Outcomes of this Session

1. Life is Simpler When We Know What’s EssentialThe Role of the First-Year Experience in Preparing Community College Students for Successful TransitionsRico R. Reed

2. Outcomes of this Session • Explore how the First-Year Experience in the community college sets the foundation for a successful transition process • Highlight the characteristics of two-year and four-year institutions that support comprehensive and effective first-year experiences that lead to effective transitions • Provide rationale and highlight best practices for establishing an efficient and effective pipeline for best supporting students as they strive for what’s essential to their success.

3. Fulfilling the Promise of the Community College: Increasing First-Year Student Engagement and Success

4. Transfer Students in Higher Education: Building Foundations for Policies, Programs and Services That Foster Student Success

5. Thriving in Transitions: A Research-Based Approach to College Student Success

6. Institute on First-Year Success in the Community CollegeNovember 2012

7. Life’s Greatest Lessons:20 Things that Matter

8. 6 Essentials of Life • Choose a good attitude, no matter what the circumstances. • Build your life on a foundation of respect. • Make integrity the cornerstone of your life. • Accept the difficulties and challenges of life. • Have a passion to learn. • Enjoy life.

9. 6 Essentials of Life • Choose a good attitude, no matter what the circumstances. • Build your life on a foundation of respect. • Make integrity the cornerstone of your life. • Accept the difficulties and challenges of life. • Have a passion to learn. • Enjoy life.

10. Why are you here? • What are your biggest challenges? • What do your students need? • Why hasn’t this been done in the past?

11. What resources do you have? • Who are your champions? • Who are your supporters? • What’s the ultimate payoff?

12. A course designed to “assist students in their academic and social development and in their transition to college. A seminar, by definition, is a small discussion-based course in which students and their instructors exchange ideas and information. In most cases, there is a strong emphasis on creating community in the classroom.” (Hunter & Linder, 2005, pp. 275-276). What Is a First-Year Seminar?

13. Extended orientation seminars • Academic seminars with generally uniform content • Academic seminars on various topics • Professional or discipline-based seminars • Basic study skills seminars • Hybrid seminars • (Barefoot, 1994) Types of First-Year Seminars

14. Describes the distinctive characteristics of first-year student experiences and challenges in community college based on research and effective practice.

15. Community colleges have gone from being the stepchild to being the golden child… Dr. Frank Chong, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges • Key to nation’s effort’s to double the number of college graduates in the next ten years

16. The first-year, indeed the first few weeks of the beginning semester, is a pivotal point in students’ academic careers. • Brown, King, & Stanley, 2011

17. We Know That …community colleges will play a central role in improving educational access for increasing numbers of U.S. college students • In order for increased access to be meaningful, students must persist in college, complete their programs, and where applicable, transfer to four-year institutions. • Effective first-year programs turn access into success by keeping students in college and helping them overcome barriers that might otherwise prevent them from reaching their goals.

18. Two important themes …. • (a) The first-year, as the springboard for student success, matters just as much in two-year institutions as it does in their four-year counterparts, and • (b) even when considering specific institutional contexts and cultures, standards of best practice for institutional support and success of first-year students in community colleges are emerging.

19. Students whose first experiences are positive … • are more likely to persist toward their goals, whether that is a certificate, an associate degree, or transferring to a four-year institution.

20. Overarching principles... • The learning college movement: how do you know what students are learning and achieving

21. Overarching principles... • The multiple missions of community colleges make them unique in the nation and world

22. Overarching principles... • Measures of students success differ between two and four-year colleges due to diversity of students

23. The Evolution of Colleges of Opportunity • Community Colleges have evolved to include workforce and community development, lifelong learning and developmental education.

24. Distinctive Characteristics of Community Colleges • Access, to Persistence, and Inclusion • Community Responsiveness and Innovation • Small class-size and a focus on teaching

25. The Learning College Model and the Success and Completion Agenda now includes: • Achieving the Dream • Gates Foundation Postsecondary Success Initiative • The Obama Administration Higher Education Agenda • Voluntary Framework of Accountability

26. Learning from Student Voices Asked why they persisted, students typically referred to a strong early connection to someone at the college… • Dr. Kay McClenney, Director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement, created a portrait of the new community college student

27. Research Reports on College Transitions, No. 22009 National Survey of First-Year Seminars: Ongoing Efforts to Support Students in Transition

28. 2009 National Survey of First-Year Seminars • Methodology for 2009 administration • Administration: Oct. 30 – Dec. 18, 2010 • Invitation sent to 3,225 institutionsin 3 waves • Incentive program • 1,028 responses (32% response rate) • 87.3% of 2009 respondents (N=890) reported having a first-year seminar

29. 2009 Survey Participants *Remaining data focuses on two-year campuses in sample (N=298)

30. Administrative Home of First-Year Seminar

31. Administration of Seminars • Average size of seminar program is around 20-25 sections • A majority of seminars have classes enrolling 20-29 students • 20-24 students/section: 41.6% • 25-29 students/section: 23.1% • Approximately 31.5% of institutions require all first-years to take the seminar

32. 11% offered FYS for no credit Credit Hours

33. Grading and Credit • Most seminars (84.9%) are letter graded • 72.2% of seminars are one term (quarter or semester) in length • Seminar credit applies toward graduation in most cases • As an elective: 59.8% • General education: 33.0% • To the major: 9.8%

34. Who Teaches the Seminar? *Peer instruction is not present in community colleges

35. Instructor Training & Compensation • 68.0% of respondents offer training for first-year seminar instructors • 42.9% require training • 70.5% of respondents indicate that instructor training is < 1 day long • Most frequent compensation is a stipend • The second most frequent responses were “None” and “Part of overload”

36. Top Course Topics Least common: Diversity, Financial literacy, & Specific disciplinary topics

37. Course Practices

38. Common Seminar Goals

39. Outcomes Measured

40. Assessment Strategies

41. Online Learning Development Ed Common Book Orientation FYS Service Learning Learning Community A first-year seminar does not equal a first-year experience

42. Benchmarks of Effective Practice with Entering Students • some are • Early connections • Clear academic plan and pathway • Academic & social support network

43. What needs to be done • Some are: • Build a Culture of Evidence • Commit to the discipline of routine student cohort tracking • Bring programs to scale

44. Emerging evidence suggests that certain educational experiences may contribute significantly to the likelihood of students success. Examples include: • College orientation programs • First-year seminars • Student success courses • Leaning communities

45. At some point it behooves community college educators to overcome their reluctance to make mandatory experiences shown to enhance student learning, persistence, and attainment.McClenney, 2011

46. Recommendations • Create intentionally-designed comprehensive programs • Bring programs to scale • Cultivate support from campus leadership • Build coalitions on campus • Develop community partnerships • Provide campus-wide professional development opportunities • Support transfer • Establish relevant benchmarks for success • Build a culture of evidence

47. Create intentionally designed comprehensive programs • Prioritize student programs and services focused on the initial adjustment to college • Include academic and learning support programs • Seek innovative and effective interventions

48. Create intentionally designed comprehensive programs • Academic advising and career development are the pillars of a comprehensive program • Empower staff to accomplish the program mission • Group services together

49. Bring programs to scale • Include a transition plan for movement from: • Boutique service to universal student access • Grant funding to base budget • Link programs to accreditation processes • Remember, students don’t do optional! • Goal: 75% participation rates for FY students

50. Cultivate support from campus leadership • Include campus leadership in program: • Development • Implementation • Maintenance • Communication is key • Select the right people to coordinate the program