PawPrints site giving freshmen tools for college success

Chris Munsterman, a Northwest freshman from Agency, is the winner of UFindIt. The contest was designed by the Office of Enrollment Management to promote PawPrints, a University-maintained social networking site created to boost freshman retention.

Munsterman was declared the winner after earning the most points of any participating student over the eight weeks of the contest. He received a $300 American Express gift card.

Similar to sites like Facebook and MySpace, PawPrints allows first-year Bearcats to create user profiles, post photographs, link to friends and favorites and participate in discussion threads.

PawPrints also contains articles, videos and other resources offering information, advice and tips on how to succeed in college while making the most of the campus experience. Features include stories and testimonials on such topics as course selection, test taking, building healthy relationships, time management, alcohol abuse, lifestyle choices, depression, diversity, eating disorders and roommate etiquette.

The contest required students to hone their PawPrints skills by seeking out the answers to questions pertaining to various “tracks,” such as sports and health, fine arts, science and technology and student life.

After answering the track questions, students were asked to run down Get Up and Find It questions, which required them to walk the campus in search of clues. Contestants could also earn bonus points by submitting correct answers to trivia questions based on their original track topic.

Track questions were worth 5 points each, GUFI questions were worth 10 points and trivia questions were good for 2 points.

“The goal of the contest was to encourage our freshmen to use PawPrints and become engaged with the features on the site,” said Bev Schenkel, dean of enrollment management. “I am pleased to report that we saw a 20 percent increase in the number of freshmen registered on the site because of this promotion.”

Schenkel added that 70 percent of all Northwest freshmen are registered on PawPrints and use it as a tool to learn more about the University while making the transition to college life.

Implemented last spring, PawPrints is based on FYRe (Freshman Year Retention), a software platform produced and marketed by GoalQuest, Inc. The New York-based higher education company specializes in comprehensive retention solutions for colleges and universities.

In addition to providing students with a positive social networking environment, FYRe uses real-time question-and-answer modules that allow Enrollment Management staff to deploy custom surveys and assessments. Feedback from these tools provides information that can be used to gauge students’ satisfaction and grasp of institutional values as well as risk factors that may inhibit success.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

Return to Previous Page