First Year Experience Hurdles and successes Netiva Caftori

First Year Experience Hurdles and successes Netiva Caftori Northeastern Illinois University www. netiva. net

Northeastern Illinois University • is one of the 12 public • • • colleges in the state of Illinois. Located in Chicago NEIU serves 12, 000 students, both full and part-time the most diverse university in the Midwest Hispanic Serving Institution

Student success • A six-year graduation rate • Using this standard, NEIU is a common statistic in American education. It measures the percent of those students who enroll full-time as freshmen who graduate after six year from the same institution. is not successful with those students who start as full-time freshmen

• FY 2007 -08, only 8% of CPS students were white and for FY 2006 -7, 84. 9% of CPS students were members of low-income families (CPS, 2008). NEIU is not a selective college, although many students attend who exceed the entrance requirements. The university mission emphasizes both access and excellence, and these two values are often difficult to reconcile.

• Traditional support for under prepared students has existed at NEIU in the form of writing, math, and tutoring centers, and developmental courses. In addition, there is a special support program for some Latino/Latina students called Proyecto Pa’lante and one for some African American students called Project Success, both of which are equipped to admit students who do not meet the NEIU admission requirements.

• For the 2001 freshman class, the six-year graduation rate for general admission students was 21. 6%; the rate for Proyecto Pa’lante students was 13. 6%; and the rate for Project Success students was 7. 5%.

The Innovation: The First-Year Experience at NEIU

FYE Colloquium “Diversity & Chicago” Anthropology 109: Skeletons in Chicago’s Closets Art 109: Art Architecture & Urban Design in Chicago Music-Dance 109: Stepping Out—Dance in Chicago Computer Science 109: The Information Age: Its Impact on Chicago’s Culture Education 109: Schooling Chicago: Communities, Public Education, and Change

Education 109: School’s Out: Chicago’s Nontraditional Education Programs Earth Science 109: Chicago Rocks! Geology in the City English 109: Chicago’s Literary Diversity: Reading in the Neighborhoods English 109: Drama & Diversity in Chicago Geography 109: Chicago Geographies: Global Chicago Environmental Science 109: Chicago Geographies: Environmental Chicago Justice Studies 109: Justice in Chicago

Linguistics 109: Language and Diversity in Chicago Music 109: Chi-Tunes: Music in Chicago Psychology 109: Growing up in Chicago Sociology 109: Investigating Chicago: Immigration and Migration Physical Education 109: Chicago Body Works Latino and Latin American Studies 109 Art, Thought, and Revolution in Chicago

• A lot of work goes into preparing a First Year Experience (FYE) course but the rewards are great once you start with enthusiasm. The students are even more excited than you are.

Check-in Check-out

The hurdles • A first struggle involves getting beyond the introduction. There is so much to do that one may not see the trees from the forest.

The curricular component: The FYE Colloquium • The general education content üCollege makes the difference üLearning styles üSkills for academic success üTime management üCritical thinking & Four-year planning • The discipline content

A solution • A solution is not unique: Just plan carefully every meeting time leaving ample time for bonding. • ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD BE CLEARLY EXPLAINED AND DUE DATES CLOSELY ASSIGNED.

Main hurdle • Integrating the core subjects into one's discipline is a main struggle not easily resolved.

A 3 rd hurdle • A third struggle involves the peer mentor and how to get her busy and helpful.

Another hurdle • Another struggle has to do with handling 24 freshmen all at once. • It may be easier for a freshman to make the transition to college when in a regular class and not all-freshmen class. • This is another thesis altogether.

The grading hurdle • Grading is yet another struggle as you may be tempted to correct students' errors and show them the way more than in a regular class. After the midterm students get relaxed, don't listen as much, start missing classes without any warning, and don’t care as much about getting good grades.

• A feeling of sinking back into high school is hard to combat.

• How far do you get involved in the lives of your students? • In a FYE class it seems you do get much more involved so the struggles mount, and so do the euphoria and the rewards as well.

References • Terry Stirling: Innovations in the Freshman Year • • • Experience: Enrichment or survival? U. S. News and World Report The education trust: http: //www. collegeresults. org/ Allensworth, E. (2007). Update to: From high school to the future: A first look at Chicago Public School graduates college enrollment, college preparation, and graduation from fouryear colleges.