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Faculty & Staff Resources

Target Population and Expected Outcomes

Our target is the entire cohort of FTIACs (students First Time In Any College). Our intention is to offer an exemplary First Year Experience to every FTIAC at IPFW. Our expected outcomes include a) increased persistence of freshmen to the sophomore year, b) increased engagement of students in their learning, and c) increased satisfaction among students, faculty, and other constituents.

Project Principles

We adopt two guiding principles for the FYE program. The first is the overarching theme of "Connections." This theme reflects the primary objective of the FYE program–to connect students to IPFW through a) rigorous, challenging academics, b) co-curricular activities that augment ability and achievement, and c) extra-curricular activities designed to enrich students’ overall educational experience. The second principle is that FYE begins with students’ admission to IPFW. The experiences students have with IPFW prior to the start of their first-semester classes form a crucial part of FYE. Contact letters regarding FYE, orientation, advising, and social events must be focused on student success and coordinated to convey a clear and consistent message that IPFW is interested in the student, and concerned with his or her development as a member of the university community.

Mechanisms

The central academic delivery mechanism for FYE is the Freshman Learning Community. Freshman Learning Communities consist of combinations of regular university courses (including, but not limited to, general education, introductory-level, developmental, population and/or theme-based) that share content and/or skill development augmented by traditional "freshman success" material, delivered by experts. Connections will be forged through a range of compulsory activities among Freshman Community students, like training in essential skills such as library usage, PowerPoint, and information competence. Specific construction of Freshman Learning Communities, including the pairing of courses and the coordination of instruction, are the purview of the faculty. When fully implemented, every FTIAC will participate in a Freshman Learning Community as part of his or her FYE. A second, fundamental mechanism of FYE is high-quality, intrusive advising that utilizes current best practices in professional advising. This is advising that goes well beyond selection of courses to assist students in the development of their goals and motivation for success as college students. Thus, expansion of the cadre of well-trained, intrusive professional and faculty advisors will be critical to the program’s success.

Opportunities and Challenges

FYE provides IPFW with enormous opportunities. Connecting students to IPFW in their first year will increase their satisfaction and success. In turn, the climate and reputation of the university will be enhanced. FYE also engenders certain challenges. We must adapt curricula for the second and subsequent years to meet the heightened expectations of students coming out of FYE. We must become rededicated to continued development as learn-centered teachers. We must devote significant resources to the initial development and then maintenance of FYE. Ongoing and visible support of the administration is essential. Finally, the outcomes expressed above will be best served by a team-based collaborative approach that unites the strengths and resources of students, staff, faculty, departments, programs, and administration.