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John N. Gardner Senior Fellow

“The First-Year Experience’s First 25 Years—the Jury is In, But Out on the Next: You Can Determine the Verdict”. John N. Gardner Senior Fellow National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition University of South Carolina

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John N. Gardner Senior Fellow

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  1. “The First-Year Experience’s First 25 Years—the Jury is In, But Out on the Next: You Can Determine the Verdict” John N. Gardner Senior Fellow National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition University of South Carolina 25th Anniversary First-Year Experience Conference and Gala Celebration Atlanta, Georgia, February 28, 2006

  2. Outline • Audience analysis: why do people come? • Reflections on the beginnings • The 800 pound gorilla in the room: Retention • What have we accomplished? • What's missing? • We are victims of our own success • Some questions that need to be asked about the first year instead of “what's our retention rate?” • It all comes down to philosophy: some models • A time for resolutions

  3. Audience Analysis Why do people come (98, 726 previously)? What explains the enduring popularity of this gathering?

  4. Demographic Analysis • Full-time faculty? • Academic administrators? • Student affairs professionals? • Other specialties of higher ed professionals? • International guests? • For-profit institutions? • Two-year colleges? • Private, liberal arts colleges? • Regional, comprehensive public universities? • Research universities? • Other special purpose institutions? • First timers? • How many have heard me talk before? • How many have heard this talk before?!

  5. Reflections on the beginnings: the historical epoch produces..... • a student riot • a course • a conference • a conference series • a center

  6. Original Purposes of University 101 • teach students to love the University • teach roles and purposes • form new relationships • create support group • use helping services • join organizations • increase student/faculty contact • provide opportunity to teach course you always wanted to teach • antidote to large lecture classes • humanize large university culture • provide faculty development • create partnership of faculty and student affairs

  7. What’s Missing Here? • RETENTION • Retention: the 800 Pound Gorilla in the Room • From aspirational ideals to a business model: are we better served?

  8. What have we accomplished? • first year taken more seriously • FYE in the lexicon • CAO's leading the charge • widespread adoption of “programs” • birth of a new profession • A focus of many organizations • Press coverage • A new language • FYE conferences and Center have flourished • Other providers emerge • A new field of scholarly research and dissemination • A marriage with shameless commerce • Moving beyond to other "transitions" • A newer focus on engagement • A marriage with accountability movement and reaccreditation (http://www.ncahlc.org/index.php?%20option=com_content&task=view&%20id=97&Itemid=86) • A set of aspirational standards developed (www.fyfoundations.org) • Becomes an international movement

  9. What’s Missing? • Insufficient engagement • High rate DWFI courses • Still too much attrition • Tenuous nature of FYE programs and leadership • "Program" nature of response vs comprehensive institutional • Under resourced--still the cash cow model • A mantra that is not academically compelling • Competition for resources in an indifferent culture • Getting the students' attention

  10. Victims of our own Success “Programs” trumped over philosophy and institution wide approaches

  11. Ask These Questions Instead • How could you consider the first year as a unit of analysis? • Do you have a grand design? • Do you have an explicit philosophy? • How is your philosophy connected to institutional mission? • Is anyone in charge? • What about levels of coordination, integration, coherency? • How are you organized for student "transitions"? • What are your goals for student learning? How well are you achieving these? • What is vs what should be the common experience for ALL students? • How can you make faculty engagement a higher priority? • How do you provide engagement with diverse ideas and people? • How do you promote understanding of roles and purposes? • What about assessment: what do you know and what do you do with what you know?

  12. Philosophy: Some Examples (see handout)

  13. Looking towards the next 25 years: my three big bets: • Continue to strengthen USC’s National Resource Center setting of the reform agenda • Campus wide self studies for planning and action (www.fyfoundations.org) • Linking with reaccredidation (http://www.ncahlc.org/index.php?%20option=com_content&task=view&%20id=97&Itemid=86)

  14. What else would I like to see? • Reducing our tolerance for failure • Declaring war on math failure • Taking more responsibility for student learning vs blaming the victim • Redesign introductory courses • Special attention to high DWFI rate courses • Focus on the students we have instead of "better" students • Intentional actions to develop the next generation of leaders • Tackle the problem of quality in the first-year seminar

  15. A Time for Resolutions • Please share a few of yours • MINE: TO BE RETAINED! TO PERSIST! • YOU WILL BRING IN THE VERDICT ON THE NEXT 25 YEARS! BEST WISHES ON THAT

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