Education Commons^™

College Preparedness. Narratives Of Transitions From High School To College., Chelsey Luann Vincent

Theses and Dissertations

Despite many theories on student success as well as many resources to help students make the transition from high school to college, many students do not persist in or graduate from college. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide insight into what takes place when students leave P-12 institutions and enter institutions of higher education by using focused narrative inquiry. This study took place at a large research university in the south. The study included 4 participants at various parts of their transition journey. Participants in the study responded to written prompts. Follow up interviews were conducted, and a …

Enhancing Institutional Support Through A First Year Transfer Experience Program, Jade E. Bowman

Culminating Experience Projects

There is a great deal of literature revolving around the transfer student population. Many researchers argue that transfer students do not receive adequate attention and support within their first academic semester, considerably when transferring from a two-year to a four-year institution. In order to improve retention rates and overall persistence, postsecondary institutions need to prioritize transfer student initiatives for proper academic and social integration. This project aims to identify key components that impact the transfer process, while recognizing successful, adaptable interventions that can support the unique needs of the transfer student population. The design and implementation of a First Year …

Understanding The Impact Of A First-Year Engineering Program On Undergraduate Student Persistence In Engineering, Brad Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The goal of this research study was to understand the impact first-year engineering programs have on undergraduate student persistence in engineering. First-year engineering programs feature a uniform first year curriculum for undergraduate engineering students and are designed to strengthen retention and increase graduation rates. This study sought to understand which factors present in first-year engineering programs influence student persistence in engineering. This study took place in the local context and examined the experience of engineering undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year engineering (FYEng) program at a state-level flagship land grant research institution in the southern region of the United States, …

Diverse Perspectives On The Living-Learning Community Experience At A Large Public University, Amy Griffin Lorenz

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific experiences and program characteristics that students, faculty, and staff experience in the living-learning communities. This paper summarizes the findings of a program evaluation inclusive of a survey and interview protocol on the student, faculty, and staff experiences in living-learning communities (LLCs) at a large, public university in the southeast. The study employed a mixed methods design including a student survey and faculty/staff interviews. Data shows LLC students value the living-learning community experience and have positive experiences with the LLC academic and social climate and believe their peers support the diverse …

Using Understanding By Design To Create A University Orientation Class Grounded In Information Literacy, Jennifer Joe, Wade Lee

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Innovative Pedagogy (2018-2020)

This article describes the process of redesigning UC1130: Information Literacy for College Research, a class taught at the University of Toledo, in Toledo, Ohio. This redesign was conducted by Jennifer Joe and Wade Lee-Smith, librarians at the university, and facilitated by the University of Toledo’s University Teaching Center, Denise Bartell, the Associate Vice Provost for Student Success, and Thomas Atwood, the Associate Dean of University Libraries, who was the creator of the original curriculum for UC1130. The course redesign was motivated by two factors: incorporation of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, and the class’s inclusion in …

"Our Stories" Developing A Virtual Community Of First-Year Voices, Sandra Cheng, Jennifer Sears, Karen Goodlad, Ashwin Satyanarayana, Mery Diaz, Philip Kreniske

Publications and Research

First Year Learning Communities (FYLC) at City Tech is structured to provide first-year students in linked courses an interdisciplinary learning experience. This approach creates opportunities for students to form bonds within the college community. A shared belief among faculty leaders in the potential for writing to transform the student experience led to the development of the “Our Stories” digital writing project. “Our Stories” offers FYLC students the opportunity to express their experiences in classes, seminars, lectures, study groups, and labs on the OpenLab, a digital platform for teaching, learning, and sharing. Through this project, students shared their stories and revealed …

Spiritual Formation: A Survey Of Freshmen At A Christian Institution Of Higher Education, Bethany Thomas

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to learn what the spiritual formation process is for a student in a Christian higher education institution. In order for a Christian university to help develop a student spiritually, the university must know where the students perceive themselves spiritually upon entering their first year. The data collection instrument used was a survey. The survey was distributed to freshmen students who were entering into their first year of college. There were 704 students enrolled into the first-year course, and during their third week of class, the survey was distributed electronically via email. Of the 704 …

The Mathematics Orientation Seminar: A Tool For Diversity And Retention In The First Year Of College, Salvatore J. Petrilli

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this article I describe Adelphi University's Mathematics Orientation Seminar, a new course that was introduced into the mathematics major to help students find their passion in mathematics and to strengthen the educational community within our department. I discuss quantitative and qualitative results of surveys among students in the Mathematics Orientation Seminar in Fall 2016 and Fall 2017, which suggest that this might be a useful course for other institutions to utilize within any major. Finally, I explore faculty perspectives and describe what I believe to be the final version of this course.

Using Visual “Bait” To Hook, Engage, And Empower New Community College Writers, Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

This reflective article focuses on a series of semester-long activities conducted with developmental writers in an urban community college classroom. It builds on the research of John Berger (1972) and Sondra Perl (1994) who highlight seeing and perception as key components of self-composition. The article showcases assignments where students created photo journals as a way to share their lives, thoughts, and experiences. The use of structured prompts allowed students to actively engage with their neighborhoods -- a sort of text to be read, captured, and ultimately decoded through written explanation. The examples will be useful to practitioners who may be …

The Effectiveness Of Living Learning Communities On Residence Hall Students, Jessica Repko

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the current LLC model that is used at The University of Akron. In this study, a survey was given to two groups of residence hall students in South Hall: first year living learning community students, and first year non-living learning community students. The responses from these surveys were compared to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the living learning communities on first year students. Then, interviews were conducted with the LLC residents to find common themes that were successful or unsuccessful within the LLCs. Surveys were also given to …

Short Case Study: The First Year Experience: Students’ Perceptions On Assessment, Fiona Mcsweeney, Roisin Donnelly

Other resources

This case study reports on the results of a pilot study with first year students in the Department of Social Sciences in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Ireland. It discussed the findings in relation to student perceptions on the assessment process for first years.

Recreating Resistance: Rape Culture Resistance Through Human Rights Education, Hailey D. Vincent

Master's Projects and Capstones

Sexual violence and rape culture are substantial issues in our society and on our college campuses. The goal of this project is to provide research that investigates rape culture on college campuses as a human rights violation and ways to address it in an intersectional manner through human rights education. The research for this project, conducted through a literature review, provides the ability to look at rape culture through a human rights education lens. In response to the research conducted, Recreate Resistance was created as a pedagogical tool for educators in First Year Experience (FYE) programs on college campuses. Recreate …

Resiliency: The Implementation Of A Strategic Framework, Michael L. Allegretti

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

As the incidences and complexity of student mental health continue to rise, there is an emphasis on the need to review the first year experience to ensure that students are prepared for the challenges they will face in post-secondary education. Institutions attempt to address the concern of student mental health by increasing the scope and number of student supports, both formal and informal, in the context of decreasing budgets and increasing student expectations. Despite institutional efforts, students continue to report confusion about available services and an increased desire for specialized supports.

This OIP uses various leadership approaches and methods of …

Understanding First Year University Students: Personal Epistemology And Learning, Sue Walker, Joanne Brownlee, Sandra Lennox, Beryl Exley, Kerry Howells, Fiona Cocker

Sandra Lennox

Whilst participation in higher education has increased dramatically over the last two decades, many universities are only now beginning to pay more attention to the learning experiences of first year students. It is important for universities to understand how first year students conceive of learning and knowing in order to promote effective approaches to learning. Even though an extensive body of research demonstrates that beliefs about learning and knowing influence student approaches to learning and learning outcomes, there has been no Australian research that has investigated this critical learner characteristic across first year university students.

This paper reports on preliminary …

Gamification To Improve First Year Engagement, John Colleran, Aoife Lloyd Mckernan, Julie Ann Naughton, Brian Vaughan

Practitioner Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to examine the role of Gamification in increasing first year student engagement within the third level educational setting. A literature review was carried out in order to explore the teaching philosophy behind gamification in education and review the quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding its use. Gamification can be broadly described as the application of gaming methods and elements in non-gaming contexts in order to improve user engagement and user experience (Deterding et al., 2011). Qualitative analysis suggests these factors result in beneficial emotional and social impacts on students, particularly in the area of increasing …

First Year Experience: How We Can Better Assist First-Year International Students In Higher Education?, Zi Yan, Patricia Sendall

Organization Studies and Analytics Faculty Publications

While many American colleges and universities are providing a First Year Experience (FYE) course or program for their first year students, those programs are not often customized to take into account international students’ (IS) unique challenges. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this study evaluated a FYE course that was customized for IS in a college setting. Nineteen IS and eight domestic students (DS) who attended FYE classes completed a survey; 18 of the 19 IS were interviewed. Overall, the FYE class was successful in terms of helping IS to familiarize themselves with academic resources and expectations, understanding American culture, making …

The Why And Where Of Big History: Building A Program, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

The goals of our First Year Experience program are aligned with our institutional mission, our core values, and the goals of our General Education program. The program is designed to promote: recognition of the personal, communal, and political implications of the Big History story; critical and creative thinking in a manner that awakens curiosity and enhances openness to multiple perspectives; and, development of reading, thinking, and research skills to enhance one’s ability to evaluate and articulate understanding of one’s place in the unfolding universe.

Crowdsourcing As An Approach To Customer Relationship Building In Academic Libraries, Lisa A. Ellis, Aisha Pena

Publications and Research

Library initiatives to first-year students not only present an opportunity to offer information literacy instruction for student advancement but they also serve a key marketing function by communicating the library’s ongoing value and building customer relationships. Library orientation tours are an example of how to effectively market to first-year students. Combining peer-to-peer learning and user-generated content via social media known as crowdsourcing, Newman Library sponsored a contest challenging first-year students to create a video sharing a useful library tip. The contributions and benefits of this co-creation approach to fostering relationships are examined and the implications to strengthening other library-user bonds …

Big History As General Education, Nicola Pitchford, Mojgan Behmand

Nicola Pitchford

A presentation on the emerging discipline "Big History" and how it could be integrated into the general education curriculum, using the First Year Experience at Dominican University of California as an example.

Big History As General Education, Nicola Pitchford, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

A presentation on the emerging discipline "Big History" and how it could be integrated into the general education curriculum, using the First Year Experience at Dominican University of California as an example.

The Why And Where Of Big History: Building A Program, Mojgan Behmand

Office of Academic Affairs

The goals of our First Year Experience program are aligned with our institutional mission, our core values, and the goals of our General Education program. The program is designed to promote:

1. recognition of the personal, communal, and political implications of the Big History story;
2. critical and creative thinking in a manner that awakens curiosity and enhances openness to multiple perspectives; and,
3. development of reading, thinking, and research skills to enhance one’s ability to evaluate and articulate understanding of one’s place in the unfolding universe.

Big History As General Education, Nicola Pitchford, Mojgan Behmand

Office of Academic Affairs

A presentation on the emerging discipline "Big History" and how it could be integrated into the general education curriculum, using the First Year Experience at Dominican University of California as an example.

Online Resource Platform For Mathematics Education, Marisa Llorens, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean

Conference papers

Engineering education is facing many challenges: a decline in core mathematical skills; lowering entry requirements; and the diversity of the student cohort. One approach to confronting these challenges is to make subject content appropriate to the communication styles of today’s student. To achieve this, a pedagogical shift from the traditional hierarchical approach to learning to one that embraces the use of technology as a tool to enhance the student learning experience is required. By including the student as co-creator of course content, a greater sense of engagement is achieved and a change to one where students become agents of their …

My News

My News (2014-2020)

• Georgia Southern University and the Phinizy Center Talk Ogeechee River Project
• Eagle QuaRC Hosts Qualitative Research Symposium
• Georgia Southern University to Host Diversity Speaker as Part of First­Year Experience
• Auxiliary Services Opens Tech Corner
• You're Invited: Downtown True Blue Tailgate
• Become a Resident Scholar with the Alternative Break Program
• Two Professors Receive Grants to Enhance Research

Understanding The First Year Experience: An Avenue To Explore Trends In Higher Education (Keynote), Colleen Boff

University Libraries Faculty Publications

Regular examination of the issues and research related to the First Year Experience (FYE) is a priority for most administrators in higher education. A great deal of time, energy, funding and research are funneled into programs for first year students as a means to recruit and retain students in an increasingly tight market. As a consequence, there is much librarians can learn from the examination of these efforts made nationwide. Whether a librarian works exclusively with first year students, upper division students, graduate students or behind the scenes in technical services, paying attention to FYE developments is critical to speaking …

Understanding The First Year Experience: An Avenue To Explore Trends In Higher Education (Keynote), Colleen T. Boff

Colleen T. Boff, Ed.D.

Regular examination of the issues and research related to the First Year Experience (FYE) is a priority for most administrators in higher education. A great deal of time, energy, funding and research are funneled into programs for first year students as a means to recruit and retain students in an increasingly tight market. As a consequence, there is much librarians can learn from the examination of these efforts made nationwide. Whether a librarian works exclusively with first year students, upper division students, graduate students or behind the scenes in technical services, paying attention to FYE developments is critical to speaking …

Understanding The First Year Experience: An Avenue To Explore Trends In Higher Education (Keynote Presentation), Colleen T. Boff

Colleen T. Boff, Ed.D.

Regular examination of the issues and research related to the First Year Experience (FYE) is a priority for most administrators in higher education. A great deal of time, energy, funding and research are funneled into programs for first year students as a means to recruit and retain students in an increasingly tight market. As a consequence, there is much librarians can learn from the examination of these efforts made nationwide. Whether a librarian works exclusively with first year students, upper division students, graduate students or behind the scenes in technical services, paying attention to FYE developments is critical to speaking …

Promoting Sustainability To First-Year Students, Anna Sangree, Ashley Colón, Bree Coleman

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

Over 700 universities across the United States (AASHE, 2010), seeking to be progressive and containing the resources for change, have partnered together under the American Colleges and Universities President's Climate Commitment to lower their carbon footprints and increase sustainability education on their campuses (ACUPCC, 2014). The President's Climate Commitment includes 7 tangible actions, of which the University of Richmond must follow two or more. With the University of Richmond's date for carbon neutrality set for 2050, advancing these actions is crucial (ACUPCC, 2014). On the list of tangible actions are increasing use of public transportation and increasing energy efficiency on …

Promoting Sustainability To First-Year Students, Anna Sangree, Ashley Colón, Bree Coleman

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

The university provides transportation resources, recycling bins next to most trashcans in popular student locations, and full time staff working for the Office of Sustainability. However, the many resources provided by the university will not facilitate movement towards the campus sustainability goals if students do not participate. According to the most recent survey on campus, 42% of students at the University of Richmond believe that human activity is causing climate change (See Chapter 1). Still, students do not seem to correlate their everyday actions with rising levels of greenhouse gasses. In order to target students on campus, we have structured …

Embedding Academic Socialisation Within A Language Support Program: An Australian Case Study, Shelley E. Beatty, Ashok Collins, Maureen A. Buckingham

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper describes discipline-specific transition support utilised to follow-up the Post-Entry Language Assessment (PELA) recently introduced at Edith Cowan University as one strategy to address declining rates of English language proficiency. Transition support was embedded within a first year core unit and emphasis was placed on assisting students to develop spoken and written communicative competencies by scaffolding assessment tasks and providing other academic supports that used contextualised examples. While general satisfaction with the academic support offered during the course was high, the program achieved limited success in encouraging at-risk students to seek support. Further investigation into methods of encouraging student …