First Year SeminarFirst Year SeminarA New ApproachA New Approach

FYP Executive Summary• Student Disposition

Lack of academic preparation, including basic and study skills. Unfamiliarity with college expectations and organization.Competing social roles; and socio-affective factors (lack of motivation, sense of self-worth).

• Need to Increase....Retention ratesStudent satisfactionAcademic success

FYP Executive Summary

First Year Seminar

Lack of academic preparation

Unfamiliarity with college expectations & organizations

Lack of motivation, self worth

Begin by working on academic skills

Actively engage in behavior that meeexpectations

Success = Motivation

Student Disposition

First Year Seminarw Holistic ApproachExposing students to orientation and academic content.

Expansion from one to two hours per week.

One academic credit assigned for completion of the seminar.

Taught by faculty across all disciplines.

Working with advisory group/peer

Academic ContentWhy Add Academic Content?

Exposure to Interesting Materialpeek academic curiosity, engagementlearn by doing!

Innovative pedagogy / High Impact Practicewriting to learn, ePortfolio, peer mentors

Discovering the scholar within.Exposure to scholarly behaviors, skills, activities in supportive environment.

Academic ContentWhat kind of Academic content?

Diverse subject matters, from all disciplines.

Art, Science, Math, Modern Language, StudenAffairs

With clearly defined General Education Object

Information literacy, Critical Thinking...

Shared, measurable learning outcomesAppropriately tailored assessment instrument

Course DescriptionsThe Art of Struggle

• In this course, students will begin to learn about the connection between art and politics. Selected twentieth-century artists and their work will be introduced with these questions: Who was the artist? How was their work created? Who was their audience? What was their message? Did the art change the course of social or political events? We will also look at the role ofthe Internet in the democratization of design and its impact on how art is created and distributed today.

Introduction to Global Positioning System• The course will introduce students to basic concepts in GPS such as space

segment, control segment, user segment, navigation system, signal, precision, latitude, longitude, height, satellites etc. Students will also be trained in using different types of GPS receivers. They will be taught at least one application of a GPS in an environmental science project. Towards the end of the course studentswill be asked to submit individual / group projects.

Course DescriptionsMaking Sense of Number

• Have you wondered what creativity and number have in common? How do you make sense when 2 or more answers seem correct to a problem? How would you illustrate data to support a point of view?

• Explore with us how to connect number with the first year experience for college success.

Food, Culture and the Environment• This course will examine Italian food culture within a local (regional) and global

perspective. We will learn about what and how people eat, and investigate how food culture has changed in recent years. The course will also consider the nutritional value of food as well as its cultural and social functions. In addition, thecourse will study global issues such as consumption, scarcity and sustainability offood resources and how power relations play an important role in food production

Academic Supportsnstitutional Alignment

Integration of Peer Mentors

Shared seminar instruction and developmeactivities.

Financial Aid/ Student Advisors/ Career Services / Librarians / Writing Fellows.

Required visits to student support services.

Why?

Increase retention.

Facilitate student adjustment.

Increase student satisfaction.

Increase academic success.