Self-reflection and recommending a grade for your Circle of Champions assignment is important because it encourages you to engage in a deeper analysis of your own work, helping you become more aware of your strengths and areas for improvement. This process helps you assess your progress, recognize the effort you put into the assignment, and critically evaluate the quality of your work against the assignment's objectives and grading criteria. By recommending a grade, you develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for your learning, allowing you to be more proactive in identifying areas where you can improve in the future. This practice also fosters self-awareness and growth, as it encourages you to think more critically about your learning process and how you approach assignments. In turn, it allows your professor to better understand your perspective on your work, leading to more constructive feedback and a collaborative approach to your academic development.

A post-survey is a data collection tool conducted after the implementation of a project. In this case it is used to measure what you opinion is now that you have been engaged in the Circle of Champions Network. We use it to gather information and compare this information to the baseline survey. The data from a post-survey helps evaluate whether the intended goals or changes were achieved, measure the impact of the intervention, and identify any unexpected results or areas needing further attention.

This information collected through this self evaluation will be used for two purposes: 1) your professor will use this to help them assign a grade to your Circle of Champions assignment; and 2) data will be used to help improve the Circle of Champions experience for students and in the end, help more students finds success through their academic journeys.

UCLA and University of Pennsylvania oversee all research related to the Circle of Champions Network. Their goal is to help us understand what kind of impact the Network has on student success and help us understand the improvements that can be made to expand student success through the Network.

Simply put, The Circle of Champions Network organizes the existing social capital in first generation students’ lives and converts it into academic capital. First-generation students come from communities with friends and family who love them, but often lack college experience and know-how. As a result, these students receive less guidance in their academic journeys; this is particularly true for many Hispanic STEM students. Surrounded by people who want to help but don’t know how, they are less likely to receive support when applying for college, choosing courses, securing financial aid, planning for careers, and generally navigating the complexities of college. In addition, the under-funded condition of the public colleges they most often attend means college personnel are not typically able to fill these support gaps leaving an estimated 45% of college students (and more for marginalized students) to never see an academic advisor (Flaherty, 2023). The result is many Hispanic STEM undergraduates navigate complicated academic journeys largely by themselves. The Circle of Champions Network helps students identify the natural cheerleaders in their lives. Students tend to nominate an average of a little more than four individuals to join their Circle. Typical nominees include parents, other family members, friends, former high school teachers, professors, and similar individuals. With a Circle of Champions around each student, the Network systems and associated personnel track student academic journeys, keep champions up to date on their student’s progress, and help champions learn how to provide informed support. The environment is culturally responsive and built around a scalable model, allowing coaches to manage a cohort of 500-750 students and 2,000-3,000 champions. Our aim is to convert students’ assets and community wealth into traditional forms of academic capital. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8a0f3c_6cf8b918b4b34ff3a7ebbd58de74a238~mv2.png