The Online First-Year Experience: Defining and Illustrating a New Reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-108
Author(s):  
Ryan Korstange ◽  
Jeff Hall ◽  
Jamie Holcomb ◽  
Jasmeial Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Online Students ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Online Orientation ◽  
Incoming Students

All incoming students have a first experience with their institution. This article reviews literature on adult education, online learning, and first-year student success to articulate the scope of experiences and programs that ought to be included in institutional efforts aimed at helping adult students be successful in their first year of online education. In addition, three approaches to support these online students in their first year of college are illustrated. Key areas surveyed are online orientation programs, online first-year experience courses, and the co-curricular engagement of online learners. Examination of these cases demonstrates that supporting online first-year students is quite important, particularly given the proliferation of online students and their lag in standard measures of success.

Creating Positive E-Learning Experiences for Online Students

2011 ◽  
pp. 517-524
Author(s):  
Ryan Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Study Habits ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Students ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
E Learning

Online students can not always depend on the study habits and learning skills that made them successful in the traditional classroom to translate into success in online courses. E-learning programs can, however, offer students opportunities to build useful skills for achieving success in the interactive and challenging classrooms of today’s online courses by building on the achievements of first-year experience (i.e., student success or college survival) initiatives. Having demonstrated remarkable success in traditional on-campus programs, these courses, tutorials, lectures, and activities that focus on developing student study habits and learning skills can also be used by online learners to improve the odds of their academic success and retention. This chapter explores many of the opportunities and challenges of integrating e-learning study skills lessons into the curriculum of online courses and degree programs.

scholarly journals Designing Effective Online Orientation Programs for First-Year University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Crozier
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Student Affairs ◽  
Community Of Inquiry ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Orientation Program ◽  
Online Orientation ◽  
First Year University ◽  
First Time ◽  
Student Affairs Professional

While asynchronous, self-paced online orientation programs are not brand new in the field of orientation, transition and retention, COVID-19 forced many institutions to rapidly create a program for the first time to help welcome fall 2020 students. Using the community of inquiry model as a framework, this literature review explores the research related to orientation and online learning in an effort to identify the principles, practices and processes that can help a student affairs professional to design an effective and engaging online orientation program, or enhance an existing program.

Flying SOLO for Student Success

2015 ◽  
pp. 244-265
Author(s):  
Regina L. Garza Mitchell ◽  
Gina L. Cano-Monreal
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Technical College ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Preparedness ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
Global Workforce

This chapter describes how one innovative practice evolved to become an integral part of the college's efforts to increase student preparedness and success in courses so that they will be employable and competitive in the global workforce. Texas State Technical College Harlingen aimed to enhance student success in online education through implementing a mandatory class, Student Online Learning Orientation, for new online students. The course was developed as the result of faculty research and recommendations regarding online learning at the college. The majority of students at the college are underprepared and from low socioeconomic backgrounds, putting them at a disadvantage in taking these courses. Rather than a barrier to taking online classes, the goal of this class is to provide students with the necessary tools and skills to be successful. Results of the program show an increase in persistence and completion of online courses, and the course has become an integral part of the college's training and first-year experience for all students.

scholarly journals Selective Planning of the First Year Experience in Higher Education: A Sweden-Australia Comparative Study of Support

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Michael Christie ◽  
Sorrel Penn-Edwards ◽  
Sharn Donnison ◽  
Ruth Greenaway
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Fourth Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Satellite Campus ◽  
First Case ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The University

Literature on the support of the First Year Experience (FYE) in institutions of Higher Education provides a range of modelled approaches. However, we argue that institutions still need to selectively plan which approach/es and attendant strategies are best suited to their particular contexts and institutional policy and practice frameworks and how their FYE is to be presented for their particular student cohort. This paper compares different ways of supporting students in their first year in two contrasting universities. The first case study focuses on a first year course at Stockholm University (SU), Sweden, a large, metropolitan, single campus institution, while the second investigates a strategy for supporting first year students using a community of practice at a satellite campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), a small regional university in South-East Queensland, Australia. The research contrasts a formal, first generation support approach versus a fourth generation support approach which seeks to involve a wider range of stakeholders in supporting first year students. The research findings draw conclusions about how effective the interventions were for the students and provide clear illustrations that selective planning in considering the institution’s strategic priorities and human, physical, and resource contexts was instrumental in providing a distinctive experience which complemented the institute and the student cohort. (212 words)

Retention of Online Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-38
Author(s):  
Pamela A. Lemoine ◽  
Gina Sheeks ◽  
Robert E. Waller ◽  
Michael D. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
Dropout Rates ◽  
Online Students ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
Online Services ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Education Enrollment

The most important word for contemporary global higher education institutions is retention. Although online education enrollment in these institutions has increased by approximately 40 percent in recent years, the dropout rates for online students is approximately 20-30 percent more than for face-to-face classes. Institutions have tried to address this issue, but the dropout rate continues to be a serious concern. The authors of this manuscript propose that the addition of online services for online students as a possible solution.

ANALYSIS OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRANSITION TO ONLINE LEARNING ON THE EXAMPLE OF MOOC PHILOSOPHY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1083-1093
Author(s):  
Daria Bylieva ◽  
Zafer Bekirogullari ◽  
Victoria Lobatyuk ◽  
Tatiana Nam
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Sharp Increase ◽  
Educational Technologies ◽  
Online Course ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Peter The Great ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Portfolios

Purpose of the study: The situation of a mass transition of Universities to online education in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to see the challenges of distance e-learning in practice. In this unique situation, the same students studying the same course changed only the form of education, which allows us to see the consequences of such a transition. The purpose of the study is the analysis of changes in students' educational activities in the transition to online learning. Methodology: The article provides a quantitative statistical analysis of changes in the behaviour of first-year students of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (N=3122) in the framework of studying the mass open online course “Philosophy” on the platform open.edu when switching to fully e-learning in March 2020. The authors have applied data mining MOOCs from students’ learning portfolios. Main Findings: Existing technological solutions and educational technologies made it possible to quickly adapt the education system to the distance format. However, the transition to fully e-learning has led to a sharp increase (by 16-17%) in the number of students who do not participate in intermediate tests and not doing homework in the e-course and later did not return to normal learning. Applications of this study: Since modern higher education is increasingly using e-learning, it is necessary to anticipate the consequences of the implementation of e-learning. The study helps to see general trends in this area. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study provides an analysis of students’ learning when switching to online education based on data taken directly from students’ learning portfolios, which allows us to see a completely objective picture of changes in students' behaviour.

scholarly journals A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Presentation Formats for Instruction: Teaching First-Year Students

2000 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Anne Germain ◽  
Trudi E. Jacobson ◽  
Sue A. Kaczor
Keyword(s):  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Class Session ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
New Students ◽  
Presentation Formats ◽  
The University

First-year experience (FYE) programs offer librarians opportunities to teach new students in a comprehensive fashion. However, large FYE programs can place demands on user education programs that are difficult to meet. Instruction librarians at the University at Albany sought to address this dilemma by developing a Web-based instructional module for one class session. The module was used by a segment of students in the Project Renaissance FYE program, whereas another segment received instruction by a librarian. The effectiveness of the two instructional methods was compared using pre- and post-tests, and was found to be equal. Analysis of the test scores also showed that instruction, regardless of format, makes a significant difference (p < .05) in the number of correct test answers.

scholarly journals Even a Weekend Works

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Gentry ◽  
Karl W. Kuhnert ◽  
Rachel M. Johnson ◽  
Brennan D. Cox
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Orientation Program ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
College And University

Helping first-year students become involved in college via semester- or year-long first-year orientation programs is a major undertaking for college and university administrators. The effect of a weekend-long orientation program on students' involvement in college had yet to be determined until the current study. The authors describe such a program and evaluate its utility. Results revealed that incoming first-year students who attended a weekend-long orientation program were involved in school during their first year, than those who did not attend the program.

scholarly journals Book Review: The First-Year Experience Cookbook

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Kyndra Valencia
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Plans ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Library Instruction ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Staffing Requirements ◽  
Busy Schedule

In any university library, the first-year experience is an essential component of capturing students’ interest and engagement from the very beginning and of publicizing what the library offers them. However, it is always a struggle to determine how exactly to capture freshmen’s attention and disseminate information about the library’s various resources. Coming up with fresh, relevant ideas on top of an already busy schedule is enough to stress almost any librarian. Pun and Houlihan’s book attempts to alleviate this stress by presenting a “cookbook” of ideas, activities, and lesson plans that librarians across the nation have found effective in engaging first-year students, giving library staff a wealth of options to consider, duplicate, or alter according to their own needs. The book itself is divided into four sections—orientations, library instruction, programs, and assessment. Each section’s activities and lesson plans are detailed and well described, offering excellent variety as well as suggestions for accommodating a wide range of program sizes, budget constraints, and time and staffing requirements. Many of the included projects also feature photographs of the activities or reproducible versions of handouts, increasing the ease of replicability for interested librarians.

scholarly journals Exploring the first-year experience in a diverse population: Using participatory action research to explore strategies to support student transition into fast-track undergraduate degree programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Greg Rickard ◽  
Marguerite Bramble ◽  
Hazel Maxwell ◽  
Rochelle Einboden ◽  
Sally Farrington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fast Track ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Student Transition ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
University Life

As the cohort of students in Australian universities become increasingly diverse, attention to ensuring their success is an emerging issue of social justice in tertiary education. Navigating transitions through the student journey is crucial to their success. Exploring and responding to the needs of a cohort of first-year students is the focus of this research. Using a participatory action approach, this project aimed to discover what is meaningful for first-year students, by exploring how students experienced the processes of admission, enrolment, commencement, and learning and teaching in two fast-track and one online health degrees. Nine students were partnered with nine academics for a six-month period. The analysis offers insights into equity issues in relation to the institution’s admission processes, the quality of support and engagement from academics to students when transitioning to university life, and how students find their ‘place’. Strategies to support the transition process for first-year students are identified and discussed.

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