Welcome to Saddleback:
Creating Video Guides for New Students

The chapter's 2022 College Project aimed to give new and post-pandemic-returning students an inside look at the buildings on campus.

Complementing the college's interactive map, these videos were aimed at making students feel welcome as well as helping them finding their way around their new academic home.

Project Presentation
NV/CA Region College Project Workshop
June 18, 2022

Report to Phi Theta Kappa (Hallmark Award Application)

1. Briefly describe your College Project and how it directly supported the college’s mission/current priorities.
(All rubrics apply, especially Preparation Rubric.)

Beta Epsilon Beta created a series of tour videos giving students an inside look into the buildings on campus, a resource previously unavailable. Prior to the tour videos, Saddleback College invested in an interactive campus map which aided students in getting around campus from the outside. Our tour videos sought to fill in what the interactive campus map did not have by giving a tour of the building’s interior. Prior to meeting with the college president, chapter members met to discuss possible ideas in case the president prompted for the chapter’s insight.

The team developed two ideas in which the concept, possible execution plans, and how the project aligned with the College’s vision were outlined. One idea was a campus tour and the other partnering with Be The Match. During the meeting with the president, chapter

representatives were given the college’s current priorities and asked for project ideas that worked on those priorities. Given that building community after being online for several semesters was one of the school’s priorities both the chapter and administration agreed that videos which toured the school would help accomplish this as not knowing how to get around campus and to classes was a common intimidation shared among many students, both returning and newly enrolled.

Saddleback College’s mission and values give a strong emphasis on student success and providing students with the necessary resources to succeed. As such the tour video project related directly to the college's overarching mission to provide the necessary resources for student success by adding a navigation tool that took away the unnecessary barrier of campus intimidation that many students shared. Additionally the project addressed the college’s current priority of community building by creating a more welcoming environment where students are familiar with the campus and know how to get around.

2. Describe the planning process in detail including who was involved in determining the project.
Please Note: it’s acceptable to list job titles/departments rather than all individuals’ full names.
(All rubrics apply, especially Preparation Rubric.)

The preparation phase of Beta Epsilon Beta’s project consisted of an initial team meeting to go over the college’s missions and possible project ideas if needed for the meeting with administration. During the subsequent meeting with the college president it was agreed upon that tour videos addressing the inside of buildings best reflected the college’s current needs. In addition to the existing concept, it was also decided that the videos would ultimately land in the Student Support Hub in Canvas alongside the already existing interactive campus map. This decision came from the goal to ultimately streamline existing student resources into one location rather than the three that currently exist. Taking the information and decisions made with the president, the chapter had a meeting to finalize the project with an official proposal of the project. In preparation of what the videos should look like our chapter members went to YouTube to watch other schools’ videos to see what worked best and decided that the videos would be concise yet informative to be most effective in helping students. Additionally, we went to the campus walking around to plan the video formats and scripts, ensuring that the sequence of the videos were logical and accurate. The proposal to the president consisted of what specific videos would be created and the vision for what the videos would ultimately look like. When it came to the specific content of each video the chapter reached out to each dean along with various departments and staff asking what they would like to see in the videos or what they have found most confuses students about the campus. The feedback was compiled into a document that would be used to work the ideas into the video scripts. Roles were primarily divided into planning the videos, contacting the necessary staff and faculty, filming the videos, and editing. Members filled roles that best fit their capabilities, those with filming and editing experience had those responsibilities, and those with good organization skills also assisted with filming and editing in order to keep the content organized. Those with creative vision and detailed planning went into planning the videos. Then those with effective communication skills went into the outreach role reaching out to deans and staff.

3. What knowledge, skills and abilities did members need to successfully implement this College Project? How did chapter members strengthen these areas before implementing the project?
(All rubrics apply, especially Leadership Development Rubric.)

Successful implementation of the College Project tour videos depended most on the members’ teamwork. Then, the ability to think creatively and effectively communicate those ideas. For without effective communication the project would have fallen apart. Additionally, experience in filming and editing was critical to ensuring the quality of the videos. Since the PTK members had little expertise in this field, outside help was invited. In cohesion with all these abilities, the group members needed attention to detail and organization for the creation of quality, informative videos.

The greatest asset to the project came with the asking for help from the college advisor outside members. The college advisor was intricately connected to the completion of this project by making themselves available through mass email communication. Online resources were enlisted from Youtube when other resources had been exhausted. In studying YouTube video layouts, and filming methods the group got a sense of what effective videos could look like, along with how to properly script notations.

Similarly, attendance at the College Project workshop helped properly prepare the group for the project. The information at the conference gave the team a concise idea of what to expect and how to prepare. As mentioned above, without efficient communication between the team members, the project would not have gone as smoothly. Each member had an important role, and solidity made this project a reality. Lastly, the feedback of the deans was most appreciated. As their feedback helped the videos be as relevant and helpful as possible.

4. How did the chapter carry out the project and communicate with all collaborators?
(All rubrics apply, especially Cooperative Effort/Communication Rubric.)

In addition to dividing the project into categories and roles, the chapter also explicitly outlined what was expected of the videos which proved helpful in the planning of the videos. It was agreed that the end goal of the project was to have videos that lasted for several years which specifically helped students navigate the campus. Accordingly, the videos kept specifics such as floorplans, staircases, and nearby parking lots while keeping other aspects general such as names of faculty and staff which changes semester to semester. In addition to making the videos timeless and effective, the chapter had to find a way to adapt to a changing campus with new buildings. It was decided to add a file to the master flash drive outlining the steps of how to make the videos so future chapter members could update the videos as buildings are changed or added, The master flash drive was also a solution for communication and how to get the videos to the administration while keeping the quality. The chapter created a flash drive that held the nine videos, a document sharing the purpose and outline of the videos, and how to create future videos so that administration and future members had easy access to the videos. The flash drive was labeled and stored in the Phi Theta Kappa cabinet in the Honor’s Office for easy access. Communication with all collaborators ranged from a group in canvas to encapsulate all necessary files and information between chapter members to emails and meetings with staff for planning and project updates, and finally the flash drive for the final project and future collaboration.

5. What were the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of this project, including the project’s impact on members?
(All rubrics apply, especially Impact Rubric.)

The final outcome of this project included nine short, informative videos that took an inside look into Saddleback’s buildings. The videos were ultimately housed along an interactive campus map in the Student Support Hub, a location where all necessary resources can be quickly and easily accessed by students. A common lament heard throughout the semester by students was the cluelessness about the campus and the first day ordeals of getting around. The president had shared that data had shown an increase of students attending in person classes the upcoming spring 2022 semester meaning that the common campus intimidation would be all the more abundant. The chapter’s project sought to address this with the tour videos so that students had the opportunity to take away the intimidation of going to campus without any prior campus exposure. This also worked towards the college’s priority of building community since one of the first steps in building a community is taking away the intimidation of the campus and making it a more familiar and welcoming environment.

6. Describe how this project helped develop and/or hone your chapter’s relationship with the college administration.
(All rubrics apply, especially Impact Rubric.)

This project helped hone Beta Epsilon Beta’s relationship with not only the college administration but also the administration of each department. The process of completing the tour videos involved contacting the deans of each department. This measure emphasized our chapter’s role as a school resource and allowed officials on campus to communicate their needs. Many expressed appreciation for the project’s idea during the beginning stages and the final result, strengthening the chapter’s reputation. The fact that the project worked directly towards the college’s most pertinent priorities while also utilizing new resources that the College recently developed showed the chapter’s ability to effectively execute a task. Specifically working with the Student Support Hub and interactive campus map. Both resources Saddleback recently developed to help streamline and simplify student access to the resources. Overall the campus tour videos served as the ideal opportunity to help the campus and many students in a relevant way and demonstrate to administration Beta Epsilon Beta’s utility and reliability.