Effective Strategies for Developing a First Year Experience Program
Spring 2003, Course 2
Instructor: David Ouimette & Kate Wrigley
Summary:
This course will explore the development of a First Year Experience
(FYE) program on your campus. Over the past 25 years, FYE programs have
proved beneficial in easing the student transition from high school to
college. Some of the topics to be included in this three week course
will be the development of mission and goals, instructor recruitment and
training, effectively using undergraduates as teaching assistants, and
using technology in all aspects of program development.
Course Overview:
The goal of the First Year Experience program is to help students in
their transition from high school to their college life. Students will
be experiencing a new independence for the first time in their life, as
well as higher work loads, budget issues, easier access to alcohol and
drugs, and community involvement changes
Some of the topics we will cover during the course:
- Development of a philosophy, mission and goals for your FYE program.
- Discuss ways to manage both large and small programs.
- Prepare you for the recruitment process of Instructors and campus
- Experts who can help your new students become acquainted with your learning institution.
- Discuss the benefits and challenges of having peer mentors in your class.
- Assist you in the beginning planning stages for creating training programs, activities, and workshops so that your Instructors feel comfortable and confident with their new students.
- Help you create generic learning objectives that you would like to accomplish with your new students.
- Provide you with information and sample themes/ideas for using technology as a critical component to your course.
- Provide you with articles found on the web about the benefits of the First Year Experience program, as well as transition issues.
- Help you implement follow-up program assessments to improve your new program for the future.
Participant Expectations:
Participants should plan to spend approximately 4 to 5 hours per week in
this course. This will include time to read materials, complete on-line
exercises and surveys and participate in asynchronous on-line
discussions. Please plan to check the course often for announcements,
new postings, and new articles. In addition participants will need to
respond to questions posted on the discussion board each week. As the
discussion board is asynchronous, students may check in and post at
their convenience. This learning tool will be an important part of
participant's learning experience.
Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful
completion of the course.
Instructor Bios:
David Ouimette has spent the last 12 years at the University of
Connecticut. After eight years as an Assistant Dean of Students working
primarily with student discipline and academic retention, David moved
into his current role as Director of First Year Experience Programs in
May 1999. As Director, David has primary responsibility for building a
comprehensive support package for first year students combining FYE,
mentoring and tutoring on campus.
Kate Wrigley is a recent graduate from the University of Connecticut,
where she majored in Instructional Technologies. New to the First Year
Programs staff at UConn, she has a fresh idea of what students want and
need during their academic transition. She is also an expert with web
design, non-linear video editing, and other technological components.
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