This study experimentally investigated the effect of training on faculty perceptions of teaching self-efficacy in first-year experience (FYE) courses at a two-year college. All faculty qualified and trained to teach FYE at a two-year college in Southwestern Pennsylvania were eligible for the study. Participants (n = 34) were randomly assigned into…

Research in higher education confirms the importance of self-efficacy in student persistence and success in college. The current study examined the role of self-efficacy in supporting academic and psychosocial adjustment in the critical first college year and the context of an academically-oriented first-year seminar (FYS). Students completed…

Despite the demands for innovation, adaptability, and creative problem-solving as seen in the fourth Industrial Revolution, many institutions of higher education struggle to center creativity in the learning experience. This qualitative, grounded theory study examines how first-year courses using design thinking approaches can introduce creativity…

First-Year Seminars (FYS) are a high-impact practice (Keup & Young, 2018; Skipper, 2017). However, outcomes of pedagogical approaches linked to those seminars have not been as well researched. An expectation of Christian higher education is to consider what kind of spiritual and personal formation is happening through classroom assignments and…

Freshman seminar courses aim to address dropout rates, college achievement, increase persistence rates, and student adjustment in approximately 94% of colleges and universities in America. First-generation college students make up nearly a third of higher education students and are likelier to drop out of college within the first 2-years of…

Students' experiences transitioning from high school to university during their first year are fundamental to their integration and academic progress in higher education; it can determine their success, including completing their degree. This study examined university students' perceptions regarding their experience in a first-year experience…

Problem: Amongst the highest at-risk student populations are minority students (students of color), first-generation college students, students from low-socioeconomic status, students experiencing financial challenges, and those who enter college academically underprepared. Furthermore, studies have found a significant gap in the educational…

College student retention is a complex phenomenon influenced by a myriad of factors and with wide-ranging implications for university function. First-year seminar is one approach to increase first-year student retention through involvement, engagement, and integration. This quantitative study examines the influence of first-year seminar on…

How can two-year colleges ensure that all students can access quality career navigation opportunities that inform their studies and position them for meaningful, family-sustaining work? That is the challenge being addressed at Boston's Bunker Hill Community College through a college-wide initiative known as Ethnographies of Work (EoW). The…

The literature on information literacy identifies several significant challenges inherent in designing and providing comprehensive first-year programs, including reach, sustainability, instructional design, the flipped classroom, and assessment. In summer 2020, in response to the requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic, the User Experience and…

Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS) has established a strategic initiative to help all students identify their unique gifts and gain tools for living their personal vocations on a daily basis and throughout the course of their lives. As a Catholic institution of higher education, FUS is actively building an institutional culture that will…

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of adult learners in a first-year seminar course at Columbia State Community College, located in middle Tennessee, to determine if the content of the course has an impact on the learners' adjustment to college. With the statewide initiative to reach a goal of 55% of the state's population…

As state budgets are continuously tightened, and state dollars dwindle to cover only the bare necessities, resources must be carefully examined and utilized to increase efficiency and effectiveness; one such area in which higher education institutions must concentrate on allocating and streamlining resources is to increase the retention and…

A simulated conference in first-year curriculum reinforces undergraduate research as beneficial to both honors and campus communities while fostering scholarly development and campus engagement among honors freshmen during the coronavirus crisis.

Much has been written about the necessity for induction programmes that help students bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary education. Oftentimes the language around this issue focuses on perceived student deficit rather than institutional shortcomings, not least in discussion of students from Widening Participation backgrounds. The…