Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year

1. Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year A Project of the Policy Center on the First Year of College 400 N. Broad Street Brevard, NC 28712 828-966-5313 www.brevard.edu/fyfoundations

2. Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year • FYE—a 20 year old reform movement • A victim of its own success • First-year orientation seminar • Retention effort • Fragmented activities • Foundations Project—an attempt to move beyond • Aspirational model • Measurement • First year as unit of analysis & distinct set of experiences

3. Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year • Two institutional sectors: sector-specificity • AASCU: 400 • CIC: 515 • Phase I • AASCU: 125/98 • CIC:94/78 • Applications for Phase II • AASCU 68 • CIC 54 • 24 Founding Institutions—12 per sector • 56 Affiliate Institutions • AASCU 33 • CIC 23

4. Project Schema • Current Practice Inventory • Foundational Dimensions • Performance Indicators (PIs) and Surveys • NSSE • Summative Evaluation of Achievement of Dimensions Measurement Dimensions & Evaluation

5. Foundational Dimensions™ Statements • Dimensions—characteristics of institutional effectiveness • Philosophical/Operational principles • Academic mission is pre-eminent • First year is central to mission • Original Dimensions: 6 • Content analysis & synthesis • Dimensions after Phase I: 12 (8 in common) • AASCU: 9 • CIC: 11

6. Philosophy Dimension (in common) Approach the first year in ways that are intentional and based on a philosophy/rationale of the first year that informs relevant institutional policies and practices. The philosophy/rationale is explicit, clear and easily understood, consistent with the institutional mission, widely disseminated, and, as appropriate, reflects a consensus of campus constituencies. The philosophy/rational is also the basis for organizational policies, practices, structures, leadership, and resource allocation.

7. Structures Dimension (in common) Create organizational structures and policies that provide a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to the first year. These structures and policies provide oversight and alignment of all first-year efforts. A coherent first-year experience is realized and maintained through effective partnerships among academic affairs, student affairs, and other administrative units and is enhanced by ongoing faculty and staff development activities and appropriate budgetary arrangements.

8. Diversity Dimension (in common) Ensure that all first-year students experience diverse ideas, worldviews, and peoples as a means of enhancing their learning and preparing them to become members of pluralistic communities. Whatever their demographic composition, institutions structure experiences in which students interact in an open and civil community with people different from themselves, reflect on ideas and values different from those they currently hold, and explore their own cultures and the cultures of others.

9. Roles & Purposes Dimension(AASCU) Promote student understanding of the roles and purposes of higher education, both for the individual and for society, and support the development of relevant personal goals. First-year students are provided opportunities to examine their motivations and goals with regard to higher education in general and to their own college/university. They are exposed to the value of general education as well as to the value of more focused, in depth study of a field or fields of knowledge (i.e., the major). In general, institutions help students realize a variety of balance points: for example, learning for personal enrichment; learning to prepare for future employment; learning to prepare for citizenship; and learning to serve the public good.

10. Life Purpose Dimension (CIC) Involve all students in an exploration of life purpose through instructional content and reflections on life experiences. The first college year helps students clarify personal values and beliefs, personal strengths and areas of interest, and, in turn, career goals. Academic planning and student development programming provide learning and advising experiences that facilitate the process of self-discovery and the development of intrinsic motivation

11. Project Methodology • Face & Construct Validity—based on work of Policy Center staff, partners, and 178 institutions in Phase I • Predictive Validity— • Cross-Sectional Study: student data (NSSE), faculty data (CSHE survey), CAO/CSAO data (CSHE surveys), institutional data bases • 24 Founding Institutions will rate themselves on their achievement of the Dimensions

12. Project Methodology (cont.) • CSHE will look for relationships among selected NSSE items, CSHE data, and institutional data in relation to the Dimensions

13. Outcome Areas • Critical thinking • Problem solving • Communication Academic and cognitive skills Psychosocial development • Self-understanding • Interpersonal skills • Citizenship • Civic participation • Multicultural understanding • Ethics Attitudes & values Persistence to 2nd year

14. Data & Sources Students/NSSE • Faculty/CSHE • Background/demographic • Professional activities • Perceptions of institutional policies, practices, & values re: first-year students

15. Data & Sources Administrators/CSHE • Organizational structures • Budget • Personnel policies • Program policies • Characteristics of first-year programs • Program review policies • Support services

16. Data & Sources Other: Institutional data files • First-year class sizes • Senior faculty teaching first-year courses • Persistence—past five years • Program completion rates • Faculty Profile

17. A Model for Action Aspirational Model Confirm or Improve Measurement CSHE Guide & Improve Dimensions Task Force & Evaluation

18. Conclusion • A work in progress: (euphemism for “everything inconclusive at this point”) • Will we find relationships between the data collected on Dimensions and learning outcomes and retention? • Should we maintain sector-specific Dimensions or develop one set for all of higher education? • Teleconference—stay tuned