Correction appended
AU introduced Making Achievement Possible-Works (MAP-WORKS) to first-year students Sept. 19, a program that allows students to address their ability to succeed in college and seek help from AU resources.
MAP-Works uses statistical analysis and research to identify what students need in order to thrive in their studies and social life during college.
“Not everything that leads to academic success is strictly academic,” said Ryan Anderson, assistant director of learning communities and assessment. “Your performance is also related to how you connect with your community.”
All first-year students including freshmen, transfer students and Washington Mentorship Program students, can take the non-mandatory survey through their AU Portal.
The survey will be available until Oct. 24, but students are encouraged to complete it within two weeks of its launch.
As of Sept. 26, 645 students completed the survey.
The online survey takes about 15 minutes and provides a personalized report once completed, rating a student’s progress in areas such as academics, finances and connecting with others.
Students can either answer the survey questions in a PDF on topics such as class attendance, course difficulties, time management and campus involvement.
Students then receive a green, yellow or red mark for each section based on their responses.
Each topic offers suggestions for students to think about and examples of concrete steps they could take, as well as a list of contact information for University resources and departments.
Housing and Dining Programs, the Office of Campus Life, a few academic departments and the AU schools will be able to access each student’s report.
“It’s cool because students have a report in their hand that they can bring to their academic advisor to start a conversation about what the student can do to succeed,” said Jimmy Ellis, manager of student retention and success.
The creators of MAP-Works want to help first-year students establish a sense of community and belonging at AU. If a student is not adapting well, Residence Life professional staff can provide assistance for the student based on their report.
Over 100 universities have used the program, including George Mason University and Catholic University.
AU is among the first few schools to implement this program.
“MAP-Works has had great success across the country,” Ellis said. “We evaluated a few retention and success oriented programs and MAP-Works came out on top. We really like MAP-Works because they are very focused on students’ success.”
Residence Life staff encourage student participation in MAP-Works through a residence hall-wide competition. The first five floors with the highest participation will win additional funding for floor activities.
“It’s really important that students take this survey and the RAs are an integral part of promoting the survey,” Anderson said. “The incentive of extra programming funds gives an extra push.”
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A previous version of this article gave an incorrect title for Jimmy Ellis. He is manager of student retention and success. The previous version also stated that students can take the simulated version of the survey, but only the PDF version is available.
