You’ve seen signs all over campus advertising it. Maybe you’ve even heard some of your friends mention it. But there is more to the Springboard program than you know.
Springboard is a one credit hour course aimed at assisting freshmen in their self-development.
“We’re here to help freshmen succeed at college,” Sandy Mencer, interim director of Springboard, said.
Each “bouncer,” or freshman, in the Springboard program is randomly assigned to a “coach,” who can be an upperclassman, a faculty or staff member or a member of the Bowling Green community.
The Springboard program consists of a sequence of 14 different activities, including problem solving exercises, group discussions and interviews. These activities are designed to improve a freshman’s skills in the areas of investigation, connection, presentation, writing, participation, leadership and self-assurance. A student’s grade in Springboard is based solely on the completion of these exercises.
“There is a lot of one-on-one reflection and large group activities [in Springboard],” sophomore Scott McDowell said of his experience in the program last year as a bouncer.
Springboard classes are held once a week. During an average class, coaches meet to review the day’s lesson plan 30 minutes before the bouncers arrive. Bouncers and coaches then complete the assigned activity, usually as a pair. Occasionally, the coaches act as cheerleaders for their bouncers, who complete the activity independently. After the exercise is finished, each bouncer discusses the activity and the bouncer’s personal strengths and weaknesses with his or her coach.
Although the course is designed around their needs, freshmen are not the only beneficiaries of the Springboard program.
“The coaching experience is at least as valuable as the freshman experience, if not more so,” Mencer said.
Because of the partnership that naturally forms between bouncer and coach, the relationship between the two often grows beyond its origins as an educational alliance.
“My coach became a friend. He was really cool,” McDowell, who plans on being a Springboard coach next year, said.
Springboard is available to freshmen and upperclassmen as a one credit hour course every semester. For more information about the program, visit Springboard’s web site at http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/springboard.
