scholarly journals In Their Own Words

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane M. Waryold ◽  
J. Joy James
Keyword(s):  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Natural World ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
State University ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Unobtrusive Measure ◽  
Personal Welfare

Wilderness orientation programs, as a special type of orientation, have become commonplace at many colleges and universities. The First Ascent (FA) program is an example of one such program and is a small piece of a comprehensive first-year experience offered at Appalachian State University (ASU). This program evaluation is intended to uncover the meaning of First Ascent through students' voices. Specifically, this qualitative study used naturally occurring data as an unobtrusive measure to gether feedback from participants over the eight-year period in which First Ascent has been in existence. Analysis of the data revealed that students spoke of the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of the experience as well as the importance of the natural world as a medium. Issues of personal welfare were notable but not prevalent.

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.

scholarly journals Increasing Participation in Student Governance Through First-Year Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Miles ◽  
Michael Miller ◽  
Daniel P. Nadler
Keyword(s):  
Student Involvement ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Student Orientation ◽  
New Student Orientation ◽  
New Students ◽  
Institutional Norms ◽  
Student Governance ◽  
New Student

New student orientation programs are importance components of institutions delivering a set of expectations to their new students. These programs and subsequent first-year experience courses convey both practical strategies for surviving on campus, but also convey a sense of institutional norms about behavior, including involvement. The current study explored the practical strategies orientation directors perceived to be effective in incresing student involvement in self-governance activities.

Collaboration in Student Assessment Research

2012 ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
Robin Capt ◽  
Heidi Taylor ◽  
Gary Kelley ◽  
Mo Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
Outcomes Research ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Small State ◽  
Quality Enhancement Plan ◽  
Success Indicators

Institutional Research (IR) professionals have diverse roles and responsibilities in universities across the country. The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Small State University has evolved from an Office of Planning and Analysis whose primary responsibility was for collecting and reporting descriptive statistics to an OIR with growing responsibilities for outcomes research. In this chapter, the authors describe the transition of the OIR to provide more support to outcomes research and program/project evaluation. A particular case related to the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and First Year Experience (FYE) efforts is described. For many universities, the primary and sometimes only outcome measure being assessed related to the First Year Experience is the Fall to Fall retention rate of students. At Small State University, faculty were interested in understanding more about how a particular FYE course and its learning community contributed to student success indicators beyond retention rates. Through collaboration between the OIR, the Associate Provost (AP), and the Associate Vice President for Learning Assessment (AVPLA), data regarding FYE courses and learning communities was assessed. The findings supported the skills learned through the FYE course and learning communities are mechanisms through which at-risk students can improve overall GPA and retention. This collaboration between the OIR, the AP, and the AVPLA provided a foundation upon which focused studies of student characteristics and outcomes assessment can proceed in the future. A framework for organizing the work of institutional research and learning assessment is proposed.

Collaboration in Student Assessment Research

2011 ◽  
pp. 248-259
Author(s):  
Robin Capt ◽  
Heidi Taylor ◽  
Gary Kelley ◽  
Mo Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
Outcomes Research ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Small State ◽  
Quality Enhancement Plan ◽  
Success Indicators

Institutional Research (IR) professionals have diverse roles and responsibilities in universities across the country. The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Small State University has evolved from an Office of Planning and Analysis whose primary responsibility was for collecting and reporting descriptive statistics to an OIR with growing responsibilities for outcomes research. In this chapter, the authors describe the transition of the OIR to provide more support to outcomes research and program/project evaluation. A particular case related to the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and First Year Experience (FYE) efforts is described. For many universities, the primary and sometimes only outcome measure being assessed related to the First Year Experience is the Fall to Fall retention rate of students. At Small State University, faculty were interested in understanding more about how a particular FYE course and its learning community contributed to student success indicators beyond retention rates. Through collaboration between the OIR, the Associate Provost (AP), and the Associate Vice President for Learning Assessment (AVPLA), data regarding FYE courses and learning communities was assessed. The findings supported the skills learned through the FYE course and learning communities are mechanisms through which at-risk students can improve overall GPA and retention. This collaboration between the OIR, the AP, and the AVPLA provided a foundation upon which focused studies of student characteristics and outcomes assessment can proceed in the future. A framework for organizing the work of institutional research and learning assessment is proposed.

Firstchoice: Creating Innovative Academic Options for First-Year Students

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda G. Mandel ◽  
Kathleen Evans
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
The State ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Rigor ◽  
State University ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Faculty And Staff

When the State University of New York at Oswego set about to improve the first-year experience, the faculty and staff knew two things: they had to create programs with academic rigor and they had to provide students with a good array of choices.

scholarly journals Mental Health and the College Freshman

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian L. Bracken
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Florida State University ◽  
State University ◽  
Mental Health Education ◽  
Mental Health Awareness

Mental health education is growing in importance among college students, as students are arriving on American college campuses with more diagnosed and medicated mental health problems (Gallagher, 2005). The first-year classroom is an excellent setting for raising awareness about the importance of identifying and treating these issues in order to ensure that every student has an enjoyable, successful, and healthy college experience. This article compiles research gathered by a graduate student in a higher education master’s program during an internship with the First-Year Experience Office at Florida State University. It discusses the growing need for mental health awareness on college campuses, identifies current trends in mental health education in the first-year classroom, and presents several useful resources for those campuses who are considering including this topic in a college transition course.

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