important to note most students did not know about the Leadership Academy

and its benefits, including the presentation to complete the Leadership Academy which will tie

directly into public speaking. The Leadership Academy was only mentioned by one participant

and they had said they could not remember what it consisted of.

Communication was listed as a skill that would be used in the future careers of the

executive board members. Learning how to successfully network, speaking to others, sharing

their ideas more comfortably, and motivating others were some of the biggest takeaways

mentioned under their development of the communication skill. Communication styles were also

touched upon as something that had been learned. One thing to note, however, is that despite the

importance given to communication skills development through the focus group and surveys,

this was not reflected within the student resumes.

Leadership skills were listed within the resumes and were reported to be expected to be

useful in the future careers of executive board members. Getting approval from others,

becoming more productive, and stepping up to the plate to take initiative when a task needs to

get done were mentioned within the leadership skill development data.
 4

The recommendations from the student leaders include: increased funding to help with

marketing their organizations, more workshops or conference funding to help further develop

student leaders, being more intentional with the way executive board positions relate to their

future careers goals, and dissatisfaction with Huskie Link as an online portal for organizations on

campus.

The assessment team’s recommendations echo the student leader recommendations with

funding, more developmental workshops, and an improvement to Huskie Link. Additionally, the

team suggests reevaluating and streamlining of the Leadership Academy so more students know

about it and thus benefit from the program. A partnership with Career Services, especially in the

form of a resume workshop, would likely help executive board members include their positions

and skills on their resumes in meaningful ways.

 5

Introduction

The Student Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD) Office at Northern

Illinois University (NIU) is a function of the university that oversees numerous campus life

involvement opportunities. The SILD office facilitates and supports student organizations,

fraternity and sorority life, and the campus activity board. The office also works closely with

numerous community service functions of the university and works intentionally to develop

students into leaders. The mission of the SILD Office states, “Student Involvement and

Leadership Development (SILD) is dedicated to engaging students and the university community

in campus life through intentional programs, and resources that facilitate holistic development”

(Northern Illinois University, 2018). The office is centrally located in the Campus Life Building,

but the student organizations have reach far across NIU’s campus.

The purpose of this assessment was to understand what career development skills

students identified gaining in their leadership positions. The assessment team used a survey,

focus group, document review, and staff interview to provide information regarding student

satisfaction with the support systems SILD has in place, the development of career skills as a

result of executive board membership, the inclusion and descriptions of leadership positions on

student resumes, and context information about the developmental opportunities SILD currently

provides. The goal of the assessment team is to highlight the successful practices the SILD

office has employed, and to bring attention to needs presented by data results and those expressly

stated by the student leaders.

Benefits of Student Involvement

Astin’s (1999) student development theory discusses the significance of student

involvement as an important factor of a student’s success on campus. Astin (1999) defined

 6

involvement as the “amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the

academic experience” (p. 518). The academic experience for a college student branches out to a

number of factors aside from class meetings, textbook readings, exams, and papers to include

factors such as time spent on campus, participation in extracurricular experiences, building

relationships with faculty and staff, and other components of campus life. The theory posits that

the more time and energy spent on the academic experience, the more successful the student will

become (Astin, 1999). Astin conducted a longitudinal study of college students and the

relationship between the college environment and student persistence in 1975. The findings of

that study revealed students who were not involved on campus were more likely to drop out than

students who were highly involved (Astin, 1975). Of particular significance to the subject of this

assessment project is the finding that “students who join social fraternities or sororities or

participate in extracurricular activates of almost any type” (p. 523) have a lower dropout rate

than those who do not (Astin, 1999). The population examined in this assessment project not

only participate in, but serve as leaders of the fraternities, sororities, and student organizations

they participate in.

Clear and beneficial outcomes result from student engagement and organizational

membership (Astin, 1999, Harris, 2004). However, it is important to consider which students

become involved and enjoy such benefits. Students who are enrolled as full-time students and

residential students are typically more active and engaged on campus. Residential students enjoy

the particular benefit and ease of a high level of engagement because they live directly on

campus and are able to utilize the time a commuter student might use on their drive in their

activities or completing coursework to make time for their organizational involvement. Full-

time students also typically have less off-campus obligations as compared to their part-time
 7

counterparts. Full-time and residential student statuses allow for more time in general not only

to become involved on campus, but to explore and take advantage of other valuable educational

opportunities (Kuh, et al, 2006). It is important to consider these variables in terms of how

organizational leadership positions are structured and marketed to all students, as part-time or

non-residential students may have more obligations and responsibilities to negotiate than some of

their peers.

Skill Development Through Leadership Experiences

Over the last several decades the nature of technology, organizational structures, and

tasks in the work place have changed some of the skills employers desire their employees to

possess. The modern workplace has transformed from an environment where one or few

supervisory roles oversee day to day worker tasks and in which only those in high up positions

make important, collaborative decisions into an environment where workers operate with

heightened autonomy and must work collaboratively across the different levels of the

organization on a regular basis. While technical skills are still important and desirable, there has

been a trend toward the hard skills being weighted equally or lesser important than soft skills

depending on the field of work (Brungardt, 2011).

While current employers understand the value of a higher education degree and tend to

agree that college environments contribute to divergent and inventive thinking, employers do not

have complete confidence in the level of career preparation graduates have by the point they

attain their degree. In particular, some employers find low levels of competency within three

particular areas within their new hires; skillsets: “the ability to collaborate effectively with

others” (p. 2), critical thinking skills, and communication skills, particularly across different
 8

levels of an organization. These skills, which are difficult to measure and teach directly, are

often referred to as soft skills (Brungardt, 2011).

In an effort to address this need and satisfy the needs of employers, many institutions

have developed and implemented leadership education efforts such as leadership majors and

certificates. However, leadership ability and soft skills are desired across a breadth of different

disciplines and career tracks (Brungardt, 2011). Not all institutions offer such degrees and

certificates, and many students cannot fit such courses into their educational tracks. Student

leadership opportunities may serve as another pathway to developing the soft skills that make a

job candidate attractive to potential employers.

Twenty-First Century Skills

Applied Educational Systems (2018) outline additional skills desired by today’s

employers. These skills include: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication,

informational literacy, media literacy, technology literacy, flexibility, leadership, initiative,

productivity, and social skills (Applied Educational Systems, 2018). These skills are cited to

specifically enable current students to emerge into a competitive market and workplace prepared.

The skills are further broken down into three categorized skillsets: learning skills which focus on

“mental processes”, literacy skills which focus on the ability to navigate different information

sources, and life skills which focus on an individual’s developmental process. The ability to

develop soft skills within and across skillsets is advantageous to employees and make them more

sought after by employers eager to hire candidates with transferrable and flexible skills that can

adapt to the fluid nature of the market and ongoing technological advances (Applied Educational

Systems, 2018).

Data Collection Methods

 9

Data collection methods utilized for this assessment included survey data, a focus group,

a document review, and an individual interview. A survey was created and used to gather

general information about the satisfaction of executive board members with their career

development as a result of their involvement and satisfaction with SILD. The assessment team

chose to host a focus group comprised of survey respondents to learn more about SILD success

and shortcomings in student support through a facilitated conversation. The survey asked

specifically about the level to which students agreed they had attained or improved certain career

development skills.

Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted. These interviews focused on a

more in-depth discussion on how student leaders make sense of and recognize the skills gained

from serving in an executive board capacity. A document review was conducted on student

resumes to examine how often and in what ways student leaders included their executive board

positions on their resume. Finally, an interview was conducted between a member of the

assessment team and the campus client from the SILD Office to gain more context about

developmental workshops, opportunities, and Leadership Academy. Additional information

regarding the assessment team’s methods can be found in Appendix A.

Demographic and Response Rates

Surveys were sent to 1142 students and 52 students completed the survey. The majority

of respondents were between the ages of 18-24 with one respondent that was 42. Results from

the survey indicated students do not typically hold executive positions until their sophomore

year. The majority of executive board position holding student leaders on campus are juniors

and seniors. Seventeen students held the position of presidents, eight were vice presidents,

thirteen were treasurers, seven were programmers, five were secretaries, eight had public
 10

relations or marketing roles, and ten identified as “other”. It is important to note the participants

were able to self-identify as more than one position. Focus group included two student leaders.

Two additional students were interviewed using the same questions from the focus for a total of

four interviews. Additionally, six resumes were collected and analyzed.

Results

Nearly all survey respondents (94%) responded affirmatively that their executive

positions contributed to their career development. Students were able to identify numerous skills

they developed through their involvement in student leadership positions. These skills included

collaboration, public speaking, communication, leadership, time management, critical thinking,

flexibility, productivity, and interpersonal skills. For this report, we will focus on the top four

skills reported by student leaders. These skills were collaboration, public speaking, leadership,

and communication. Complete survey results can be found in Appendix C.

Collaboration

The survey asked students the degree to which they agreed with the notion their

collaboration skills had improved due to their executive board position. Responses of “strongly

agree” and “agree” made up 86.5% of responses. Of the remaining participants, 7.6%

“somewhat agreed”, for a total of 94.1% of agreement that they improved in the area of

collaboration.

When students were asked why they felt their position led to their skill development in

collaboration, one student wrote:

This prepared me to work with others… With so many different personalities and egos

[it] is hard to work with but I learned you can still operate a team or with a team with all
 11

of the personalities and ego, just need to make sure everyone is on the same page and

have the same goal.

Respondents indicated being able to function and be productive as part of a larger unit, either as

a single organization or together with other organizations, as important.

Several of the questions asked in the interviews provided insight to the ways in which

student leaders recognize the development of their collaborative skills. Participants indicated

problem solving in organizations that related to collaboration. They discussed working together

as a team and coming together to reach a solution. When asked what the students’ specific

position has offered, one person stated, “I love to work with organizations, coordinate, and

organize things.” This comment and others indicated that collaborative experiences from

executive board members have been positive and productive learning opportunities.

In the document review examining resumes, collaboration was not listed specifically by

name or in detail in any of the resumes. Only one student leader alluded to any collaboration of

interpersonal skills utilized from a position on their resume at all. It is important to note that

collaboration was the skill that the most student leaders who took the survey demonstrated they

developed as a result of their leadership position, but it only appeared in one out of the six

resumes the assessment team reviewed.

Public Speaking

Public speaking was another top four skill according to the survey respondents. Of the

survey participants, 92.3% responded “agree” or “strongly agree” that their leadership position

helped them improve their public speaking. Respondents indicated public speaking was an

important skills to their career preparation. One student responded by sharing the executive

board position had helped them prepare for a future career. The student stated: “Because as a
 12

therapist, I will have to do a lot of public speaking”. Not all of the results use the exact term

“public speaking” but discuss perceived improvement in multiple aspects of public speaking.

The frequent mention of different components of public speaking suggests it is an area of notable

improvement amongst executive board members. The positions of the students who provided

these comments included presidents, programmers, secretaries, and public relations roles.

During interviews, student leaders indicated speaking in front of others was a leadership

and career development skill they hoped to get out of their experience. Students commented

that, “I learned how to talk in front of crowds”. In the open ended Qualtrics results, a student

noted, “… it taught me how to be a people person and get people out to things”, which touches

on the importance of influence in communication. Across the interviews and the survey results,

student indicated that public speaking was an important skill they gained in their leadership

position. Moreover, they saw the development of this skill as important to their career

development.

In the interview conducted between the assessment team and Van Ewyk, Leadership

Academy was an opportunity for the development of public speaking skills. Leadership

Academy requires students to give a presentation on how they met the requirements for each tier

of the program and draw connections to their leadership experience. This presentation is

typically given to a SILD staff member who served as the student leader’s individual mentor for

the course of their Leadership Academy completion. Unfortunately, 98% of respondents

indicated they had not participated in the Leadership Academy.

Public speaking skills were not mentioned in the resumes submitted to the assessment

team. One resume described that communication occurred across organizations but did not

suggest speaking in front of a crowd or presenting skills. While student leaders reported public
 13

speaking skills as one of the skills they felt had best developed in the Qualtrics survey, this was

not reflected on resumes.

Communication Skills

Respondents also indicated improving their communication skills. Ninety-four percent of

respondents indicating they either “strongly agreed”, “agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that their

communication skills had improved. In written responses, student leaders indicated they had

opportunities to networking, speaking to others, sharing ideas, and motivating others. One

student shared, “Because as a therapist… I will need to be able to know how to communicate

with others both verbal(ly) and written.” Another student connected the importance of

communication and networking in reporting, “It helped me connect to the people/students who

share the same major as me. Moreover, it helped build my communication skills.”

The participants discussed increasing communication skills as a skill they wanted to gain

from their leadership experience. They also felt they would use these communication skills they

developed in their executive board positions later in their careers. During interviews, seem very

aware of the importance of communication skills and the need to varied approaches to meet

different communication styles. One participant shared, “I’m currently a psychology major. My

position and my long-term goal is to become a psychologist for adolescents. I will need

communication skills and people skills. My position here has helped me develop in many

ways.” A second participant stated, “With me being a kinesiology major, my plan is to be an

athletic training. My current position taught me how to deal with people.” It is clear that

students recognized the need for strong communication skills, especially in the helping

professions.
 14

Survey results and interviews indicated that students’ communication skills were

strengthened through their leadership experience. Unfortunately, these skills did not seem to

translate to their resumes. Communication skills and descriptions were not present on the

resumes despite the importance given to the development of this skills. The assessment team

noticed that many students didn’t have resume material discussing communication skills. It is

evidenced that students recognized the development and use of communication skills through

their responses during focus groups and in the Qualtrics survey. While students are gaining

communication skills through their positions, it appears they need additional guidance in how to

communicate these skills in application materials and written formats such as resumes.

Leadership

When it came to leadership skills, 94.0% of student leaders agreed that their leadership

position had increased their leadership skills. In the open-ended responses, respondents

indicated connections between their leadership role and skill development such as, “Leadership

roles translate very well to management positions, a lot of the same skills”. Another student

responded, “I want to be a police officer and being able to lead others while protecting them and

having self-control is a big deal”. A third student answered, “It has helped me with my career

because I plan to study the workplace and learning leadership skills, traits and how to run a team

will all help in the future when I work with organizations”.

The interview participants were asked about how their position on the executive board

had contributed to their leadership development. One student noted that, “being a co-vice

president of an organization has helped with my leadership skills,” and also mentioned an

increase in their ability to organize and utilize their people skills. Another student shared that,
 15

“being on the e-board has helped me become a leader instead of just a worker. It also taught

me how to step up if someone isn’t doing their job.”

Students were also able to imagine using the leadership skills they had learned from

their executive board position in their future career. One student noted their leadership skill

development allowed the entire organization to become more productive. Students shared

examples of their increased leadership skills including: “taking initiative to make sure things

get done”, “other people seeking your approval helps you make good choices”, and “my

position taught me if something doesn’t get done someone has to do it.” During the

conversations, students were able to discuss how they were making sense of their growing

leadership abilities.

Leadership skills were also one of the few skills that appeared on the resumes collected

from student leaders. However, nearly all of the bullets included on the resumes either restate

the title of the position without providing many details of what leadership within the role looks

like, or only focus on administrative responsibilities of the position. Student leaders did not

name “leadership” specifically or include bullets that detail the actual skills developed that

relate to leadership.

Student Suggestions for SILD

At the end of the survey, respondents were able to provide feedback and suggestions

regarding career development opportunities. Many students suggested more funding be provided

for their organization to enable organizations to host more programs and events. Several student

responses in the Qualtrics survey discussed collaborative, planning, and communication skills

increasing as a result of developing programming. Students may view larger budgets as an

opportunity to host more programming and continue to develop the skills they have associated
 16

with programming and money management. Students also felt if SILD provided more

workshops and conferences, those opportunities could help student leaders become more

efficient within their positions. These included sessions on internships, Conversations On

Diversity and Equity (CODE) workshops, and sessions relating student involvement

opportunities to various majors. According to the student leaders who participated in the focus

group, required meetings should be limited to executive board members.

The Leadership Academy offered by SILD has a low attendance rate for student leaders

on campus based on survey responses. A total of 52 students took the survey and only one stated

they had attended Leadership Academy and only five students indicated they had attended two or

more professional development sessions. One of the participants did not remember if Leadership

Academy was a requirement or not, and as a result did not know if they had even completed the

program. Given 94% of respondents had not attended the Leadership Academy, some of their

suggestions for increased professional development might already be happening.

Few students attended the Leadership Academy or professional development sessions

offered by SILD. One student commented: “I attended my freshman year but didn’t see the point

of it anymore. It was a little boring and by joining organizations and stepping up to be a leader I

grew on my own as a leader.” It is important to note, however, that this participant also said they

had not attended a single professional development workshop this year. Leadership Academy

has great potential to be a meaningful, developmental tool for student leaders, however students

appear to be disengaged or unaware of the structure, value, and process of Leadership Academy.

Suggestions for Future Student Leadership Development

The assessment team would recommend SILD reevaluate the workshops and

developmental sessions offered to student leaders. Student leaders actively suggested sessions
 17

focused on diversity. The lack of resumes and infrequent inclusion of executive board positions

on resumes would suggest sessions focused on helping student leaders verbalize their leadership

skills in resumes and for interviews could be useful to students. Additional developmental

opportunities of this nature could help students learn more about leadership and efficiency in

their position. Although, SILD provides conferences and workshops throughout the school year,

based on the survey and focus group there are few students who attend. Workshop and

conference topics geared towards student interest and desired career skills may help promote

attendance.

Reevaluating and streamlining the Leadership Academy experience or creating a similar

process specifically for executive board members, might also be a successful way to incorporate

mentorship, boost attendance, and help student leaders recognize the skills

development. Student leaders do not seem to understand the purpose or process of Leadership

Academy. Learning more about student perceptions and the outcomes that might make

Leadership Academy more attractive to students with busy schedules might be a way to make the

experience more popular and memorable. SILD might also consider making a certain number of

workshops and conference mandatory for student leaders or executive board members in order

for them to attend.

Student resumes suggested students either do not have strong resume writing skills or are

not recognizing the skills they are developing as valid enough to include on a resume. Executive

board roles and the skill attainment that comes with such roles lead to the development of soft

skills that employers are looking for. Many students did not include their leadership position,

and even fewer listed bullets or any information about what the role itself entailed. In order for
 18

student leaders to fully benefit from their leadership involvement, SILD should work to create a

partnership with Career Services to focus specifically on resume writing and skill recognition.

The assessment team suggests SILD become more involved with student leaders and in

organizations on campus. Although it may be impossible for SILD to know every student leader

on campus the assessment team thinks it is important for student leaders to be more familiar with

the department as a whole. It is also important students know about all the resources that SILD

has to offer. The SILD office is one of the primary resources for student-run organizations on

campus, and as such it would benefit student organizations to know the office personnel and be

assigned a contact or advisor within the office. It is important that SILD upholds their mission of

“engaging students, and the university community in campus life through intentional programs,

and resources that facilitate holistic development” (Northern Illinois University, 2018).
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References

Adejumo, M. (2017). Beyond socioeconomic status: The impact of principal leadership in

urban and high poverty turnaround schools. Seton Hall University Dissertations and

Theses (ETDs). 2290. Retrieved from https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/229

Applied Education Systems. (2018). What Are 21st Century Skills? Applied Education Systems.

Retrieved from https://www.aeseducation.com/careercenter21/what-are-21st-century-

skills

Astin, A.W. (1975). Preventing students from dropping out. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Astin, A.W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education.

Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529.

Brungardt, C. (2011). The intersection between soft skill development and leadership

education. Journal of Leadership Education, 10(1), 1-22.

Campus Labs. (2018). Using data to transform higher education. Campus Labs. Retrieved from

https://www.campuslabs.com/

Harris, A. (2004). Distributed leadership and school improvement: Leading or

misleading? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 32(1), 11–24.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143204039297

Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek J. C. (2006). What Matters to

Student Success: A Review of the Literature. National Symposium on Postsecondary

Student Success: Spearheading a Dialog on Student Success, NPEC, 1-151. Retrieved

From https://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/Kuh_Team_Report.pdf

Northern Illinois University. (2018). Student Involvement and Leadership Development.

Northern Illinois University. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/studentinvolvement/

 20

Robinson, V. M., Lloyd, C. A., & Rowe, K. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student

outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational

administration quarterly, 44(5), 635-674.

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Appendix A

Assessment Methods

The researchers designed their own survey to administer to all 1142 executive board

position holding student leaders. The survey was created using Qualtrics software. The purpose

of the survey was to identity if undergraduate students are gaining transferable skills within their

leadership positions in their organizations. The survey also collected information to determine

whether or not student’s skills within their organization may be beneficial for their future

professions. A total of 52 student leaders took the survey resulting in a participation rate of

4.55% participation. The survey consisted of multiple choice and open-ended response

questions. The survey was sent to executive board members via email by Jennifer Van Ewyk on

October 26, 2018 and closed on November 16, 2018.

The focus group consisted of undergraduate student leaders who hold executive positions

within their organization. The researchers chose to utilize focus groups in the assessment to

allow for direct interaction with other students. Focus groups can help us have a better

understanding about other student’s beliefs, experiences and feelings, which the focus group

found important in an assessment project focused on satisfaction with developmental and career

preparation support. The researchers had two participants that were participants in our focus

group. Two additional individual student interviews were conducted to help supplement the

focus group information. The goal of the focus group questions was to allow the assessment

team to analyze different themes, topics categories that are participants were gaining from being

a student leader within their organization.

The assessment team found it important to learn about what experiences and skills

executive board members gained from their leadership experience. In order to understand if and
 22

how students included leadership positions on their resumes, the assessment team decided to

conduct a document review. The main priority of the document review was to determine if

student leaders were including their membership on their executive boards and what common

themes or skills were present in the resumes.

In approaching the document review, we found it important to note how often, under

what category, and what associated skills executive board positions listed on the resumes. The

assessment team requested resumes be submitted in their current state, without being modified.

We requested the resumes be submit in their current state for the purpose of authenticity and to

avoid student leaders editing the resumes to fit any expectations they felt the assessment team

may have. The assessment team also asked any executive board position holding student leader

who did not have a resume to please send an email stating they did not have a resume.

In total, the assessment team received six resumes from current executive board

members. No one emailed in saying they did not have a resume. All of the submissions were

made by female students, although the request was sent out to the entire population of executive

board members.

The assessment team interviewed Jennifer Van Ewyk, the Assistant Program Director of

Student Involvement and Leadership Development (J. Van Ewyk, personal communication,

November 20, 2018). The assessment team needed more information about Leadership

Academy and what type of developmental sessions were offered to student leaders.
 23

Appendix B

Qualtrics Survey Questions and Programing Flow

Default Question Block

Block Options

Q1

Name

Q2

Age

Q4

What is your current year in school?

• Freshman

• Sophomore

• Junior

• Senior

Q5

Please list the organizations you belong to:

Q3

What leadership positions do you currently hold? Select all that apply.

• President

• Vice President

• Treasurer

• Secretary

• Marketing/Public

• Relations
 24

• Programming

• Other

Q6

List any past executive board positions you have served in.

Q8

Has the work you have done for your executive board position contributed to your career

preparation?

• Definitely yes

• Mostly yes

• Mostly not

• Definitely not

Q9

Please explain why or why not.

Q15

For the following items, please select the degree to which you agree your experience on an

executive board has helped you develop the following skills:

Click to write Column 1

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly

Disagree Agree
disagree disagree agree agree

Collaboration

Public Speaking
 25

Click to write Column 1

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly

Disagree Agree
disagree disagree agree agree

Time Management

Critical Thinking

Communication

Flexibility

Leadership

Productivity

Interpersonal Skills

Q12

Since the beginning of the school year, how many professional developmental workshops

hosted by SILD have you attended?

• 0

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4+

Q10
 26

Have you attended the Leadership Academy?

• Yes

• No

Q16

Please share your experience attending Leadership Academy.

Q14

Please share any changes you would like to see SILD make regarding career development

opportunities for executive board members.

Q14

Would you be willing to participate in a focus group? If so, please provide us with your

name and contact information.

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Appendix C

Qualtrics Survey Response Data

Default Report

SILD Executive Board Member Satisfaction Survey

December 5th 2018, 1:50 pm MST

Q1 - Name

Name

Q2 - Age

Age

20

22

20

28

20

21

21
 28

20

28

19

19

41

23

22

20

19

20

22

21

19

21

23

22

22

24

21

20

21

21

20
 29

21

22

21

22

21

21

23

22

24

19

19

24

21

22

20

22

28

21

20

20

Q4 - What is your current year in school?

 30

Std
# Field Minimum Maximum Mean Variance Count
Deviation

What is your current year in

1 1.00 4.00 3.33 0.79 0.63 49
school?

# Answer % Count

1 Freshman 2.04% 1

2 Sophomore 14.29% 7

3 Junior 32.65% 16

4 Senior 51.02% 25

Total 100% 49

 31

Q5 - Please list the organizations you belong to:

Please list the organizations you belong to:

Muslims Student Association

Student Health Organization

Anthropology Club, Student Helath Organization

Lutheran student fellowship

Student Association senate, NAACP, NACWC, YBL Dance Team

NIU MEDLIFE, NIU SACNAS, Alpha Phi Omega.

Black student union

Sigma Lambda Sigma

Economic Student Association

Lamba Sigma Sophomore Honor Society, Student Hospitality Association, Huskie Food Pantry

Leadership Team

NIU Educators' Club (NEC), Best Buddies, Lambda Sigma

Student Dietetic Association

Society of Physics Students

Medical Laboratory Science Club

CAB, BMI, LMO

S.I.S.T.E.R.S.

Zeta phi beta, YBL

The Black Student Union

 32

BSU, women in business

BSU

BMI BSU CAB

Supremacy Dance Group,BMI, ASA, Phi Rho Eta Fraternity Inc.

ASA

Alpha Phi Gamma

Delta Phi Delta Dance Fraternity Inc.

Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc. & Latino Student Alliance

CAB ,LMO, YBL

Campus Activities Board & Liberated Minds Orginazation

Zeta Sigma Chi Multicultural Sorority, Inc.

CAB

National Society of Black Engineers, Cru, and University Honors Program

EBONY WOMEN

Black student union

Phi Rho Eta Fraternity, Inc. and Black Student Union

NIU Black Choir

Embrace Models

Envy dance Troupe / Delta Phi Delta Dance Fraternity, Inc

Phi Beta Sigma, BMI

NACWC

ASA, CAB

S.I.S.T.E.R.S.
 33

NIUCA

Final Warning Dance Team

Zeta Phi Beta, SPlan, community advisor

Model Illinois Government, NIU College Democrats

Student Health Organization

AITP, APICS, ALPFA

Chi Sigma Iota, NIU Counseling Association, ALGBTIC

National Society of Collegiate Scholars

Pre-Professional Association, Phi Sigma, Student Health Advisory Council

Pre Law Honors Society FSYE mock trial MIG POLS sac

 34

Q3 - What leadership positions do you currently hold? Select all that apply.

# Answer % Count

4 President 24.29% 17

5 Vice President 11.43% 8

6 Treasurer 18.57% 13

7 Secretary 7.14% 5

8 Marketing/Public 10.00% 7

9 Relations 2.86% 2
 35

10 Programming 10.00% 7

11 Other 15.71% 11

Total 100% 70

 36

Q6 - List any past executive board positions you have served in.

List any past executive board positions you have served in.

Secretary

Membership Chair

Huskie Service Scholars Mentor

VP of Events, Assistant

Director of programming

Social Chair, Communications Chair

Undergraduate Outreach Chair

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Assistant Director Digital Marketing

Cultural Awareness

President,Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Programming chair, and Marketing chair.

Treasurer

Treasurer

N/A

N/A

New members chair & co chair

Parliamentarian

Secretary
 37

Director of programming last year

Marketing/ Public

Fundraising and Sisterhood chairs for PLUSH

VP

Treasurer, financial officer, assistant director of events and programming

Palminterian

Secretary

President, Secretary, PR

Vice President, Treasurer

Huskies United

Secretary

 38

Q8 - Has the work you have done for your executive board position contributed

to your career preparation?

Std
# Field Minimum Maximum Mean Variance Count
Deviation

Has the work you have done for

your executive board position

1 74.00 77.00 74.52 0.77 0.60 52
contributed to your career

preparation?

# Answer % Count

74 Definitely yes 59.62% 31

75 Mostly yes 34.62% 18

 39

77 Mostly not 5.77% 3

78 Definitely not 0.00% 0

Total 100% 52

 40

Q9 - Please explain why or why not.

Please explain why or why not.

It helped me connect to the people/students who share the same major as me. Moreover, it helped

build my communication skills.

It is an administrative task to handle and distribute a budget and present financial reports.

It has given me insight to the different aspects of my field that i did not think I would encounter.

I’m a leader and soon will be a teacher

Budgeting, time management

I feel like I am capable of leading groups of people. I have gained stronger communication skills

through being involved in various executive board positions on campus.

leadership

I plan to be an industrial organizational psychologist and part of what I’m learning in classes apply to

my organization or vice versa and this will help me with my career because since I have developed my

communication skills, and teamwork, and leadership skills

It’s given me management, conflict resolution, communication, and planning skills

It has, but only because of the intrinsic motivation I brought to it.

I hope to be an event planner some day and with the positions I am in, I am able to plan events and

leave lasting impressions on others.

I think I can apply fundraising to education positions I may have in the future as well as information

that I have learned about 501(c)3 clubs.

As President, I make sure to include events and opportunities that directly relate to the dietetics field

Involvement with teachers and students in my field counts as experience towards my future career.
 41

Yes it taught me how to be a people person and get people out to things

I got offered an internship because of my position

I am a digital marketing major

I want to be a pharmacist, so it helped with leadership preparation.

This prepared me to work with others and how to work with others. With so many different

personalities and egos is hard to work with but I learned you can still operate a team or with a team

with all of the personalities and egos, just need to make sure everyone is on the same page and have

the same goal.

I have to be organized, always dedicate my time and have to be a woman of my word when getting

tasks done.

I would agree so because all of my responsibilities allow me to multi-task and efficiently get things

done. It also serves as good preparation in networking, and planning events accordingly.

Leadership roles are important to any career.

I want to own a Marketing Firm in the future!

Hands on experience to the real world

Many of the soft skills needed in a job setting is developed during leadership terms as these. They

stretch us to do more and continuously improve.

Being in the business field, I plan on being in leadership positions such as manager.

It has helped me with my career because I plan to study the workplace and learning leadership skills,

traits and how to run a team will all help in the future when I work with organizations

My positions have put me in a place to exemplify leadership and the ability to work with others. These

are two skills necessary for a career in criminal justice.

 42

I am in school to earn a biology degree. What I do for this organization is more of a hobby than

preparation for my career.

Leadership roles translate very well to management positions, a lot of the same skills

I want to be a police officer and being able to lead others while protecting them and having self

control is a big deal.

They directly correlates to my major

Commucication skills

It hasn’t helped me get out of my comfort zone and talk to other people in different organizations.

Yes, because it has helped me network. As well as use the connections I have made to help others.

Because as a therapist I will have to do a lot of public speaking. I also will need to be able to know

how to communicate with others both verbal and written.

I have made many professional connections related to my major and practiced skills that I intend to

use in the work place.

I do not plan to do tasks related to what my secretary position entails.

I just wanted to let you know that Huskie link is an awful website that nobody uses. I think it’s better

as a one page informational than an interactive website.

Time management and teamwork are imperative

It gives me the leadership skills that I may need in the future

Not a lot of organizations require much from the e-board, but organization is important. More than

anything, organization and time-management are the things that contributed most to my experience.

Leadership skills

 43

Q15#1 - For the following items, please select the degree to which you agree

your experience on an executive board has helped you develop the following

skills:

 44

# Field Minimum Maximum Mean Std Deviation Variance Count

1 Collaboration 1.00 6.00 5.31 1.17 1.37 52

2 Public Speaking 1.00 6.00 5.10 1.26 1.59 52

3 Time Management 1.00 6.00 5.13 1.26 1.58 52

4 Critical Thinking 1.00 6.00 4.94 1.25 1.55 52

5 Communication 1.00 6.00 5.37 1.18 1.39 52

6 Flexibility 1.00 6.00 5.17 1.27 1.60 52

7 Leadership 1.00 6.00 5.37 1.18 1.39 52

8 Productivity 1.00 6.00 5.12 1.30 1.68 52

9 Interpersonal Skills 1.00 6.00 5.10 1.20 1.43 52

Strong Somew
Somew Stron
ly Disagr hat Agre Tot
# Question hat gly
disagr ee disagre e al
agree agree
ee e

Collaboratio 26.92 1 59.62 3

1 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 0.00% 0 7.69% 4 52
n % 4 % 1

Public 1 19.23 1 53.85 2

2 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 1.92% 1 19.23% 52
Speaking 0 % 0 % 8
 45

Time
19.23 1 55.77 2
3 Manageme 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 1.92% 1 17.31% 9 52
% 0 % 9
nt

Critical 1 23.08 1 44.23 2

4 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 1.92% 1 25.00% 52
Thinking 3 % 2 % 3

Communica 21.15 1 65.38 3

5 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 0.00% 0 7.69% 4 52
tion % 1 % 4

21.15 1 57.69 3
6 Flexibility 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 3.85% 2 11.54% 6 52
% 1 % 0

21.15 1 65.38 3
7 Leadership 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 0.00% 0 7.69% 4 52
% 1 % 4

19.23 1 55.77 2
8 Productivity 3.85% 2 3.85% 2 0.00% 0 17.31% 9 52
% 0 % 9

Interperson 34.62 1 46.15 2

9 3.85% 2 1.92% 1 1.92% 1 11.54% 6 52
al Skills % 8 % 4

 46

Q12 - Since the beginning of the school year, how many professional

developmental workshops hosted by SILD have you attended?

Std
# Field Minimum Maximum Mean Variance Count
Deviation

Since the beginning of the school

year, how many professional

1 developmental workshops 4.00 8.00 4.65 0.78 0.61 52

hosted by SILD have you

attended?

 47

# Answer % Count

4 0 48.08% 25

5 1 42.31% 22

6 2 7.69% 4

7 3 0.00% 0

8 4+ 1.92% 1

Total 100% 52

 48

Q10 - Have you attended the Leadership Academy?

Std
# Field Minimum Maximum Mean Variance Count
Deviation

Have you attended the

1 1.00 2.00 1.98 0.14 0.02 52
Leadership Academy?

# Answer % Count

1 Yes 1.92% 1

2 No 98.08% 51

Total 100% 52

 49

Q16 - Please share your experience attending Leadership Academy.

Please share your experience attending Leadership Academy.

I attended my freshman but didn’t see the point of it anymore. It was a little boring and by joining

organizations and stepping up to be a leader I grew on my own as a leader.

N/A

N/a

I put no because I can’t quite remember if I had to attend this.

None

 50

Q14 - Please share any changes you would like to see SILD make regarding

career development opportunities for executive board members.

Please share any changes you would like to see SILD make regarding career development

opportunities for executive board members.

My experience was great. So, I do not have any.

N/a

Ways to get our members involved with career development

N/A

Make the sessions more in a relaxed environment

More workshops like CODE workshop will be beneficial.

Possibly provide more insights on internships for people developing in there careers.

None

The events should be publicized more by also direct communication

More awareness about students majors here and the involvement that campus has in regards to that

major

Making it easier for funding options. So that organizations don’t have to pay for things by themselves.

Just fix huskie link. It’s extremely unnecessary.

Focus more on graduate students, make Huskie Link accessible, and improve the CODE Workshops.

Depending on the club, I think we should be more involved, but there are only so many things we

should do.
 51

They need to hop off everybodys butt why do I have to take the social policy quiz when they make it

directly for Greek people? It's frustrating and takes time away from my organization

 52

Q14 - Would you be willing to participate in a focus group? If so, please provide

us with your name and contact information.

Would you be willing to participate in a focus group? If so, please provide us with your name and

contact information.

Naomi Bolden email: nbolden@niu.edu

Rosa Perez, rosap4215@gmail.com (preferable contact)

Yes. Anna Kaplan z1788359@gmail.com

Kelly Furr 630-803-1683

Marc Jacob Crowell - 18156185064

Tashay Brown

Ahmari Williams - Ahmari.Williams97@gmail.com

Paige Horne, paigehorne27@gmail.com

Myles

Samuel Owoo-Battlet, 331-725-4327

No

No.

Niuyen "Alex" Garcia (email: alexgarcia0514@gmail.com) or (773-458-5731)

No

Chyna.bradley1@gmail.com

Tayanna 8157084383

Yes, my name is Kaprielle Streeter and my email is streeter.kaprielle@gmail.com.

 53

Yes Alina Gofman alinabeth10@gmail.com

Yes

Yes, Barbara Odueze, 3127304377

Yes. Denesha Williams - 773-937-1427

Precious Bradley

cassia21perry@gmail.com

No thank you

No

No

 54

Appendix C

Focus Group Script

Introduction Script:

Hello. My name is [your name + introduce co-host for the focus group if applicable], and I am

part of a group working on an assessment project for the Office of Student Involvement and

Leadership Development. Thank you for coming today and sharing your time and experiences.

We will be here for about [agreed upon timeframe].

We would like to learn more about whether or not your membership on your organization’s e-

board is helping you prepare for your job search once you graduate. We are especially

interested in what you’ve learned from your experience and skills you might have developed.

We are going to be asking questions during our time together and moderating the discussion.

Just so you are aware, the discussion will be recorded so that we can go back and learn as much

as possible from the discussion that occurs today to help us complete our assessment. We hope

you will provide honest answers and be generous in sharing your opinion. We will not be

attaching your name to any information in our assessment report, so what is shared today will be

anonymous.

Some rules for the discussion are that we ask that only one person speaks at a time. We want to

make sure you have an opportunity to speak clearly and completely. Side conversations should
 55

be avoided. You do not have to answer every question, so please do not feel pressured to

respond to everything. Again, this conversation is confidential and your name will not be used in

our assessment report. Some of us will have differing opinions, and all are valid since everyone

in this room has had a different experience. There are no wrong answers, and any information

you’re willing to share in answering our questions is valid. If you need a break, please feel free

to step outside the room and take care of yourself at any point in our conversation tonight.

Does anyone have questions before we begin?

The following questions will be asked of our focus groups:

1. Please share your name and your e-board title and how many years you’ve served on the

e-board.

2. What skills did you enter this position hoping to gain or learn?

3. How has your position on your organization’s board contributed to your ability to

develop new skills?

4. How do you see yourself using these skills in your future career?

5. What has your leadership position taught you about taking initiative and working as a

member of a team?

6. What changes would you recommend take place to help executive board members have

more opportunities to develop marketable skills?

7. Is there anything else you think we should know as we continue our project?
 56

Closing Script:

Thank you for coming today and sharing your answers with us. Your input is important and

helpful to our process. Thank you for your time.