First Year Seminars Produce Long-Term Impact

Author(s):  
Carolyn A. Schnell ◽  
Curt D. Doetkott

In an effort to provide insight into a strategy for increasing student retention, students enrolled in a first year seminar were paired with a matched comparison group, and retention of the 1,853 students in the two groups was compared over a period of four years. Results indicated significantly greater retention over a period of four years for students enrolled in the seminar. Review of the literature indicates that while such seminars are gaining in popularity, longitudinal studies of their effectiveness using matched comparison groups are lacking. In addition to expanding the research base of the first year seminars, this article also presents the background of the seminar and studies regarding the first year seminar that are relevant to retention.

Author(s):  
Gerhard Winkler ◽  
Markus S. Schwaiger

The connection between customer satisfaction and the financial performance of companies has been under academic scrutiny for quite some time. Evidence regarding the long term impact of customer satisfaction is however relatively scarce. Furthermore, research has so far often neglected potential industry idiosyncrasies in estimating the consequences of changes in customer satisfaction. We provide an insight into the overall long run impact of customer satisfaction on operating revenues based on a longitudinal dataset for the Austrian retail banking industry. Our results corroborate the intuition of a positive long run effect of satisfaction on revenues. We can show, that a time lag of 1,5 years has to elapse for satisfaction to have a positive impact on sales.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothaina A. Al-Sheeb ◽  
Mahmoud Samir Abdulwahed ◽  
Abdel Magid Hamouda

Purpose This study intends to add to the existing body of literature on the impact of a newly implemented first year seminar in the College of Law and Business. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects the course have on students in regard to three aspects: student awareness and utilization of resources, interaction patterns, as well as, general interests and attitudes toward higher education. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of the assessment included analysis of a survey that has been conducted by the end of Spring 2014 semester. A quasi-experimental design was implemented to measure the impact of the intervention on students’ awareness and utilization of resources, interactions, general interests, and attitudes toward higher education. Through the SPSS application, the Mann Whitney U Test, and χ2 tests were used to check for significant differences while comparing the means or frequencies for both groups. For the three questions, the authors have used the 90 percent confidence level and the standard significance level p-value of 0.05 or less for statistical analysis. Findings The results indicated that the course had a highly significant positive impact on student attitudes and awareness of campus resources but had less significant impact on student interactions and utilization of resources. The results in this study reveal a positive impact for the first-year seminar course on student satisfaction and attitudes toward higher education as well as their awareness of campus resources. However, in terms of the course impact on student interaction, results conveyed that students who have participated in the first-year seminar course show a slightly better interaction rate with instructors, academic advisors, and close friends than those in the control group. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that the sample was small. Nonetheless, it has provided valuable insights into the understanding of the social and academic impact of first-year seminars on student engagement; through the use of comparison groups, this study increased the validity of prior research. Practical implications The first-year seminar course evaluated in this study demonstrated the potential to support and enhance student social and academic engagement during the first year of college. Based on the results in this study, the study team recommended some revisions to the current first-year seminar model (UNIV P100 Skills for University Success). The team proposed three models for subsequent first-year seminars at this university. Originality/value This study adds to the existing literature by examining the impact of a newly implemented first-year seminar course at the College of Law and Business at this university on both academic and non-academic aspects from the students’ perspective. These aspects were selected as retention and GPA effects have been widely explored; therefore, the focus is on the less studied emotional and social factors associated with student success and retention. The results from this study can act as a guide for universities intending to introduce a first-year seminar course as it gives clear guidelines on design, content, and course implementation, which can be useful in enhancing general student motivation and attitudes toward academic study and higher education in general.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Christina Nygren-Landgärds ◽  
Janne Elo ◽  
Ida Landgärds ◽  
Margita Engelholm

External organizations offer schools projects with different content, so-called external school projects. This type of external projects is mainly implemented by people or an organization outside of the school. The projects may be within the framework of a nation's political aspirations. The educational goals of the projects are often far-reaching, focusing on personality or attitudes. This article questions whether external school projects can achieve such far-reaching goals. The aim of the research is to explore the views of young adults regarding how participating in an external project influenced them. In-depth interviewing were used when eleven young adults, at the time 25 years old, were asked about their opinions of an external project in entrepreneurship , implemented as an optional course, ten years after taking part. They were asked how they considered the course have influenced them, their choices and their attitudes. The statements of the informants show that the project had some long-term impact. The results of the research provide insight into whether an external temporary school project may have long-term educational values. 


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 1859-1866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Landfeldt ◽  
Anna Castelo-Branco ◽  
Axel Svedbom ◽  
Emil Löfroth ◽  
Andrius Kavaliunas ◽  
...  

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with considerable morbidity and serious disability, but little is known of the long-term impact of the disease on work ability. Objectives: To assess sick leave (short-term absence) and disability pension (long-term absence) before and after diagnosis of MS. Methods: Patients with MS in Sweden were identified in a nationwide disease-specific register and matched with general population controls. Sick leave and disability pension were measured before and after index (i.e. the MS diagnosis date). Results: The final sample comprised 6092 patients and 60,345 controls (mean age 39 years; 70% female). The mean annual prevalence of sick leave ranged from 12% the first year after index to 23% after 11 years among patients and from 13% to 13% among controls. Corresponding estimates for disability pension were 12% and 55% for patients and 7% and 9% for controls. Significant differences in sick leave were observed up to 15 years before index and 3 years for disability pension. Conclusion: Patients with MS in Sweden have elevated levels of sick leave and disability pension up to 15 years before disease diagnosis. Our results highlight the burden of disease on affected patients and society and underscore the substantial unmet medical need.


2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey J. Devonport ◽  
Andrew M. Lane

Relationships between self-efficacy, coping and retention among first-year undergraduate students were investigated. Qualitative methods were used to develop a self-efficacy measure assessing confidence to achieve those competencies required to successfully complete the first year of an undergraduate degree. One hundred and thirty-one first-year students completed a 40-item self-efficacy questionnaire and the MCOPE (Crocker & Graham, 1995) at the start of the academic year. Factor analysis indicated a coherent 5-factor model that described self-efficacy to manage time, use learning resources, work in groups, work well in lectures, and communicate. Results indicated that the coping strategies of planning and seeking social support for instrumental purposes significantly related to more than one self-efficacy factor and that self-efficacy scores taken at the start of the course could correctly classify 81.3% of students who subsequently withdrew. Findings lend insight into the association between strategies used to cope with environmental and interpersonal demands, and self-efficacy to cope with the demands of an undergraduate degree.


Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Crissman

Research has shown that two effective programs that positively impact upon new students' retention are first year seminars and clustering two or more academic courses together. This article discusses the results of one institution's approach to increasing student retention. The study analyzed the impact of clustering a first year seminar with an English composition course on new students' retention rates at a small, independent college in the northeast. The study, using multivariate regression models, showed no statistical difference in retention rates between students taking a clustered first year seminar and students taking a nonclustered first year seminar. This article discusses reasons that may account for the inconsistency with the literature, and closes with implications of the study and future research ideas.


1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight K. Lauer ◽  
Glenn R. Glover

Abstract Herbicide treatments were used at four flatwood locations in north Florida and south Georgia to compare early pine response to control of herbaceous and shrub vegetation following bedding. Treatments consisted of three levels of shrub control (none, first year, repeated) with and without first year herbaceous vegetation control. All studies were located on spodosols planted with either loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) or slash (Pinus elliottii Englem.) pine. Responses due to shrub control were about twice that of herbaceous control with height responses of 2.2, 5.0, and 6.9 ft due to first year herbaceous control, shrub control, and the combination of both herbaceous and shrub control, respectively. Pine response did not differ due to duration of shrub control because the difference in shrub cover between first year and repeated shrub control treatments was minor in these young stands. Pines averaged 18.3 ft in height and 3.2 in. in dbh 5 yr after planting when both herbaceous and shrub vegetation was controlled with these operational-like site preparation treatments that combine bedding with first year herbicide applications. Shrub occupancy was highest on treatments that did not include shrub control and continued to increase through the first 5 yr. Operational site-preparation treatments that combine bedding with herbicide applications should be considered in situations where shrub vegetation is present because of the long-term impact that shrubs have on pine yield. South. J. Appl. For. 15(4):201-208.


Author(s):  
Daniel Terry ◽  
Blake Peck

Grit is the capacity to persevere, to have passion, and be committed to achieve goals long-term regardless of adversity or challenge. Grit provides an insight into why some nursing students succeed academically or clinically, while others do not. This quantitative cross-sectional correlational study measured levels of grit among nursing students undertaking a three-year bachelor’s degree program. All students (n = 2349) within the program were invited to complete a questionnaire which included the short grit scale (Grit-S) which measured each student’s level of perseverance and passion. Overall, it was highlighted that increased levels of grit correlated with an increase in the student’s year of study, greater perceived clinical and academic performance, not using television as a motivator for entry to nursing, being lower on the socio-economic spectrum, and being older in age. Grit was found to develop exponentially as students entered second and third years, suggesting that a balance of constant academic and clinical challenge was an impetus for many to achieve in the face of adversity, and is reminiscent of the journey of the koi fish. This paper culminates in a call for educators to consider the inclusion of creative grit forming challenges that focus on developing a student’s sense of open-mindedness within first year of undergraduate nursing programs.


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