Assessment is a worthwhile undertaking when meaningful data are generated, evidence-based improvement initiatives are thoroughly considered and discussed, and results are ultimately used to improve educational effectiveness. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) results are oriented toward such practical use. Each year, more campuses use…

The trend toward implementing models for Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for academic support in higher education is gaining momentum. Whether due to external influences, such as the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which promotes inquiry about teaching and learning, or more related to internal forces such as…

Provides a rationale for the development of courses for freshmen that are designed to help them achieve the most benefit from their college experience. Discusses course goals, format, credit, grading, content, enrollment, and evaluation. (JAC)

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) offers student workshops that range from Cool New Web Stuff (what is on the web that can help make research or just plain life easier) and How To Use Google Scholar. These workshops are brilliant fodder for podcasting. In fact, the initial idea for its podcast project came from a student plagiarism…

This "back to school" edition of College Connection features ideas and success stories from academic libraries that have welcomed first-year students in creative ways. Many libraries participate in campus orientation initiatives in order to introduce new students to the library as a welcoming place with helpful staff. These events can set a…

The first-year experience movement opens a window of opportunity for student affairs professionals to extend their educational endeavors into the classroom, thus allowing entrance into segments of campus once reserved exclusively for faculty.

In 2000, Rutgers College launched a First-Year Interest Group Seminar (FIGS) program that offers entering new students an opportunity to engage in conversations on topics of mutual interest (health and medicine, business, or law) as well as learn about how to navigate a large Research-I institution. Each student involved in FIGS enrolls in a…

A first-year seminar general education course provides a good opportunity to search for mathematical topics associated with the popular culture represented in the course's required films and readings. We discuss mathematical connections to several books, including "Life of Pi" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," and to the…

First-year programs and freshman learning communities (FLCs) have become an institutionalized feature of the higher-education landscape. Although a vast amount of literature asserts the positive consequences of these programs, less attention has been devoted to the unintended, and occasionally negative, consequences of FLCs. The author identifies…

This collection presents essays on service-learning and its role in the education of first-year college students. Following a preface by John N. Gardner and an introduction by Edward Zlotkowski, the chapters of section 1, "Making the Case for Service-Learning in the First Year of College," are: (1) "High School Service-Learning and the Preparation…

This paper examines several models of freshman seminar programs, reviews the assessment and research literature showing the efficacy of these programs, and discusses research emphases of the new National Center for the Study of the Freshman Year Experience at the University of South Carolina. (Author/MLW)

Students often arrive at universities ill-prepared for the reflective practice needed to derive maximum benefits from a Freshman Seminar. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, portfolio projects are semester-long assignments in which the portfolio serves as a capstone activity to help freshmen more thoroughly analyze their first year…

The IowaLink Program at the University of Iowa is a two-semester, academic support program for recruited students. The program provides an extended academic transition between high school and college for students who have demonstrated the potential to succeed at Iowa but who do not meet standards for regular admission. One of the features of the…

Suggests stressing the humanistic dimensions of science as a way to bridge the gap between sciences and the humanities. Provides a rationale for focusing on the humanistic side of science and briefly describes a freshman seminar at Macalester College (St. Paul, Minn.) conducted by science, social science, and humanities faculty. (JN)

California Lutheran University's seven-week freshman seminar focuses on building relationships and helping students make decisions about their college and occupational careers. Issues arising in the course's evolution include the role of peer advisors, major vs. non-major advising, maintaining institution-wide support, and credit and academic…