First-year experience programs hope to help increase retention and graduation rates by providing students' academic and social foundations during their first semester in college. The academic and social curriculums embedded in first-year experience programs strive to have a positive impact on improving students' self-esteem and retention attitude.…

This dissertation investigated how expansive framing can foster an inclusive and empowering learning environment for minoritized students in first-year seminars that focus on composition. This paper is especially important for those who teach and support minoritized students who often face crises of faith about belonging at primarily white…

First-year seminar (FYS) courses tend to focus on preparing students for successful academic and social integration into the college environment. Many of the studies on FYS courses focus on measuring outcomes such as college grades, retention, and graduation rates. While there is notable documentation of several different types of FYS courses,…

Performance-based funding is becoming the norm in higher education. High-impact practices like first-year seminars hold promise for improving some of the key metrics in the funding model, such as first-year retention rate and first-year institutional GPA. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of retention rate and institutional…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a difference existed in student retention and academic performance levels between or among program-specific orientation courses and general-population orientation courses at a postsecondary proprietary institution. This study specifically examined student retention and academic performance…

The present study assessed the effects of a specialized first-year foundations course as an intervention for international students' academic and cultural adaptation at a large, Midwestern, public research institution (very high research activity). This was a quasi-experimental, mixed methods study, consisting of two quantitative and two…

A problem facing education today is that learning typically requires rote memorization rather than the use of higher-order thinking skills. Higher-order thinking is needed in a global society to solve real world problems, therefore students should be required to develop and practice higher-order thinking skills. The purpose of this mixed method…

College student degree attainment has been identified as a national issue, and recently has become a topic of emphasis for institutions of higher education. In the past, research has focused on retaining students from year one in college to year two. With the demand for baccalaureate-prepared graduates increasing and the charge to compete in a…