1/31/2018 First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018 - - PDF document

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First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Hands Across the Sea: UK/USA Collaboration on Common Reading Programs

Kingston University London @kubigread @alisonbav @morwentodd The University of Mississippi umreads.olemiss.edu

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

About us KingstonUniversity London University of Mississippi

• Research and

Teaching University

• 17,500 students at 5

campuses

• 2,900 non-UK students
• 53% of students are

minorities

• 8,500 new students

annually

• Doctoral Institution (R1)
• 24,000 students at 6

campuses

• 21,000 students at main

campus in Oxford

• 60% of students are from

Mississippi

• 23% of students are

minorities

• 5,000 new students annually

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Pre-arrival shared-reading is well established in the U.S., not so in the U.K. What can two programs 5,000 miles apart learn from each other?

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Why this Presentation Matters

• Pre-arrival shared-reading long-established in the US, growing in UK
• International concern over literacy rates
• Students arrive to read for a degree; books as gifts are appropriate

BUT

• 1. Research gap; widespread practice more described than analysed
• 2. How to assess?
• 3. Where is the value added?
• 4. What is the book’s role in outreach and marketing?

Source: OECD Report Building Skills for All: A Review of England

• In 2013/14, US was

21st and England was 23rd out of 23 OECD Nations for Teenage Literacy.

• England is the only

OECD nation where literacy for 16-24 year

• lds is lower than

55-65 year olds

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Literature Review

• Widespread research into the benefits of reading for pleasure;

readers are healthier, happier, safer, more empathetic, more successful (The Reading Agency and BOP Consulting, 2015)

• ‘Common reading programs of all types are helping bridge divides
• n campus: between disciplines, between student life and academic

affairs, between the orientation period and the first semester.’ (Ferguson, 2006)

• ‘...discussion and respect for diverse viewpoints.’ (Laufgraben, 2006)
• Fun; drawing people into their new community (R. Mark Hall, 2003)
• An effective welcome mitigates the tendency to ‘sort into islands of

comfortable consensus’ (Tienda, 2013)

• Kingston’s work on welcome and retention (Hughes, 2016)

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First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

The KU Big Read – in summary

• Pre-program research into reading habits/likely responses of first-

year arrivers

• Book sent to all new students at Kingston University
• Made available to all staff
• An associated program of discussion groups
• Author visit
• Balloon debate to demonstrate cross-organisational relevance
• Post-delivery circulation of questionnaires
• Comparison with other metrics,

e.g. university stats on retention – although these correlate rather than show causative relationships

• Expansion into the wider community

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

UM Common Reading Experience – in summary

• Shared reading program promotes reading and

discussion across campus; connects new students with the University academic community

• Books distributed during new student orientations
• ver summer where parents are encouraged to read

along with their students

• Books distributed to all faculty and made available to

staff as well

• Common Read embedded across curriculum,

especially in writing courses and first-year seminars

• Resource guide provided to all instructors
• Author is keynote speaker at Fall Convocation

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Common Reading Selection Process Kingston University

• Solicit nominations from faculty,

students, alumni, and community members at umreads.olemiss.edu

• Book Selection Committee of faculty,

staff, students, and alumni meet several times to determine a short list that all members read before ranking titles

• Committee makes a

recommendation to the Common Reading Experience Committee and Provost to approve

Universityof Mississippi

• Criteria for a KUBigRead
• Suggestions sought
• Algorithm applied
• Secret cataloguing
• Shortlist available in libraries
• Selection panel made choice

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

UK/US Similarities

• Attempt to be inclusive of stakeholders and keep an open discussion about

what to read

• Embed into curriculum of early teaching and find a way to assess
• Push for best pricing of selected titles
• Utilize the library in promoting the book

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Utilizing the Library Kingston University

• Library liaisons on common

reading committees

• Book-themed exhibit
• Co-hosts events
• Keeps extra copies of the

book

• Creates LibGuide

guides.lib.olemiss.edu/cre2017

University of Mississippi

• Access to meetings
• Project enthusiasm
• Display of titles

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

UK/US Differences

• UM has an established

committee for events, resource guide, title selection, course embedding, and working with the author and publisher

• UM purchases and distributes

the books, embedding the cost into summer orientation fees

• KU mails the books to the

student’s home over the summer

• KU makes a concentrated effort

to provide more outreach into the wider community

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First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Common Concerns

• 1. Project leadership within the institution
• 2. Academic freedom
• 3. Getting buy-in on the book
• 4. Defining success
• 5. Attendance at events

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Assessment

• Attendance at events
• Social media traffic
• Involvement of staff
• Embedding within modules

and early assignments

• University metrics
• Publications
• Invitations to speak about

the work

• Surveys

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Working with Publishers

• 1. Establish timeline/calendar/delivery date(s) well

in advance

• 2. Request “courtesy” copies for selection

committee

• 3. Expect to negotiate price
• 4. Request “custom” edition for your institution

(featuring school logo, letter from president, etc.

• You will have to provide camera-ready art
• 5. Leverage use of author’s speakers’ bureau for

lower price per book cost

• 6. Make yourself available to speak with other

schools who are considering a book/author you have previously chosen for your common read (assuming you had a good experience)

• 7. Offer opportunity for campus book sales and

signings

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Working with Authors

• 1. Speakers’ fees
• Play to your institution and location strengths
• UM—Oxford community has #1 independent book store in U.S.—

Square Books

• Well known to authors
• Literary community (Faulkner)
• 2. Halo effect around other titles by same author
• 3. Authors typically reluctant to promote/speak for an “older” work; they want

to promote the most recently published book

• 4. Offer book signings/campus/community book sales
• 5. Negotiate with speakers’ bureau for author to participate in select classes,

meet with student and faculty groups, etc.

• 6. Review speaking contract with institution’s general counsel

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Working with the Wider Community

• 1. Many KU students remain in the local area after graduation
• 2. Placements, dissertations, and further study
• 3. Affirmation of institutional values for existing staff
• 4. University PR
• 5. UM outreach to local talents, working with schools and libraries

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Conclusions: What We Learned from Each Other

• We are both doing something right
• Leadership role is crucial
• Fostering cross-organisational connections
• Raising the profile of our institutions – nationally and internationally

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First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

References

• Baverstock, A., Steinitz, J., Bryars, L., Kerin, M., Peel , N., Stohler, R. and Waddington,
• E. (2016) ‘The implementation of a shared reading programme within a university : a case

study’, Logos, 2, pp. 48-61.

• Ferguson, M. (2006) ‘Creating Common Ground: Common Reading and the First Year of

College’, Peer Review, Summer 2006, 8:3, pp.8-10.

• Lavine Laufgraben, J. (2006) Common Reading Programs: Going beyond the book.

South Carolina: National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

• Mark Hall, R. (2003) ‘The “Oprahfication” of Literacy: Reading “Oprah’s Book Club”’,

College English, 65:6, pp.646-667.

• Morris, W. and Ennis, L. (2016) ‘Getting some reading in – a collaboration between

capital cities’, Taking Stock, 25(2), pp.2-4.

• The Reading Agency and BOP Consulting (2015) ‘Literature Review: the impact of

reading for pleasure and empowerment.’

• Tienda, M, (2013) ‘Diversity Not Equal to Inclusion: Promoting Integration in Higher

Education’, Educational Researcher, 42:9, pp.467-475.

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

Contact Us

• R. Dewey Knight

Associate Director, First Year Experience rdknight@olemiss.edu Leslie Banahan Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Wellness lwb@olemiss.edu Melissa Dennis Head of Research & Instruction and Associate Professor mdennis@olemiss.edu

Kingston University London University of Mississippi

Alison Baverstock Associate Professor and KU Big Read Project Director a.baverstock@kingston.ac.uk Wendy Morris Senior Information Advisor Library and Learning Services w.morris@kingston.ac.uk

First Year Experience Conference, Texas, February 2018

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