The First Year at the University of Wisconsin: Building a Foundation for Student Success Betsy Barefoot, EdD 2008 First-Year Conference University of Wisconsin October 31, 2008

The First Year: How Far Have We Come? The Glass Ceiling

Most Common Response to First-Year Improvement: “Innovations on the Margins” Piecemeal programs that take the place of fundamental changes. Example: the role of the first-year seminar as an antidote

A New, More Complex, Definition for the First-Year Experience EVERYTHING that happens to new students  Especially the common components Both significant and mundane  No single person, department, or unit can improve the first year alone

A Nine-Part Model for First-Year Excellence: (“Foundations of Excellence” ® ) Purpose/rationale Organization Learning Transition Faculty Serving All Students Diversity Roles & Purposes Improvement

Principle #1. A Collective Sense of Purpose for the First Year Is it written down – agreed upon? Is it implicit? Moving beyond the historic utilitarian purposes for the first year

Moving Beyond Utilitarian Purposes How does this central tenet of “The Wisconsin Experience” relate to a purpose for the first year? “To apply in- and out-of-classroom learning in ways that have significant and positive impacts on the world.”

Principle#2. Rethinking How the First Year Is Organized  Who’s in charge?  Who understands the components of the first year – the Center for The First-Year Experience?  How are different units communicating?  Are there viable partnerships between academic and student affairs?  How can the Center continue to serve as the linchpin and knowledge source for first-year efforts?

Principle #3. A Focus on Learning Intentional learning outcomes  Have you determined common (or program-specific) learning goals?  Consider the Essential Learning Outcomes offered by AAC&U and included in “The Wisconsin Experience” Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world Intellectual and practical skills (inquiry, analysis, critical thinking, communication, quantitative literacy, information literacy, teamwork, problem solving) Personal/social responsibility (civic engagement, ethical reasoning, skills for lifelong learning) Integrative learning  Which have special relevance to the first year?  What about out-of-class learning?

Learning (cont’d.) What do you know about how first-year classes are being taught? A case in point: critical thinking Does the way we teach and test sabotage critical thinking?

Principle #4. Rethinking the Transition Experience  When does the transition to UW begin?  What is the role of the schools, the family?

Transitions (cont’d.)  How are your expectations communicated to students, families, and communities of support?  How are student expectations explored and understood? Out-of-class study Work The “co-curriculum”  How does academic advising support transition and learning?

Principle #5: The Role of Faculty The role of faculty in the first-year experience  The importance of out-of-class student/faculty interaction  Essential knowledge about students  Rewards or disincentives?

Principle #6. Service to All Enrolled Students How does the campus meet the needs of unique sub-populations? How does the campus meet the common needs of all students? Academic needs, social needs, needs for personal/psychological safety

Principle #7. Diversity Appreciation of diversity  What does diversity mean in your context?  Diversity as part of your mission – where is it addressed in the curriculum, out of class?  Are there safe places for more exposure to and reflection about diversity?

Principle #8. Roles and Purposes of Higher Education Preparing for a career Knowledge acquisition Leadership Learning the habits of citizenship Learning to serve the public good How would you add to, or redefine, this list?

Principle #9. Assessment for Continuous Improvement  The first step to informed change  The first step to knowing where to allocate resources  The first step to knowing what works in improving the first year

An Ideal World We would begin with a clear vision. Then we would develop the components of that vision.

The Real World Lots of bits and pieces already in place

The Payoff for a Big-Picture View of the First Year Increased student learning More efficiencies More collaboration and coherence Better communication More clarity of purpose Transformation to a more engaging campus

We ask our students to take risks, to grow, to think about their life purpose, to be transformed. We can ask no less of ourselves.

Contact Information Betsy Barefoot, EdD Co-Director & Senior Scholar Policy Center on the First Year of College Copyright, 2008 Artwork by Steve Tansley – Scottsdale, Arizona