A Look Ahead at Student Success and the Spring Semester

Student success has been an important focal point for the Penn State Greater Allegheny (PSUGA) campus and tremendous progress has been made for the focus of specific goals.

In the recent Town Hall meetings involving student success, employees zoned in on defining its definition. “We’ve defined student success as progress to and through critical transition points during their time at PSUGA,” Dr. Megan Nagel, PSUGA’s interim chancellor, said. The three critical transition points include the end of the first semester, the fourth semester, and finally graduation.

Each transition point is looking for specific things, she said. For example, it’s really important to make sure students have a good first semester. First semester success involves 12+ credits with an average of a 2.5 GPA, while being engaged with their academics and career plans.

By the fourth semester, students should have entered their major and feel some sense of belonging and connection to the campus, Nagel said.

One thing that Nagel wants to avoid is having students come to class and go home immediately after.

“Being able to clearly define student success will help us make plans to specifically meet those goals.”

The newly renovated commuter lounge on the first floor of the Student Community Center (SCC) helps with this goal. “I’ve heard that there have been lots of students down there,” Nagel said. “It’s an inviting and comfortable space and I hope students, commuters and non-commuters, find a home down there.”

Students can stream movies and television shows, and there are many activities that are intentionally planned out for this space.

All indications are pointing in the direction that things are returning back to normal. “There has definitely been an uptick in reengagement.” Nagel said. Students traveled to Florida last semester and will be traveling to Rome and Seattle later this year.

Student Government Association (SGA) has also been going strong. “It’s just finding the places where people want to engage and really investing there,” Nagel said.

The Multidisciplinary Study (MDS) Committee has been hard at work getting the MDS degree ready for the fall. “All the faculty are planning the fall schedule,” Nagel said, which will be ready for students to enroll for the Fall 2023 Semester.

Also, the Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management (RPTM) degree has attracted many students and Nagel expects it will continue to grow, “as students learn more about the opportunities it can provide.”

Before coming to PSUGA, this degree might not be on one’s radar, but can quickly change after learning more about it, she said. “I am really excited about the opportunities it can provide students.”

As far as the Wednesday Walk-n-Talks, “We have been all over,” Nagel said. Recently, they walked through all the buildings on campus. “It’s actually been really useful,” Nagel said. “You get to see staff you don’t always get to see or see students in spaces where you’re not always there.”

Also, she gets to check on classrooms that were renovated, which is something she doesn’t get to see often.

For the first time ever, a student participated in one of the walks with Nagel and staff members. Nagel doesn’t have concerns that not many students participate.
“For me, it’s really about providing a space for people to connect informally with each other…whether it works for folks or not, it’s really up to them.”

As many know, PSUGA is an Apple Distinguished School which helps to provide all students and staff with a free iPad.
“Besides the honor of it, you become a representative for other schools,” Nagel said. In fact, on March 1, Nagel will take a trip to the Apple offices in Boston.

While there, she will be on a panel with another academic administrator to discuss PSUGA’s journey on how we got to where we are.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” Nagel said. “ It’s fun to talk about digital fluency and the impact it’s having on campus.”

Story by: Carlin Whalen (cjw6426@psu.edu)