At Humboldt State University (HSU), location is everything. Students are as drawn to our spectacular natural setting as they are to the unique majors in the natural resource sciences that the university has to offer. However, the isolation that nurtures the pristine natural beauty of the area presents a difficult reality for students who are…

The Effective Team Dynamics (ETD) Initiative at Georgia Tech developed curriculum to improve function of student teams. ETD uses the language of CliftonStrengths® to help students identify the areas in which they are the strongest and to apply those strengths to interpersonal contexts. ETD has developed curriculum for five "Touchpoints,"…

This paper explores how Problem-oriented Project Learning (PPL) can be organized in a context that meets the pedagogical needs of first year students. Under the assumption that, while PPL provides a fruitful context for learning, it is also challenging for early stage learners, the article formulates the theoretical considerations underlying a…

Although higher education leaders have established goals to increase the number of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, first-generation female college students remain underrepresented in STEM majors. Astin's (1970) inputs-environment-outputs (I-E-O) theory of student development provided a framework to examine how…

The Elon Gap Experience (EGE) was conceived out of Elon University's most recent strategic plan, the Elon Commitment (Elon University, 2009). One theme calls for "strategic and innovative pathways in undergraduate and graduate education," specifically "to launch a service program as part of a gap-year program" (Elon University,…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' and academic advisors' experiences in advisory from the Appreciative Advisement Framework through surveys and interviews. Many academic advising directors indicated there is no specific or required framework for their staff, although they have stressed the importance of advisement training,…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore and understand the reasons why community college music majors choose to persist, leave the major, or leave college, and what effects a first-year seminar designed specifically for music majors might have on their intent to persist.A questionnaire was used to compare the likelihood of…

Urban public universities play a critical role in the higher education missions of access and success of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations. Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) also attract similar scholarly attention to understand the impact of these institutions on marginalized and underrepresented racial…

This article reports on an exploratory study that investigated the use of student drawings as a visual research method to understand the first-year experience. A total of 31 undeclared students enrolled in a first-year seminar participated in the study. Data generated from pre- and postdrawings of students' first semester paths were analyzed to…

This article documents the design, delivery, and evaluation of a first-year experience (FYE) course in media and communication studies. It was decided that CMNS 110: Introduction to Communication Studies would start to include elements to address a perceived and documented sense of disconnectedness among first-year students in the School of…

A majority of the research on the impact of learning communities has focused on the positive outcomes for students in their first year of study (Andrade, 2007; Goldman, 2012; Laverick, 2018; Wathington, Pretlow, & Mitchell, 2010). Less is known about the impact of learning community involvement as students complete their enrollment and persist…

This article discusses how the Library and Office of Institutional Research at a public college measured the relationship of an online information literacy module in the learning management system with student success metrics in a first-year experience course. Specifically, the authors examine the relationships of an online instruction module,…

First-year seminars are frequently designed to help students adjust to and succeed in college. Although considerable literature has explored this topic, many previous studies may have notable problems with self-selection, since students who choose to participate are likely more motivated academically than those who do not. Therefore, this study…

This chapter describes a Reading and Study Skills program and course that are offered to first-year students who are underprepared or reluctant and who may be at risk for failure in other courses as well as at risk for long-term retention and graduation. The course is discussed with respect to its parallels to the MVP model, and initial evidence…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Assessment in Postsecondary Chemistry Education: A Comparison of Course Types (Rebecca E. Gibbons, Jessica J. Reed, Shalini Srinivasan, Sachel M. Villafañe, Emily Laga, Joshua Vega, Kristen L. Murphy, and Jeffrey R. Raker); (2) Beyond Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic:…