Division Accomplishments 2023–24

Spartan Well-Being continues to grow its programming, presence, and reach. The program offered monthly Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training. Additionally, the program Be Well! Stay Well!, a collaboration between Spartan Well-Being and Recreation and Wellness was offered again this academic year. The program offered faculty and staff resources and information and showcased the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan: Spartans Thrive. Two specific accomplishments of Spartan Well-Being were as follows: 24% of FTIC students engaged with the Spartan Well-Being canvas course and 100% of students who engage in Spartan Well-Being workshops were able to identify at least one strategy they would be able to use after the workshop to support their holistic well-being. Additionally, 100% of students engaged in Spartan Well-Being Coaching services were able to identify at least one strategy they learned during coaching sessions that they would use to manage stress and foster resilience in the future.

The Esports Arena had over 42,379 visitors with 3,049 unique students participating in 23–24. Total attendance was up 11% over last year. The Arena entered and changed our program’s tournament engine to NACE (North American Collegiate Esports) to best fuel competitive play across our teams. The esports club placed in the Top 3 in the nation for our Super Smash Team and Top 5 in the nation for our Apex Team for this conference against 290+ schools. The Arena was used for over 19 different academic classes totaling 120 class sessions. Additionally, the Arena held 6 times more club events than last year and increased participation in the club from 1,250 students in the fall to over 1,600 in the spring. There were 28 internal and external events implemented over the year, including state-wide tournaments, club tournaments, intramural tournaments, retro game night, Karaoke, and partnership with the student organization, No Labels.

Engagement in the Esports Arena remains very high with an average of 200+ students per day. Our students are utilizing the arena at close to full capacity, with a high percentage playing casual games within groups, such as Roblox, Among Us, and Fall Guys, which indicates that the arena is being used as a ‘third place’ and a site for culture building within friend groups, rather than just for competitive play. On average, Game Nights at the Esports Arena have attracted over 40 students to play a specific game title at a specific time each week.

The Spartan Experience was launched in fall 2023, starting with the introduction of two out of the five competency areas: Connections and Well-Being. The Connections and Well-Being competencies focus on students connecting with their campus community and attending to their holistic well-being, both significantly correlated to students’ success in and out of the classroom.

There were 7,289 experiences completed in 23–24 from 5,850 unique students (39% of undergraduates). 49% of residential students completed at least one experience. For the focused competencies, there were 2,224 Wellbeing experiences completed by first-year students, and 1,881 completed the Sense of Self learning outcome for the Connections competency.

The Student Employee Experience Committee continued to support the Spartan Ready Program for on-campus student employees. The program is designed to help students understand and articulate the skills they are developing through their employment. Supervisors engage students in a series of structured conversations about their experience, helping them to make connections between their work and academics, and to their future career.

This year, the committee updated the program resources and developed a set of supplemental questions supervisors could use to further explore the impact the employment experience had on students. 

During the spring semester, the committee worked on developing a process to connect student employment with the Spartan Experience. The committee refined the earlier assessment tool to collect more detailed information about learning that occurred through student employment. Students that complete the assessment will earn credit, at the advanced level of proficiency, for the first learning outcome (Set Career Goals) under the Career competency. 

The following survey data shows the impact for students who completed two or more conversations on connecting student employment and their experience as a student at UNCG.

My supervisor helps me make connections between my work and my life as a student. 

I can see connections between my job and my academic major/coursework. 

Student Affairs has worked to expand opportunities for families to be engaged in their student’s experience. The focus has been to provide opportunities for families to understand what is happening on campus and increasing their knowledge of campus resources to better support their student(s). Efforts include a monthly newsletter, which has an average open rate of 53%, increasing opportunities of engagement at SOAR, developing a digital support platform for family members, and through the Parent & Family Advisory Council, which is open to all parents. There were 700+ parents and family members at Spartan Family Weekend and an updated website launched in spring 2024.

CHANCE is a summer college access program that brings high school Latinx and Hispanic rising seniors from North Carolina to UNCG to experience college-level classes and faculty, leadership and civic programming, cultural enrichment, and campus life. The main purpose of CHANCE is to encourage and equip Latinx and Hispanic students with the culturally informed awareness, knowledge, and skills to persist through high school and continue to higher education with UNCG as a school of choice. UNCG hosted the 7th annual CHANCE Camp from July 10–15, 2023, with nearly 100 participants. The application platform was improved, and a plan was developed to allow for the tracking of the future enrollment and retention of these campers. A presentation on CHANCE and UNCG’s efforts to become an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution was accepted at the 2024 NASPA Region III Summer Symposium.

The Bias Education and Support Team offers a reporting process for students to document and address the impacts of bias-related incidents, behaviors, and actions. The Bias Team, a trained interdisciplinary and interdepartmental group, draws on restorative principles, appreciative inquiry, community conferencing, and other restoration-focused practices to guide students as they process the impacts of bias incidents.

The Bias Education and Support Team reviewed 43 cases, which was a noticeable decrease compared to the previous year. Team members provided support and outreach to the reporters and ongoing education to the campus community about bias.