Synopses & Reviews
Praise for Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs
"An essential guide to the thorny task of not only developing successful first-year programs, the critical building blocks for student college completion, but also sustaining them over time. It should be at the top of the reading list of all faculty, staff, and administrators concerned with making substantial improvements in student success in the first year of college."
Vincent Tinto, Distinguished University Professor, Syracuse University
"Grounded in scholarly literature and higher education theory, Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs provides a much-needed next-generation resource to advance a comprehensive, integrated, and multi-faceted first-year experience as well as practical guidance to educators who want to become more effective first-year student advocates."
Jillian Kinzie, associate director, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, NSSE Institute
"The authors do an excellent job both of providing a conceptual framework for the first year and of grounding their program descriptions in the work of a diverse range of campuses, providing exemplars of good practice, centered on assessment, in enhancing student academic achievement and persistence. The book will be of use both to policy makers and administrators focused on enhancing student success and to practitioners who will make good use of excellent observations and recommendations."
Scott Evenbeck, president, The New Community College at CUNY
Synopsis
First-year programs and interventions have become critical launching pads for student success and retention in higher education. However, these programs often flounder not because of what they are trying to do, but because of the ways in which they are implemented. Copublished with the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, this is a comprehensive, practical, how-to guide to developing new first-year programs and enhancing existing programs. It identifies and discusses the multiple elements that contribute to sustained student success and to programs that have the capacity to continue to meet student needs and make efficient use of resources. Discussion is included on critical partnerships, organizational structures, personnel, and fiscal issues as they relate to the design, delivery, and assessment of effective interventions.
Synopsis
Developing and Sustaining Successful First -Year Programs
First-year programs and interventions have become critical launching pads for student success and retention in higher education. However, these programs often flounder not because of what they are trying to do, but because of the ways in which they are implemented.
Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs offers faculty, academic administrators, and student affairs professionals a comprehensive and practical resource that includes step-by-step guidance for developing new first-year programs and enhancing existing programs. The book explores the key elements that contribute to sustained student success and the programs that have the capacity to continue to meet student needs while making the most of scarce resources. The authors show how to create and sustain critical partnerships, put in place the needed organizational structures, and include strategies for developing effective assessments and evaluations.
Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs is filled with illustrative examples and profiles of successful programs from a range of institutions that vary in size, type, selectivity, and culture. Examples of common programs and interventions include summer bridge programs, student orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, residential programs, developmental education, and many more.
Based in scholarly literature, theory, and practice, the book highlights the initiatives that facilitate the transition, learning, development, and success of new college students.
Synopsis
This comprehensive and practical book offers a how-to guide to developing new first-year programs and enhancing existing programs. The authors identify and discuss the multiple elements that contribute to sustained student success and the programs that have the capacity to continue to meet student needs and make efficient use of resources. Such elements include critical partnerships, organizational structures, personnel, and fiscal issues as they relate to the design, delivery, and assessment of effective interventions.
Synopsis
First-year programs and interventions have become critical launching pads for student success and retention in higher education. However, these programs often flounder not because of what they are trying to do, but because of the ways in which they are implemented. This is a comprehensive, practical, how-to guide to developing new first-year programs and enhancing existing programs. It identifies and discusses the multiple elements that contribute to sustained student success and to programs that have the capacity to continue to meet student needs and make efficient use of resources. Discussion is included on critical partnerships, organizational structures, personnel, and fiscal issues as they relate to the design, delivery, and assessment of effective interventions.
Synopsis
First-year programs and interventions have become critical launching pads for student success and retention in higher education. However, these programs often flounder not because of what they are trying to do, but because of the ways in which they are implemented.
Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs offers faculty, academic administrators, and student affairs professionals a comprehensive and practical resource that includes step-by-step guidance for developing new first-year programs and enhancing existing programs. The book explores the key elements that contribute to sustained student success and the programs that have the capacity to continue to meet student needs while making the most of scarce resources. The authors show how to create and sustain critical partnerships, put in place the needed organizational structures, and include strategies for developing effective assessments and evaluations.
Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs is filled with illustrative examples and profiles of successful programs from a range of institutions that vary in size, type, selectivity, and culture. Examples of common programs and interventions include summer bridge programs, student orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, residential programs, developmental education, and many more.
Based in scholarly literature, theory, and practice, the book highlights the initiatives that facilitate the transition, learning, development, and success of new college students.
About the Author
Gerald M. Greenfield, a professor emeritus of history at University of Wisconsin, Parkside and long-time director of its teaching and learning center, spent seven years there as a senior administrator in academic affairs. Greenfield led the university's participation in the Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year and organized and chaired their initial First Year Committee. He is accredited as a peer evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission.
Jennifer R. Keup is the director of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience® and Students in Transition and also serves as an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina.
John N. Gardner is the senior fellow of the National Resource Center, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina, and president of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. Gardner is the author or coauthor of The Freshman Year Experience, Challenging and Supporting the First-Year Student, Helping Sophomores Succeed, The Senior Year Experience, and Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for the First Year of College.
Table of Contents
Preface by John N. Gardner xi
The Authors xvii
Acknowledgments xxiii
Introduction: Where Have We Been, and Where Are We Going? xxvii
1 High-Impact Pedagogies 1
2 Summer Bridge Programs 21
3 New Student Orientation 43
4 Advising 67
5 First-Year Seminars 89
6 Learning Communities 113
7 Residential Learning Programs 136
8 Developmental Education 157
9 Early Alert Warning Systems 179
10 Probation Initiatives 202
11 Peer Leadership 224
12 Second-Year Transitions 249
Conclusion: Lessons Learned 271
References 277
Index 319