Student-engagement initiative earns two honors
The Hanover College Office of Student Life has earned two honors for its “Panther Pursuits” program. The digital application-based initiative supports student success and inspires participation in campus activities outside of the classroom experience.
Instituted one year ago, “Panther Pursuits” earned awards for outstanding new program and best incentives from Suitable, a student-engagement and success software company. The honors were presented in July during Suitable’s annual Pathways student-development conference in Philadelphia.
“The Office of Student Life is immensely proud of our students and colleagues across campus who have supported the ‘Panther Pursuits’ initiative,” said Ashley Eden, Hanover’s associate director of prevention and leadership. “The time and thoughtful effort spent organizing, coordinating and attending events across campus have contributed to this recognition.”
“Panther Pursuits” was created to encourage student exploration of the range of entertainment and educational opportunities offered on campus. The initiative utilizes Suitable’s mobile application, which gamifies the College’s co-curricular activities. The unique approach to campus programming inspires attendance and participation, which ultimately enhances engagement, practical skill development and transformative learning.
“We were very pleased with our launch and exceeded our goal with more than 80 percent of students logging on to the platform,” stated D.J. Walch, director of co-curricular involvement at Hanover. “The gamification also allows us to host contests and reward students for their engagement.”
Through Suitable’s app, point values are assigned to a wide variety of campus happenings. Students earn points with their participation in these activities. As their level of engagement and point totals rise, students can unlock rewards of increasing value throughout the academic year. Rewards vary from free items and exclusive opportunities to skip-the-line access at popular campus events.
Suitable’s software also generates a leaderboard, which is viewable on the app and digitally displayed on campus. The rankings provide not only an entertaining campus-wide competition, but also a relatable glimpse at how Hanover’s most-engaged students are becoming involved.
“We hope that the app is a useful tool to encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities around campus,” added Walch.
