John N. Gardner President, John N. Gardner Institute Founding Executive Director, USC National Resource Center and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Betsy O. Barefoot Senior Scholar, John N. Gardner Institute Fellow, USC National Resource Center Exhibitor Session First-Year Experience Annual Conference February 2016 The First Year Matters: But What Matters Most?

Session Overview An “Exhibitor” session What is the Gardner Institute? The First Year Matters The Big Lessons What Matters Most Three Routes to Action Foundations of Excellence ® Gateways to Completion ® Retention Performance Management™ What Difference Can You Make? jngi.org

NOTICE: This is an approved exhibitor session! Voluntary participation on your part could lead to reductions in your discretionary time and resources, and big increases in your student success outcomes! jngi.org

Yes, we have something to sell …how uniquely American! Mainly, we are selling: Experience Knowledge Wisdom Big Ideas Processes (to achieve big changes for big improvements) jngi.org

Who were we? Who are we? jngi.org

We represent the Gardner Institute. Founded in 1999, the Gardner Institute is a non-profit, 501c3 undergraduate higher-education-focused organization based in Brevard, NC. An outgrowth of Barefoot/Gardner’s work at USC Serving all sectors of US higher education and some entities abroad Using assessment, planning, and technology-driven action processes to improve student performance With a research- and experience-based focus on applications to campus practices Offering tools, processes, wisdom, and advice to increase student success Expertise from the academy for the academy jngi.org

Historic Purposes of the First Year Making money that can be reallocated to “higher status” endeavors Weeding out students who don’t belong Structuring teaching so that senior faculty can avoid teaching new students What’s Your Purpose? jngi.org

The First Year Matters It is the foundation for… -Student success in colleges and universities that were not designed for them. - Institutional redesign to meet today’s students’ needs. jngi.org

The First Year Matters It is the foundation for… – Decisions to stay or transfer – Retention, therefore revenue – Impact on graduation rates – The development of long-term relationships jngi.org

The First Year Matters It is the foundation for… – Other important decisions like which groups to join – Acquiring certain behaviors that may or may not carry over into later adulthood – A redefinition of family member roles – The development of long-term relationships – Developing economies of time – Conducting initial assessments jngi.org

What Matters Most: The Big Lessons Colleges and universities are not designed for students we now serve and so must be redesigned. Many of us weren’t trained to teach these students. We need a focus, preferably on what we control. We need to rethink “the first-year experience.” There are two types of first-year students: first-time first- year and transfer. Transfer is important route to BA but still has low status. jngi.org

What Matters Most: The Big Lessons Most common response to the first year - start a “program.” Some have become “High-Impact Practices” such as the HIP first-year seminar, which this conference was originally designed to disseminate. Programs are necessary but not sufficient; we need an institution-wide approach. We need new language going beyond “completion” and “retention.” Completion for what? jngi.org

What Matters Most: The Big Lessons Our focus should be on “excellence.” Use standards of excellence: Foundational Dimensions.® Stop avoiding the faculty and instead engage them. Need to do self study to assess performance and produce a plan. Need to execute the plan to a high degree. Need cross-campus partnerships to do so. The “real” first-year experience—the gateway course experience. jngi.org

The Gardner Institute’s work is a response to the need for assessment processes to create action plans to improve institutional and student performance. jngi.org

The Gardner Institute’s Three Routes jngi.org Foundations of Excellence® Gateways to Completion® Retention Performance Management™

Foundations of Excellence jngi.org/foe-program Foundations of Excellence (FoE) is the gold standard of first-year assessment. By using a comprehensive approach to evaluating all components of the first year or transfer, institutions can develop a plan to improve their approach to both the first-year and transfer experience. Plans that are implemented “to a high degree” yield significant improvements in student retention. jngi.org

Gateways to Completion jngi.org/g2c Gateways to Completion (G2C) is a comprehensive set of tools and processes that help faculty and staff collect and analyze data, create and implement interventions, and develop and make use of teaching techniques. These techniques will help to increase student learning and success in historically challenging courses. G2C includes both the new: “Teaching and Learning Academy” “JNGI Analytics Process Collaborative” jngi.org

Save the Date! April 3-5, 2016 Grand Hyatt Buckhead Atlanta, GA

Retention Performance Management jngi.org/rpm Retention Performance Management (RPM) is a flexible series of time- and resource-efficient processes and tools that help institutions create, implement, and/or refine retention and completion plans. The flexible RPM processes can help institutions with various phases of retention (first year, sophomore year, etc.) and/or various populations for whom retention is a concern (male, first- generation, low-income, etc.). jngi.org

Next Steps jngi.org Visit the Gardner Institute Exhibit Booth 84. Follow up with us: Check out our website: jngi.org Participate in a gratis webinar: jngi.org/webinars Talk with past participants Apply!

When You Return to Your Campus, What Difference Can You Make? Use your own sphere of influence to... encourage your superiors to take the first year seriously. share your knowledge and insights about the first year. Practice assessment and use assessment results for improvement. Learn from others at this conference about what matters - - and what matters most. jngi.org

Betsy O. Barefoot John N. Gardner Exhibitor Session First-Year Experience Annual Conference February 2016 Thank you! Visit the Gardner Institute Booth #84