First-year Experience Course Research Articles

Contextualizing Information Literacy Enrichment Through a Common Reader in a First-Year Experience Seminar

First-year students typically lack adequate skills in using library resources and understanding basic information literacy. Due to the importance of information literacy skills for success in the first year, the California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) Library has been an active partner with the campus First-Year Experience program. In order to respond to the challenges that students face in developing library-related academic skills, the authors developed nine information literacy modules embedded in a First-Year Experience course that is focused on a multicultural common reader.

Taking A Pulse: Student-Athletes Descriptors For Their First Semester Of College

This paper summarizes the responses of 103 student-athletes enrolled in a first-year experience course when asked, What adjective best describes your first semester in college? Not surprisingly, the most frequent descriptors were busy, fun, stressful, and different. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of collecting this type of data as a form of early warning system.

A Comparison of Computer-Assisted and Self-Management Programs for Reducing Alcohol Use among Students in First Year Experience Courses

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has called for the use of evidence-based approaches to address high-risk drinking prevalent on many college campuses. In line with this recommendation, the present study evaluated the efficacy of two evidence-based approaches to reducing alcohol use. One hundred and three college students in first-year experience courses were randomly assigned by class to participate in a computer-assisted online program (e-Chug Group), skills training program (Self-Management Group), or control condition (Exercise Group). The data indicate that heavier drinkers benefited from the e-Chug program, whereas lighter drinkers benefited from the self-management program. As such, colleges may yield more favorable results when forgoing a blanket approach to decreasing alcohol consumption in favor of matching students with an appropriate alcohol program.

Assessing the Effectiveness of an Adventure-Based First-Year Experience Class

This study compares a first-year experience (FYE) course utilizing outdoor adventure experiences to a more traditional FYE class at a large mid-Atlantic university. This study compares the quantitative differences between responses by participants in the two classes using the First Year Initiative Survey (FYI), a measure of FYE outcomes related to successful first-year student transition (Swing, 2002). Findings indicate that responses by the adventure class participants had significantly higher mean scores (p < .05) on 8 of the 15 FYI variables. The use of an adventure-based program was effective in providing FYE course outcomes as measured by the FYI and was more effective than the more traditional FYE class on some outcome variables such as knowledge of wellness and connection with peers.

Service and the City: Impacting First-Year Students via Town and Gown

First-year students typically come to college with little knowledge about the city they will call home. Universities can unite with their local communities to provide opportunities for student involvement while giving students a chance to learn what their city has to offer. Learning outcomes from a Mississippi State University first-year experience course and campus-wide day of service illustrated how service within a local community impacted the beliefs of students about their city and provided new ways to link town and gown. A discussion of student benefits, as well as information about how to create town and gown experiences, is shared.

Engaging Diversity in First-Year College Classrooms

The increasing calls for diversity research signal a need to explore strategies through which we attempt to interact with and respond to diversity intentionally in courses and curricula. This case study of a first-year inquiry course in a college of education fills a gap in the literature by documenting and analyzing instances of educators actively working with multiple dimensions of diversity in the classroom so as to support students’ development of diversity-related competencies. The guiding research question for this study was to explore what curricular and/or pedagogical activities students in a first-year experience course identified as facilitating their engagement with diversity in an intentional, purposeful manner.

Important Factors Leading to Outdoor Orientation Program Outcomes: A Qualitative Exploration of Survey Results

This study expands upon a previous study that found significant differences among students' First Year Experience course (FYE) learning outcomes, as measured by the First Year Initiative Survey (FYI) (Swing, 2002). One group of students received content in an adventure-based class prior to fall, whereas a second group received content in a classroom during the first 10-weeks of the semester. The adventure FYE reported higher or equivalent scores to the traditional FYE group on the FYI's fifteen factors. This study focuses on understanding why differences occurred and was guided by the two survey outcomes with the highest effect sizes (Improved connections with peers and Improved knowledge of wellness). Researchers coded 237 post-trip essays in an exploratory sequential design (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2007). The adventure setting appears to foster increased trust among participants. This trust was reported to lead to more in-depth personal discussions about curricular topics, thereby increasing FYI scores.

Enhancing Student Engagement In A Multidisciplinary, First-Year Experience Course

Three faculty members from three different professional disciplines outline strategies to engage first-year students in a team-taught, multidisciplinary first-year experience course. The theme of the discussed section is titled food for thought…and action. Assignments are grounded in theories of cooperative and experiential learning. Tentative outcomes and students’ reactions are shared. Practical suggestions are included for educators who wish to implement comparable initiatives at their respective institutions.

Non-Traditional Student Persistence and First Year Experience Courses

Using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study Risk Factor Index, students were placed into four traditional/non-traditional (NT) status categories. For each category, persistence was compared between students who completed a First-Year Experience (FYE) course and a control group of students that did not. It was hypothesized that having a FYE experience would be significantly associated with greater persistence among the most highly NT students. Attrition, analyzed over three semesters, determined that persistence was not related FYE completion.

A methodology to optimize foundation seminar assignments

First-year students entering the College of Arts & Sciences at Bucknell University (USA) are required to enroll in a first-year experience course called a foundation seminar during their first semester. A few months before arriving at Bucknell, students submit a prioritized list of foundation seminars of interest to them, given course descriptions of all available foundation seminar sections. Then, based on capacity and scheduling constraints, each student is assigned to a particular seminar. Currently, this assignment of students to specific seminars is carried out using both manual and heuristic methods. We propose to apply an optimization methodology to this interesting real-world problem in an attempt to determine assignments that better satisfy the highest preferences of entering first-year students.

The library and first‐year experience courses: a nationwide study

First‐year experience (FYE) courses are excellent venues for introducing freshman students to information literacy concepts. The authors, librarians and FYE instructors at their respective institutions, conducted a nationwide survey to determine whether FYE course curricula contained a library component and, if so, to what extent. Survey results indicate that the majority of FYE programs contain some type of library unit, though results varied broadly depending on institutional factors. Details the presence of a library unit in the overall curricula of FYE courses, who is developing the library component, who is teaching it, and what is being taught. Examines current practices within FYE courses and the results can be used by librarians and FYE professionals, as well as the larger academic community, to expand understanding of the role that libraries, and librarians play in this particular type of course. It will serve as a foundation for future development of FYE course curricula and can be used as documentation for conversations promoting further integration of information literacy.

Using Technology in a First Year Experience Course

Colleges and universities are concerned with preparing students for success in their studies. One avenue has been to develop “University 101” or First Year Experience (FYE) courses that focus on academic achievement and student adjustment to college life. These courses, aimed at developing college-level skills and increasing student retention, should include a library component that is more than just a building tour. One way to reach as many students as possible is to create web-based instructional modules. This article discusses the development of a Web-based instructional module for a FYE course at the California State University, San Marcos. The successes and failures of integrating technology into a FYE course may help others concerned with reaching first-year students.