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The culture of any organization has an enormous influence on what happens to members of that group. For any of us who seriously contemplate making our campuses more effective in promoting learning and success in our first-year students, we must consider the powerful role played by campus culture. Before initiating change, we need to understand what does and does not work on our campuses. What do our institutions value? What people and activities are celebrated? Do our standard operating procedures reflect what our mission says is desirable? Do we feel change is necessary to achieve campus goals but feel powerless to accomplish it? The teleconference panelists tackle these and other fundamental questions and offer strategies to broach this all-important conversation on our campuses. A comprehensive resource packet is included. Available on DVD or VHS.

Even before students are accepted for enrollment, institutions communicate directly and indirectly their values, culture, and rules of procedure. This teleconference focuses on the formal and informal vehicles of communication such as official letters, summer reading programs, student blogs, and convocations and other rituals that convey information to entering students about academics and student life—from those initial exchanges through the first weeks following matriculation. Join our expert panelists as they discuss the significance of these first encounters, propose a range of purposeful strategies that address specific challenges, and describe exemplary programs on today’s college campuses.