scholarly journals Reinventing the First-Year Seminar and Student Support Programs to Decrease the Number of Failed Grades in the First Semester and to Reach a 90 Percent First-Year Retention Rate

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Retention Rate ◽  
Student Support ◽  
Support Programs ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
First Year Retention ◽  
First Year Seminar

On the Path to World Class Retention

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Hensel ◽  
Amy Hortop
Keyword(s):  
Support Services ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
First Year Retention ◽  
One Year ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
Academic Year

Retention of students from the first to second year of engineering programs has long been recognized as an important and challenging hurdle. The Mechanical Engineering Department at RIT has implemented several changes to its first year programs and student support services during the preceding five years, which have resulted in a significant increase in one-year retention. During the 2005-06 academic year, additional support services were provided to first year learning communities in combination with course offering logistics modifications. Additional focus was placed on building a firm relationship between each student and their faculty adviser. Six initiatives were studied during the 2005-06 academic year, resulting in a projected first year retention rate of 98% at the institution, and 96% retention within the mechanical engineering department.

Using Student Drawings to Understand the First-Year Experience

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele C. Everett
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Study Data ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Students First ◽  
Undeclared Students ◽  
First Year Seminar

This article reports on an exploratory study that investigated the use of student drawings as a visual research method to understand the first-year experience. A total of 31 undeclared students enrolled in a first-year seminar participated in the study. Data generated from pre- and postdrawings of students’ first semester paths were analyzed to identify emergent themes and understand experience at the group and individual levels. Findings provide novel insights about the first-year experience from the student’s perspective. These new understandings have important implications that may help institutions shape and strengthen retention efforts at the student, classroom, and program levels.

scholarly journals Everyone is Responsible for Everything: Corequisites and the First-Year Seminar

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (Volume 2, Issue 2) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Keyword(s):  
Student Support ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Underprepared Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
First Year Seminar

Following state legislation mandating corequisite support in lieu of remedial prerequisites for underprepared students, this article tells the story of a specific corequisite program piloted in South Texas. Our model transformed certain sections of our institution􏰀s first-year seminar into corequisite courses, which were paired with required gateway classes. We argue, this model helped to extend existing networks of student support beyond classrooms and beyond advising.

The First-Year Seminar: A Program Evaluation of Students’ Public-Affairs Awareness

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
First Semester ◽  
The Public ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year Seminar

Similar to the public-welfare aim of many universities, Missouri State University (MSU) was granted a specific statewide public affairs mission in 1995 comprising three pillars: community engagement, cultural competence, and ethical leadership. Since the implementation of this mission, the university has engaged in various efforts to promote and foster public-affairs awareness among students, including through its first-year seminar (FYS). This article details a study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the FYS in enhancing students’ public-affairs awareness. The researchers solicited input from students in the first and last weeks of their first semester at MSU using the Public Affairs Scale–Short Survey (PAS-SS) as well as other questions. The study sample consisted of 540 students who completed both the pre- and post-surveys. The researchers found that students’ public-affairs awareness in the cultural competence domain increased during the FYS program, but not in community engagement or ethical leadership. Additionally, there were significant differences in public-affairs awareness over time between first-generation students enrolled in specialized sections and those who were not. No significant differences were found in public-affairs awareness between faculty- and staff-taught sections or between sections with a peer leader and those without. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the study findings and a consideration of implications for future practice.

scholarly journals Embracing the Generalized Propensity Score Method: Measuring the Effect of Library Usage on First-Time-In-College Student Academic Success

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingying Mao ◽  
Kirsten Kinsley
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
First Year ◽  
Propensity Score Method ◽  
Causal Inferences ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Generalized Propensity Score ◽  
First Year Retention ◽  
Score Method ◽  
First Time

Abstract Objective – This research focuses on First-Time-in-College (FTIC) student library usage during the first academic year as number of visits (frequency) and length of stay (duration) and how that might affect first-term grade point average (GPA) and first-year retention using the generalized propensity score (GPS). We also want to demonstrate that GPS is a proper tool that researchers in libraries can use to make causal inferences about the effects of library usage on student academic success outcomes in observation studies. Methods – The sample for this study includes 6,380 FTIC students who matriculated in the fall 2014 and fall 2015 semesters at a large southeastern university. Students’ library usage (frequency and duration), background characteristics, and academic records were collected. The Generalized Propensity Score method was used to estimate the effects of frequency and duration of FTIC library visits. This method minimizes self-selection bias and allows researchers to control for demographic, pre-college, and collegiate variables. Four dose-response functions were estimated for each treatment (frequency and duration) and outcome variable (GPA and retention). Results – The estimated dose-response function plots for first-term GPA and first-year retention rate have similar shapes, which initially decrease to the minimum values then gradually increase as the treatment level increases. Specifically, the estimated average first-term GPA is minimized when the FTIC student only visits the library three times or spends one hour in the library during his/her first semester. The threshold for first-year retention occurs when students visit the library 15 times or spend 21 hours in the library during their first semester. After those thresholds, an increase in students’ library usage is related to an increase in their academic success. Conclusions – The generalized propensity score method gives the library researcher a scientifically rigorous methodological means to make causal inferences in an observational study (Imai & van Dyk, 2004). Using this methodological approach demonstrates that increasing library usage is likely to increase FTIC students’ first-term GPA and first-year retention rates past a certain threshold of frequency and duration.

scholarly journals First-Year Seminar (FYS)—The Advantages That This Course Offers

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Jaijairam
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
University Policies ◽  
Introductory Class ◽  
To Receive ◽  
First Year Seminar

<p>First-Year Seminar (FYS) is an introductory class offered to first-year students to help them acclimate to the college environment, develop effective strategies for studying, and learn techniques that will allow them to swiftly complete small assignments and sizable research projects. In 2014, approximately 80 percent of universities offered FYS, and students who took the course, on average, were less likely to transfer to another school and more likely to receive higher grades. The class allows students to learn more information about the college, select courses that are related to their majors and/or minors, effectively utilize resources while they are studying, cooperate with other students to complete projects, and appreciate the benefits of taking a particular course. FYS also enriches the experiences of first-year students by helping them find organizations of interest, understand university policies, and pursue hobbies while attending the college. At some colleges, students who have already taken a FYS course volunteer to become mentors who provide assistance to first-year students while they are taking the class. Analysis has shown that a high percentage of new enrollees indicated that mentors had a very positive impact on their overall experiences. Moreover, at many colleges and universities, there were increases in the retention rate.</p>

scholarly journals Prioritizing Reflection and Integrative Learning in First-Year Seminar Courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianna Z. Rust ◽  
Ryan Korstange
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Integrative Learning ◽  
First Year Retention ◽  
College Learn ◽  
First Year Seminar

First-Year Seminar (FYS) or First-Year Experience (FYE) courses help college students transition to college, learn valuable academic skills, and create successful habits. This research analyzes the benefit of reorganizing FYS curriculum around reflection and integrative learning, by comparing students who participated in this redesigned curriculum with those who participated in a skills-based, extended orientation first-year seminar course. The two groups were compared on several measures, including perception about the utility of reflective and integrative thinking, first year retention, and first year GPA. Our findings suggest that prioritizing reflection and integrative learning in a FYS seminar is beneficial.

scholarly journals Using Student Narratives to Understand the Perceived Impact of First-Year Seminar Participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. Foote
Keyword(s):  
College Experience ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Early College ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Course Assessment ◽  
Reed College ◽  
Perceived Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

The purpose of this multi-campus study was to determine how participating in a first-year seminar impacts students during the first semester of college. In the years since the first credit-bearing first-year seminar was offered at Reed College in 1911 (Gordon & Grites, 1984), many campuses have created seminars that address a variety of subject matter and meet the needs of an institution and its students. The customized nature of contemporary seminars has caused much of the course assessment and research to focus on measuring the impact of these institution-specific courses on retention (Porter & Swing, 2006). Qualitative methods were used in this study to identify additional ways first-year seminar participation influences the early college experience of students enrolled in the course. The study found that participating in a first-year seminar contributed to students' feelings of confidence in academic skills and abilities, as well as the connections they developed with their peers and seminar instructor. Several aspects of the first-year seminars in this study, including the content and ways in which the course was taught, were found to contribute to the perceptions of the participants.

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