Effective Strategies: First Year Experience Class

Presenters:

Lorie HachDirector of Student Success

Richard DeCellesRetention DirectorLori SandeInstructor/Coordinator

Walmart Minority Student Success Grant Program• Help first-generation students achieve their

higher education goals• MSIs — including historically and

predominantly black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges and universities

• Support existing efforts by MSIs to close retention and persistence gaps and improve graduation rates

• Train the trainer model – Mentor/Mentee Institutions • First Grant – IAIA was mentor, SBC Mentee• Second Grant – SBC is the mentor, FPCC Mentee

SBC First Year Learning Experience

First Year Learning Experience– Changes• Policy change – First year course

sequence• Assignment of first year advisors• Revision to student orientation• Revision of First Year Learning

Experience course

Rational – Improvement of student retention and persistence

SBC FYE Course Description

• The purpose of this course is to provide an opportunity for students to learn and adopt methods to promote their success in school and life. Topics in this course include critical thinking skills, career planning, time organization, test-taking, communication skills, study techniques, questions-asking skills, library use, and personal issues that face many college students.

SBC FYE Course Objectives

1. Read and comprehend textbook and handouts.2. Logical and critical thinking of such materials.3. Class participation.4. Have a solid understanding of successful

student values.5. Apply this understanding to own personal life.6. Apply this understanding to the college life

community.7. Employ technology to the learning process.

SBC FYE Course Changes• The course methodology – Changed in the fall 2011

• More group work• More hands on work• Less talking head• Less graded assignments – (course had a large number

of assignments with three to five points)• Changed textbook• Rational for the change • Low completion rates• High dropout rates• Numerous complaints to Vice President of Academics

that the course was to much like a high school course• High school textbook was used

SBC FYE Group andHands-on Activities

• Library visit• Small group discussions on common

read• Group work on reasons for class

absences, money• Importance of education, personal

talents, goal setting (short and long term), learning styles, and time management

SBCOutcomes of Change

• Fall 2011 the first semester after the change 57% of the students’ successfully completed the course and 66% persisted to the spring semester, with 62% retention to the next fall semester.

• 2012-2103 - 100% of new students enrolled in PSYC 100 course for the fall 2012 and spring 2013 semester. Fall 2012: 69 enrolled, 29 passed, 42% pass rate. Spring 2013: 38 enrolled, 22 passed for a 58% pass rate.

• This is in comparison to completion rate for fall of 2010 which was at 39% and 33% in the spring 2011.

FPCC FYE- How Do I Succeed?Course Description

This course offers the entry-level student skills to achieve success in school and life. The student examines topics that contribute to FPCC success: effective use of FPCC Student Services Division; effective use of Financial Aid Service; use of relevant technology; FPCC library skills; career planning skills; learning skills; and critical thinking.

FPCC FYECourse ObjectivesUpon successful completion the student will:

•Demonstrate understanding of the role of the Student Service Division of FPCC.•Demonstrate understanding of principles of critical thinking.•Demonstrate the capacity to complete an education plan.•Demonstrate the capacity to complete scholarship.•Demonstrate the capacity to use essential technology.•Demonstrate the capacity to design an education plan.•Demonstrate the capacity to design a career plan.•Demonstrate understanding of the role of culture in decision making.

FPCC Rational for Changeand Expected Outcomes

Rational for change •Evidence suggest that significant numbers of students fail to value education sufficiently to sacrifice the time from other aspects of their life for the necessary study time.

•We are addressing a need for the faculty to expand mentor roles to guide the students in understanding prioritization and time management.

•We have experienced ambivalence concerning the reasons for the low retention rate.

FPCCOutcomes• The mentor/student team will identify the

individual challenges with the mentor guiding the student’s consideration of barriers to educational success within the context of the appropriate and available resources necessary for resolution.

• The learning outcome displays sufficient understanding of course content to use the available recourses to increase student success.

FPCC Engagement Activity

• Faculty advising/tutoring in Learning Center

• Structured presence of the faculty in the learning center

• Structured and detailed accounting of student advising categorized by issue (course content, personal, economic).

• Role Playing• Self-reflection publication

FYE CourseGroup Engagement Activity

Puzzle Pieces

FYE Course

Questions

Conclusion

“Let us put our minds together to see what we can build for our children.”

–Tataŋka Iyotaka (Sitting Bull)