In this case study, two librarians reflect upon our efforts to design STEM-focused information literacy instruction for undergraduate students at an R1, land grant university. Designed around the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy, our curriculum integrates community-focused and regionally specific topics reflecting our students' lived…

Contemporary literature underscores the salience of First-Year seminars (FYS) in supporting the success of college students. The problem is that the research outlining the characteristics of FYS at two-year colleges is sparse, particularly when certain populations are required to enroll in these courses. There is little information about how these…

The modern concept of first-year seminars was introduced in 1972. Ninety-four percent of America's accredited 4-year colleges and universities offered a seminar by 2002. "First-year seminar" defines a fairly diverse instructional construct, but the goal remains to improve student retention rates. Research trends indicate a positive and…

College 101 courses--also called student success, introduction to college, orientation to college, or freshman experience courses--provide students with information about college and campus services, assistance with academic and career planning, and techniques to improve study habits and personal skills. This study investigated College 101 courses…

To determine the different perspectives of faculty members and peer learning facilitators (students) at Eastern New Mexico University about the development of an improved freshman seminar designed to increase retention, a survey was conducted. The instrument required that participants rate the importance of 52 goals to the desired outcomes…

A national survey was conducted which examined the scope of freshman seminar programming, the characteristics of these seminars, and the variance between different types of freshman seminars with respect to their goals, topics addressed, and other characteristics. The study surveyed 2,460 regionally-accredited colleges and universities of whom…

Assessment data from both an FYE-infused general education course (N = 153) and a first-year seminar (N = 392) were analyzed to identify students' perceptions about projects that required significant participation in out-of-class activities as an integral part of the course. The results from this analysis revealed that in addition to increasing…

The effectiveness of a California State University, Long Beach, program to prepare incoming students for university-level work and educational processes was assessed in 2 surveys of new students (n=1,100, n=1,613) and 1 of 80 who had taken the course previously. Key elements in program success were identified: course content; teaching techniques;…