scholarly journals The impact of participation in a first-year seminar on increased usage of campus resources, academic and social integration and first-to-second-semester persistence at a two-year community and technical college.

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaye Lafferty
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Technical College ◽  
First Year ◽  
Community And Technical College ◽  
Academic And Social Integration ◽  
Campus Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

scholarly journals Impact of first-year seminar on student engagement, awareness, and general attitudes toward higher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothaina A. Al-Sheeb ◽  
Mahmoud Samir Abdulwahed ◽  
Abdel Magid Hamouda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
First Year ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Of Law ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
Campus Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

Purpose This study intends to add to the existing body of literature on the impact of a newly implemented first year seminar in the College of Law and Business. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects the course have on students in regard to three aspects: student awareness and utilization of resources, interaction patterns, as well as, general interests and attitudes toward higher education. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of the assessment included analysis of a survey that has been conducted by the end of Spring 2014 semester. A quasi-experimental design was implemented to measure the impact of the intervention on students’ awareness and utilization of resources, interactions, general interests, and attitudes toward higher education. Through the SPSS application, the Mann Whitney U Test, and χ2 tests were used to check for significant differences while comparing the means or frequencies for both groups. For the three questions, the authors have used the 90 percent confidence level and the standard significance level p-value of 0.05 or less for statistical analysis. Findings The results indicated that the course had a highly significant positive impact on student attitudes and awareness of campus resources but had less significant impact on student interactions and utilization of resources. The results in this study reveal a positive impact for the first-year seminar course on student satisfaction and attitudes toward higher education as well as their awareness of campus resources. However, in terms of the course impact on student interaction, results conveyed that students who have participated in the first-year seminar course show a slightly better interaction rate with instructors, academic advisors, and close friends than those in the control group. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that the sample was small. Nonetheless, it has provided valuable insights into the understanding of the social and academic impact of first-year seminars on student engagement; through the use of comparison groups, this study increased the validity of prior research. Practical implications The first-year seminar course evaluated in this study demonstrated the potential to support and enhance student social and academic engagement during the first year of college. Based on the results in this study, the study team recommended some revisions to the current first-year seminar model (UNIV P100 Skills for University Success). The team proposed three models for subsequent first-year seminars at this university. Originality/value This study adds to the existing literature by examining the impact of a newly implemented first-year seminar course at the College of Law and Business at this university on both academic and non-academic aspects from the students’ perspective. These aspects were selected as retention and GPA effects have been widely explored; therefore, the focus is on the less studied emotional and social factors associated with student success and retention. The results from this study can act as a guide for universities intending to introduce a first-year seminar course as it gives clear guidelines on design, content, and course implementation, which can be useful in enhancing general student motivation and attitudes toward academic study and higher education in general.

A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Academic and Social Integration and Commitment on Retention

NASPA Journal ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Beil ◽  
Carol A. Reisen ◽  
Maria Cecilia Zea ◽  
Robert C. Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Academic Integration ◽  
Research University ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Academic And Social Integration ◽  
Private Research

This longitudinal study predicted retention from academic integration, social integration, and commitment to remain in college in a sample of first-year students at a residential, private research university. When assessed separately, first-semester reports of commitment mediated the effects of both academic and social integration on retention six semesters later.

The Impact of Clustering First Year Seminars with English Composition Courses on New Students' Retention Rates

2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Crissman
Keyword(s):  
Retention Rates ◽  
English Composition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Independent College ◽  
Composition Course ◽  
New Students ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

Research has shown that two effective programs that positively impact upon new students' retention are first year seminars and clustering two or more academic courses together. This article discusses the results of one institution's approach to increasing student retention. The study analyzed the impact of clustering a first year seminar with an English composition course on new students' retention rates at a small, independent college in the northeast. The study, using multivariate regression models, showed no statistical difference in retention rates between students taking a clustered first year seminar and students taking a nonclustered first year seminar. This article discusses reasons that may account for the inconsistency with the literature, and closes with implications of the study and future research ideas.

scholarly journals The Impact of Enquiry-Based Learning on Academic Performance and Student Engagement

1969 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair Summerlee ◽  
Jacqueline Murray
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Access Information ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

Previously, we reported qualitative findings showing that students who experienced a problem- or enquiry-based course (EBL) in a first-year seminar program had greater confidence in their academic abilities, were more engaged, and were better prepared for upper-year courses. In the current paper, we provide quantitative data to substantiate the students’ qualitative conclusions. We present results to show that these students do perform at a significantly higher level compared with members of the control group who did not experience an EBL course. Using survey data, we show that the EBL students shift the way they access information compared with peers: they preferentially use more sophisticated resources for research. At the same time, students report greater engagement in the community, and student engagement is known to contribute to increased academic performance.  

scholarly journals Degrees of Impact: Analyzing the Effects of Progressive Librarian Course Collaborations on Student Performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Char Booth ◽  
M. Sara Lowe ◽  
Natalie Tagge ◽  
Sean M. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Authentic Assessment ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching Evaluations ◽  
Indirect Analysis ◽  
Actual Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

The Claremont Colleges Library conducted direct rubric assessment of Pitzer College First-Year Seminar research papers to analyze the impact of diverse levels of librarian course collaborations on information literacy (IL) performance in student writing. Findings indicate that progressive degrees of librarian engagement in IL-related course instruction and/or syllabus and assignment design had an increasingly positive impact on student performance. A secondary indirect analysis of librarian teaching evaluations and self-perceived learning gains by students and faculty showed no correlation to rubric IL scores, suggesting the importance of “authentic” assessment in determining actual learning outcomes. This mixed-methods study presents findings in each area and examines their implications for effective IL course collaborations.

scholarly journals Bringing a Learning Strategies Project to Scale in a First-Year Seminar

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Hillary Steiner ◽  
Nirmal Trivedi ◽  
Joshua Brown
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Transition ◽  
Metacognitive Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

This paper describes the impact of a learning strategies intervention conducted in first-year seminar courses that, 1) disaggregated components of academic skills into meaningful components for first-year students, 2) taught students academic skills within an authentic context, and 3) scaled-up the intervention for implementation at a programmatic level. This work is grounded in research on metacognition, self-regulation, and motivation, as well as literature on the academic transition to college. Results reinforced earlier findings indicating significant improved use of metacognitive learning strategies, even when the intervention was expanded to include multiple instructors in multiple course sections. Further research is needed to determine the precise factors precipitating improvement when the project was brought to scale.

scholarly journals Using Student Narratives to Understand the Perceived Impact of First-Year Seminar Participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. Foote
Keyword(s):  
College Experience ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Early College ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Course Assessment ◽  
Reed College ◽  
Perceived Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

The purpose of this multi-campus study was to determine how participating in a first-year seminar impacts students during the first semester of college. In the years since the first credit-bearing first-year seminar was offered at Reed College in 1911 (Gordon & Grites, 1984), many campuses have created seminars that address a variety of subject matter and meet the needs of an institution and its students. The customized nature of contemporary seminars has caused much of the course assessment and research to focus on measuring the impact of these institution-specific courses on retention (Porter & Swing, 2006). Qualitative methods were used in this study to identify additional ways first-year seminar participation influences the early college experience of students enrolled in the course. The study found that participating in a first-year seminar contributed to students' feelings of confidence in academic skills and abilities, as well as the connections they developed with their peers and seminar instructor. Several aspects of the first-year seminars in this study, including the content and ways in which the course was taught, were found to contribute to the perceptions of the participants.

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