NODA Journal 25_1.indd VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 73 Evaluating Empowerment Language During the First-Year Student Transition Kathryn B. Wilhite A primary function of orientation programming is to help students begin their adjustment by seeing themselves as a student at the institution; communication plays a significant role in achieving the goal. In consideration of foundational knowledge about adjustment and language, this study evaluates how well messages to incoming students empower their success by defining the institutional environment and the student role within the environment. Critical findings for the transition field relate to word choices and their influence on the perception of orientation, the potential for orientation to design meaningful communication experiences, and ways empowerment strategies might help with transitions. Transition, Language, and Adjustment The task of communicating with incoming students is a dual responsibility in which orientation programs serve both recruitment and retention functions (Hossler & Anderson, 2005). The critical nature of the communications that happen from acceptance through attendance merit evaluation. It is for this reason that many admissions offices conduct analyses of the frequency and mode of their communication (Supiano, 2016). Colleges and universities communicate with incoming students across a dynamic landscape of modalities; technology plays an adapting role due to the nature of the evolution of students’ technological familiarity and preferences (Junco, 2005). These considerations, however, neglect to examine the actual messages of communication pieces. In recognition of the power of language (Foucault, 1972) and the ways balancing power in the classroom can engage participation (Weimer, 2013), there is value in evaluating what is said, not just the mode. College student adjustment relates to institutional environment (Strange & Banning, 2015; Astin, 1991). This study aims to determine if there is a way to measure the empowerment strategies in the language of communication pieces and what relationship those strategies have with student adjustment. Theoretical Framework Student Adjustment Orientation is an opportunity for students to develop a level of comfort with FEATURED ARTICLE Kathryn B. Wilhite is an Academic Program Specialist at Kennesaw State University. 74 THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION the institutional environment and understand the space they will occupy. Astin’s (1991) Input-Environment-Outcomes (I-E-O) Model provides a framework because transition experiences are a direct intervention related to retention that is meant to expose students to the environment. Orientation programs attempt to assist the adjustment process by removing barriers, meeting milestones, and achieving a level of comfort at the institution (Hossler & Anderson, 2005). Communication Astin’s (1991) input factor, for the purposes of this study, is the language context that a student brings to the lexicon of higher education. Ogden and Richards’ (1989) Symbol-Referent model suggests that meaning is made by the recipient as much as the sender. Burke (1966) asserts that lived experiences influence the lens which an individual brings to the conversation. Therefore, experiences, or Astin’s (1991) inputs, influence the recipient’s interpretation of messages. Empowerment Strategies Foucault (1972) asserts that word choice, statements, and the access required to understand can inherently restrict or distribute power. He suggests including approaches to language that consider the audience, whether privileged knowledge is necessary, and whether recipients receive an invitation to participate (Foucault, 1972). Weimer (2013) has explored empowerment strategies in the college classroom; these strategies suggest that students thrive when they have choices, motivation, and autonomy to interact with knowledge through technology (Weimer, 2013). Methods The purpose of this qualitative inductive analysis is to identify a way to measure empowerment language and determine whether empowerment messaging appears in communications. A rubric, developed for the study, uses Foucault’s conceptions of language and power and Weimer’s strategies for balancing power in the classroom. The rubric (Figure 1) consists of ten categories, which rank words, phrases, and sentences on a ten-point scale from excellent to poor. The study defines the scope of communications as those provided, for the timespan of acceptance to attendance, to all incoming, first-year students for autumn 2016 at a large, public, four-year university in the southeastern United States. Documents include letters, emails, online landing pages, video transcripts, and phone call scripts. The 19 documents meeting the criteria originated from six functional areas at the institution: admissions, orientation, financial aid, the Bursar’s office, housing, and the department of First-Year and Transition Studies, which manages first-year seminars and learning communities. VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 75 Analysis of the 19 documents viewed them as one comprehensive communication from the institution, in consideration of the environment factor of Astin’s (1991) model. Each document review consisted solely of the language; additional communication elements, such as visual or graphic items, were excluded from analysis. Documents were reviewed against the rubric for performance in each category and a word count analysis looked for repetition, consistency, and overall word usage throughout the 19 documents. Data Four primary themes and one emerging theme are evident through this study. They relate to word choices, empowerment strategies, and communication experiences. The two themes related to the selection of words and phrases are as follows: 1. Language balance is found through the articulation of the meaning of terms as related to the student. 2. Word choice matters. Language balance involves defining terms as what they are, what they do, and what they say. Language balance is achieved when terms are specifically defined within the context of the specific institutional environment and also identify the relationship between an individual student and the term itself. Next, word choice was significant in each document because it defines communication intent and determines how appropriate, accessible, and restricted the information within the document is. More importantly, the word choice of one document influences the performance of word choices throughout the rest of the documents. For example, the word “register” was used 32 times. The majority of these uses represented the activity of enrolling in courses, but six of the uses were related to signing up to attend an event. “Orientation,” used 60 times, places an emphasis on the event. In addition, the institution contradicted itself in naming the population, calling them “freshman” twice and “first-year students” 11 times. The two themes related to empowerment strategies are as follows: 3. Ignoring timing and refusing further discourse builds process over relationship. 4. Empowerment thrives when choice includes participation and motivation. The documents offered the locus of control to the recipient when the language acknowledged the timing of the message and explicitly explained when and how to interact. In some cases, recipients received an invitation to interact only if they had questions. In more empowering cases, an identified opportunity to ask questions and present plans at a very specific time was articulated. The messages were most empowering when they clearly outlined in an accessible way the choices a student 76 THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION might make and explained the reasons for making those choices, followed by explicit directions for action. The final, and emerging, theme is as follows: 5. Communication experience matters. This emerging theme is of particular importance to orientation programs. It is emerging because it was only present in seven video transcripts that are part of a pre-orientation digital experience. As a unit, the transcripts performed better on the rubric than the documents performed as a whole. The rankings of excellent and satisfactory were due to consistent word choices and emphasis on the environment through language balance, and also the innovative use of technology encouraging participation. Statements connected recipients to links, to other videos, or to interest forms directly. There is some indication that the intentional creation of this experience allowed empowerment strategies and empowerment language to peak. Discussion As a functional area on campus that brings the university together, orientation and transition departments are positioned to guide a conversation about empowerment messaging. In particular, these departments often create the communications, or the arena for the communications, that incoming students receive. Orientation programs can construct communication pieces that, using language balance, help students begin to define the institutional environment, their role within it, and the experiences they will have before and after enrollment. Additionally, orientation can host conversations about appropriate terms and phrases, as well as ways to define the institution and students themselves. Orientation can also begin a conversation about the institutional lexicon and whether the usage of words is delivering contradictory, confusing, or over-emphasized messages. In particular, this study exposed the potential misconception that overemphasis of a program or service might create for incoming students. There is an opportunity to discuss how word and phrase choices with incoming students creates empowerment, because consistent terms allow recipients to define and therefore establish their own meaning. The pre-orientation and orientation experience is ripe with decisions for students to make. Designing opportunities for choice using empowerment messaging gives recipients research-based merit for choices, as well as explicit directions for how to make choices. Such messaging also clarifies when they can discuss their choices with institutional professionals. Orientation often hosts the opportunities for interaction, and by explicitly describing how decision-making will occur at orientation, the strategy grants access and accountability to the student for selection. Orientation and transition departments can explore the emerging theme of communication experience. If orientation programs intentionally weave together messages from different departments in ways that are meant to be integrated, VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 77 this may naturally open up opportunities that allow empowerment strategies to be employed. The rubric is available to assist the design of orientation-specific communication, and also to facilitate an exploration of the overall institutional message for students who are in the process of enrolling. Conclusion More exploration is necessary to further understand the impact of language on students as they are transitioning, and there is great potential in understanding the way language performs. Institutions invest in the development and design of interventions to assist students in their adjustment, so there is value in investing time in delivering messaging that is related to the environment. This is especially true if doing so can lead to advanced adjustment that might empower students to make decisions. Furthermore, the opportunity exists to define the institution through the creation of institutional lexicons that clarify the institutional environment and also offer students, with their varied context inputs, an opportunity to define themselves. FIGURE 1 Wilhite’s Rubric for Evaluating Language in First-Year Communication1 Developed using the theoretical knowledge of Foucault’s Discursive Formations and Weimer’s Balance of Power2 1This rubric was created as an instrument for Kathryn Wilhite’s qualitative thesis “An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Language on the Transition and Success of Students in Their First College Year” This is the revised model for use in practice and research 2Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 78 THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION AND TRANSITION FIGURE 1 (cont.) VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 79 References Astin, A. (1991). Assessment for excellence: The philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. Westport, CT: The Oryx Press. Burke, K. (1966). Language as symbolic action: Essays on life, literature, and method. Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA: The Regents of the University of California. Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. Hossler, D., & Anderson, D. K. (2005). The enrollment management process. In M.L. Upcraft, J. Gardner, & B. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (pp. 67-85). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Junco, R. (2005). Technology and today’s first-year student. In M.L. Upcraft, J. Gardner, & B. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (pp. 221-238). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ogden, C. K., & Richards, I. A. (1989) The Meaning of meaning. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Strange, C.C., & Banning, J. H. (2015) Designing for learning: Creating campus environments for student success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. Supiano, B. (2016, October 20). To Improve Student Success, a University Confronts the Email Deluge. The Chronicle for Higher Education 63(9), p. A10. Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. FIGURE 1 (cont.)