Hello!

1. Paving the Way: A Case Study of Campus Partnerships that Support Student Transition and Success in an Integrated First Year Experience

2. Hello! • Kevin Clarke • Program Coordinator for Faculty Development and Assessment, University 101 Programs • Sandrine Heeren • Hall Director, Virginia Commonwealth University • Jamie Corcoran • Graduate Assistant, Student Success Center

3. Goals • Participants will be able to define the idea of an integrated first year experience. • Participants will be able to identify at least two offices that they could forge partnerships with to create or enhance the integrated first year experience on their campus. • Participants will be able to identify at least three ways that campus partnerships can influence key retention indicators.

4. “the first-year experience is not a single program or initiative, but rather an intentional combination of academic and co-curricular efforts within and across postsecondary institutions” (Koch & Gardner, 2006, p. 2)

5. Components of the First-Year • Summer Orientation, Extended Orientations • Welcome Week, Common Reading Programs • Residence Life, Living Learning Communities • Linked Courses & General Education Courses • First-Year Leadership Development and Involvement Opportunities • Academic Advising and Support Services

6. The Integrated First-Year Experience • From admission to the second-year • Supports student success and adjustment • Seamless and connected • Series of partnerships and collaborations • Closing the cracks

8. Offices Supporting Retention and Transition at USC

9. University 101 Course • 80% of first-year class enrolls annually • Sections capped at 19 (203 sections) • 3 credit, letter graded course • Taught by faculty, staff, and administrators (w/peers) • Extended orientation model • Foster Academic Success • Help Students Discover and Connect with Carolina • Prepare Students for Responsible Lives in a Diverse, Interconnected World

16. Five-Year Graduation Rates for the fall 2006 Cohort

17. “the weight of evidence indicates that FYS (fist-year seminar) participation has statistically significant and substantial, positive effects on a student’s successful transition to college and the likelihood of persistence into the second year as well as on academic performance while in college.” (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005, p. 403)

18. Offices Supporting Retention and Transition at USC

19. Offices Supporting Retention and Transition at USC University Housing

20. Student Success Center ACE Advising & Support CAR University 101 Programs UNIV 101 LLC’s Common Courses University Housing

21. Shared Programs Support Retention and Transition at USC CAR, U101, and University Housing • What is CAR? • Early intervention successes and challenges • Motivation & Commitment Surveys • Meaningful contact and intervention

22. Shared Programs Support Retention and Transition at USC ACE Coaching and U101 • Freshmen Academic Recovery Program • U101 Recovery Section • Presentations and Trainings

23. Shared Programs Support Retention and Transition at USC SSC and University Housing • Presentations and Trainings • ACE Locations • Tutoring • Writing support • Coaching

24. Shared Programs Support Retention and Transition at USC University Housing and U101 • Learning communities • Common (linked) Courses • Classrooms in residence halls

25. Common Courses • High impact practice • Proven results • 1/3 of first-year seminars embedded in learning communities • Increased relevance and support

26. Implications • Orientation/FYE Committees • Retention Committees • Engaging in and Utilizing Assessment • Understanding the student perspective • Restructuring offices/policies • Who does it best? • Greater integration and streamlined programming

27. Questions and Discussion

28. Works Cited • Friedman, D. B. & Alexander, J.S. (2007). Investigating a first-year seminar as an anchor course in learning communities. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 19(2), 63-74. • Koch, A. K., & Gardner, J. N. (2006). The history of the first-year experience in the United States: Lessons from the past, practices in the present, and implications for the future. In A. Hamana & K. Tatsuo (Eds.), The first-year experience and transition from high school to college: An international study of content and pedagogy. Tokyo, Japan: Maruzen Publishing. • Kuh, G. (2008). High-Impact Education Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Washington, DC: AAC&U. • Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students, Volume 2, A third decade of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • Tobolowsky, B. F., & Associates. (2008). The 2006 national survey of first-year seminars: Continuing innovations in the collegiate curriculum (Monograph No. 42). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. • Ward-Roof, J.A. (2010). Designing successful transitions: A guide for orienting students to college (Monograph No. 13, 3rd ed.). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.