Primer for First-Time Attendees Mary Stuart Hunter Associate Vice - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Primer for First-Time Attendees

Mary Stuart Hunter Associate Vice President & Executive Director Jennifer R. Keup Director John N. Gardner Founder & Senior Fellow

Definitions of Primer

• Primer – any book of

elementary principles

• Primer – a person or thing

that primes; a first coat of paint, size, etc, given to any surface as a base, sealer, or the like

Primer Goals

• historical and cultural context for the first-year

experience movement

• developmental mileposts of the Center
• current campus trends of interest
• future of the first year of college and the

challenges ahead for educators

• strategies for making the most of the conference
• getting involved with the work of the Center

Foundations and Beginnings of FYE

• Student activism and a riot at the University of

South Carolina

• Spring 1970
• President Thomas F. Jones
• Social justice

• 1982 – National conference on the freshman

seminar / freshman orientation course concept

• 1983 – Annual conference on the Freshman

Year Experience begins

• 1986 – The Center is chartered, established the

following year; first International Conference on the First-Year Experience held in the UK

• 1988 – First monograph published;

First newsletter published; First national research study

• 1989 – Journal introduced
• 1990 – First national recognition

process established

(Outstanding First-Year Advocates)

• 1994 – Website launched; First listserv created

• 1999 – John Gardner retires,

Stuart Hunter becomes director

• 2003 – E-source for College

Transitions electronic newsletter launched

• 2005 – Paul P. Fidler Research

Grant established

• 2007 – Stuart Hunter promoted,

national search identifies Jennifer Keup as 3rd director

• 2008 – First Institute for First-Year

Seminar Leadership held, other institutes followed; the Center received ASHE special merit award

• 2010 – Online courses offered for the

first time; national award established to recognize Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars

• 2012-2013 - Release of a 5-

volume series on First-Year Seminars

• 2013 - 25th anniversary issue of

the Journal on the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition published; 2nd administration of the National Survey of Peer Leaders

• 2015 – 24th Annual Conference on

the First-Year Experience!

Current Campus Trends of Interest

• Reaching out to students before they

begin their studies

• Recognition of the importance on

induction and orientation periods

• Peer support and peer education
• Attending to student success in gateway

courses

• Student-centered teaching
• Continuing support

beyond the first year

• Partnerships and collaboration
• Campus attention to families of

undergraduates

• Response to greater mental and

emotional health needs of today’s students

• Technology and distance

education

• Emphasis on employability and

career pathways

• External influences on FYE
• Economic realities and

financial influences

• Questioning of ROI and levels
• f student debt

• Increasing demand for assessment and

data-driven decisions

• Pioneering use of predictive analytics

• Moving beyond program focus to

comprehensive approaches

• Reinvisioning our models to work with

the new demographics in our institutions

• New goals of helping students thrive

The Future: Meeting Needs, Setting Agendas

• Evolution of FYE as a field of study
• Moving beyond retention
• Advocacy
• Internationalization of FYE
• FYE and high-impact practices

• Advancing research and

scholarship on student transition and success

• Engaging new voices;

fostering the next generation of leaders

• Recognizing excellence

Making the Most

• f the Conference
• Be sure to read the
• pening pages of the

program book

• Note different types of

sessions

• Attend sessions on a wide

variety of topics

• Make effort to network

and meet new colleagues

• Visit the exhibit booths
• Excess handout table at

the conference; website presentation center later

• Participate in evaluation
• pportunities

Getting Involved: Step #1

• Join the FYE-listserv and/or FYA-listserv
• “Like” the National Resource Center on Facebook
• Subscribe to The ToolBox and/or E-Source for College

Transitions newsletters

• Follow the National Resource Center on Twitter
• Enter your program into the interactive databases of the

Center’s website

• Submit an article to E-Source
• Nominate a colleague for a Center-sponsored

recognition program

Free!!

Getting Involved: Step #2

• Purchase a publication in your functional area
• Subscribe to the Journal of The First-Year

Experience and Students in Transition

• Attend an upcoming conference or institute
• Plan to attend a preconference workshop
• Participate in the Center’s conference

mentoring program

• Enroll in an online course

Getting Involved: Step #3

• Propose/present a session or preconference

workshop for a future conference

• Review session proposals for conferences
• Submit a scholarly article to the Journal
• Submit a scholarly-practice book proposal
• Submit a proposal for the Paul P. Fidler Research

Grant competition

• SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

– Institutional co-host for a conference – Review Board for the Journal

Welcome to the 34rd Annual Conference on the FYE !

Mary Stuart Hunter shunter@sc.edu Jennifer R. Keup keupj@mailbox.sc.edu John N. Gardner gardner@jngi.org