Timeline: Goal 6
From FSUWiki
Provide a comprehensive, integrated approach to the First Year Experience that encourages student success.
Contents |
Year 1: 2006-07
Action Step 1
- Meet the goal stated in Action Step 1 for defining expectations in every contact with first-year students.
- Develop a philosophy for the first-year of college.
- Disseminate this philosophy and expectations to all first-year students.
- Adopt a set of academic expectations that have been agreed upon by the campus community.
- Communicate these expectations to all faculty and staff.
- Conduct faculty/staff surveys about students' knowledge of expectations.
- Implement financial aid counseling to all freshmen.
- Stress the importance of liberal studies in Freshman Seminar classes.
Action Step 2
- Conduct open forums to gather student, faculty, staff input on the first-year.
- Conduct Student Engagement Surveys.
- Conduct programming through Residence Life.
- Conduct advisor evaluations.
Action Step 3
- Establish a process to include faculty in new student orientation.
- Communicate changes to the entire campus community.
Action Step 4
- Promote increased competence in critical thinking, ethical development, and lifelong pursuit of knowledge by implementing the Council for Advancement of Students in Higher Education guidelines.
- Provide assistance with "academic challenges" in the college catalog, web pages, program brochures, etc.
Action Step 5
- Gather retention and graduation rates.
- Develop the first-year team as described in Action Step 5.
- Conduct monthly meetings of the first-year team.
- Conduct yearly evaluation of this strategic goal.
Year 2: 2007-08
Action Step 1
- Continue and improve the dissemination of philosophy and expectations to first-year students as described in Action Step 1.
- Emphasize to students that they are responsible for their own learning.
- Conduct surveys to determine effectiveness of Action Step 1.
Action Step 2
- Conduct Student Engagement Survey.
- Implement Advisor Trac software.
- Improve the availability of online services.
- Provide services that accommodate students' abilities, backgrounds, interests, and experiences.
- Continue advisor evaluations.
Action Step 3
- Complete all items from Action Step 3 relating to coordination of efforts among services.
- Involve all ares in decisions about the first year.
- Improve campus communications.
- Provide more orientation to new faculty and staff about the availability of services.
- Establish a forum to exchange conference information.
Action Step 4
- Administer Strong Interest Inventory to students in Freshman Seminar class.
- Create and disseminate a document about diversity.
- Structure experiences in which students interact in an open and civil community with people from all backgrounds and interests.
Action Step 5
- Gather retention and graduation rates.
- Conduct monthly meetings of the first-year team.
- Coordinate attendance of the first-year team to the First Year experience Conference and disseminate materials from that conference.
- Conduct yearly evaluation for this strategic goal.
Year 3: 2008-09
Action Step 1: Communicate academic and co-curricular expectations to first-year students.
- Add philosophy statement and links to First-Year milestones and expectations to every 1100-level syllabus.
- Finalize Advising Syllabus template, which emphasizes student responsibilities as they progress through the institutions, and post online.
- Identify offices responsible for arranging and disseminating data regarding the first year.
- Develop a First-Year student web page.
Action Step 2: Improve the availability and quality of student services.
- Institute a call center that will be used to contact students throughout the year to ensure timely completion of admissions and registration procedures.
- Increase the number of services offered online.
Action Step 3: Align efforts of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs in support of first-year students.
- Provide faculty and staff development activities and training related to orientation and support services.
- Through a partnership between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, establish expectations for faculty participation in co-curricular and extra curricular events and incorporate into annual evaluations.
- Increase the number of introductory and 1100-level courses that either 1) include credit options for attending at least one co-curricular lecture or event that relates to the course, 2) require at least one assignment that is related to a co-curricular lecture or event, or 3) adopt a book by an author who is presenting at the Celebration of Ideas lecture series.
Action Step 4: Create a campus environment that fosters student development during the first year.
- Conduct surveys that assess the levels of student affective development as they enter college.
- Assess the level of student involvement and engagement in curricular and co-curricular activities.
- Promote personal and campus safety and diversity and social justice issues through a variety of presentations and workshops.
- Provide faculty and staff development that focuses on student development issues at the college level including cognitive, affective, and social development theories.
Year 4: 2009-10
Action Step 1
- Continue and improve the dissemination of philosophy and expectations for the first-year students as described in Action Step 1.
- Conduct surveys to determine effectiveness of Action Step 1.
Action Step 2
- Conduct open forums to gather information.
- Continue to improve online services.
- Continue to conduct advisor evaluations.
Action Step 3
- Continue to involve the entire campus in decisions about the first year.
- Continue to improve communications.
- Continue to provide training to faculty and staff, both new and continuing.
Action Step 4
- Establish learning goals for all courses as described in Action Step 4.
- Establish parent newsletter and listserve as described in Action Step 4.
- Establish mentoring system between alumni and students as described in Action Step 4.
- Develop outdoor gathering places for interactions as described in Action Step 4.
Action Step 5
- Gather retention and graduation rates.
- Conduct yearly evaluation of this strategic goal.
- Conduct monthly meetings of the first-year team.
- Coordinate first-year team efforts to coordinate speakers and staff development to include the first year perspective.
Year 5: 2010-11
Action Step 1
- Continue and improve the dissemination of philosophy and expectations for the first-year students as described in Action Step 1.
- Conduct surveys to determine effectiveness of Action Step 1.
Action Step 2
- Conduct open forums to gather information.
- Continue to improve online services.
- Continue advisor evaluations.
Action Step 5
- Continue and improve all action steps.
- Gather retention and graduation data.
- Conduct yearly evaluation of this strategic goal.
- Conduct monthly meetings of the first-year team.
