ost students who leave college before graduation do so because they do not become adequately integrated into the college environment and engaged in learning. They leave during their first semester or first year – without even giving themselves a chance to succeed (Tinto, 1996). Community college students often face special challenges in becoming integrated into the college environment because of their wide diversity with respect to age, personal/social background, academic ability, and career aspiration (Astin, 1993). Understanding that helping students achieve learning and success during their early college enrollment improves their chances for success all along the way, Moraine Valley Community College implemented a comprehensive first-year student support program, the First-Year Experience.

The First-Year Experience (FYE) is designed to help students make a successful transition to the college environment and to help them develop the skills and strategies needed for college learning. The FYE includes four specific intentional and intrusive support components: 1) placement testing and enrollment in appropriate courses including developmental education, 2) student orientation and registration, 3) COL-101 student success course and 4) completion of an individualized Master Academic Plan. All first-time, full-time students are required to participate in all four components.

Placement testing, part one, begins by ensuring that students begin college classes at a level where they can be successful. All applicants who indicate intention of attending the college full-time are required to complete an assessment of reading, writing and math skills. COMPASS, the computerized placement test, is offered on a walk-in basis throughout the year with extended hours during registration periods. Students with sufficient ACT test scores or previous college credit may choose to use them as formal determination of proficiency levels in place of COMPASS. Students register for classes, including any needed developmental education classes, according to their placement test results.

Following completion of basic assessment, students are required to attend the half-day small group Student Orientation and Registration (SOAR), part two. SOAR, taught by a team of counselors and academic advisors, focuses on preparing students for their first semester of college. SOAR includes informational sessions and small group discussions introducing the academic and social environments of higher education, educational planning processes, review of placement test scores, introduction to the online SOAR web site including online registration tools, and individual assistance with course selection and registration. Students participating in SOAR complete an online inventory that assesses what they have learned through the SOAR process. As part of the inventory, students have the opportunity to review any of the SOAR topics about which they remain uncertain. Students are encouraged to return to the SOAR web site for additional information regarding policies, procedures and academic programs throughout their enrollment at the college.

Part three, the centerpiece of the four-part First-Year Experience, is a one semester-hour student success course, COL-101, College: Changes, Challenges, Choices. A campus-wide task force involving faculty and administrators developed the COL-101 curriculum and continues its involvement to insure the ongoing success of the course. COL-101 is designed to enhance student development and student learning and to improve student retention and academic success. The course, with a maximum enrollment of 22 students in each section, focuses on the issues that individuals face as new college students and provides ongoing peer and instructor support during the critical first semester of college.

Through self-exploration and group interaction, the course facilitates students’ academic and social integration into the college environment and helps students build the skills necessary for success. For example, students assess their own learning styles and identify strategies to utilize their unique skills according to different types of teaching styles. The course introduces college resources available to assist students throughout their enrollment. For example, college librarians teach one session of each section of COL-101 in which they focus on information literacy and assist students in accessing and evaluating resources available in print and online. In addition, the counseling faculty provide a comprehensive curriculum of workshops and seminars that expand on the topics introduced in the COL-101 course. To enhance the COL-101 unit on diversity, staff in Multicultural Student Affairs welcome new student participation in the many multicultural awareness events they sponsor each semester. COL-101 not only helps students learn skills needed for success in college but also helps them apply these skills in their lives beyond college.

Faculty and administrators across the college teach COL-101. All instructors are required to have earned a master’s degree. Prior to teaching the course for the first time, each instructor must complete a five-hour training session led by the Assistant Dean, New Student Retention with support from the counseling faculty and other members of the COL-101 task force. The training is offered several times each semester. Additional “faculty forums” are hosted throughout the year to provide an opportunity for new and experienced COL-101 instructors to share their experiences and expand their skills for assisting first-semester students.

Part four of the FYE, seamlessly integrated into the COL-101 course, involves each student’s development of an individualized Master Academic Plan (MAP). To develop MAPs, all COL-101 students participate in educational planning sessions taught by academic advisors. In these sessions, students learn about resources available and are provided assistance in determining educational requirements for their intended college major and career. Each student must submit a completed MAP as part of the COL-101 requirements. Students also learn about registration for the second semester as part of COL-101.

The First-Year Experience was fully implemented for the first time in Fall 2000. Development of the different components of the First-Year Experience occurred over several years and included numerous faculty, administrators, and staff across campus. Components that had previously existed (placement testing, new student orientation) were revised and updated, and new components (COL-101, Master Academic Plan) were added following several years of pilot testing and review. All components were designed to create a comprehensive, integrated experience for students.

The college created a new position of Assistant Dean, New Student Retention, to direct implementation of the program. The Assistant Dean is officially a member of the Student Development administration; however, she works closely with her peers in the division of Academic Affairs as she directs the coordination of all departments, faculty, and staff involved in the First-Year Experience.

Since its initial implementation, the First-Year Experience has undergone continuous review and improvement. The training program for faculty has been expanded to include the ongoing “faculty forums” and more recently a mentoring program for new COL-101 instructors to receive ongoing support and guidance from more experienced instructors. A student needs assessment component has been piloted through use of the Noel-Levitz College Student Inventory. As of Fall 2004, all of the educational planning sessions taught by academic advisors are conducted in computer labs so that students can take full advantage of the many online resources that have been built into the program.

The First-Year Experience is an excellent example of a college-wide collaborative effort that has improved and expanded the college’s learning-centered environment. The program enhances the learning of students, faculty, and staff across the college community. Through their participation in FYE, students develop a better understanding of their responsibilities for learning and develop critical skills to become more self-directed learners. COL-101 provides opportunities for students to develop collaborative, supportive learning relationships with both students and instructors. Through FYE, faculty and staff have a unique opportunity to learn about students and foster supportive relationships outside of their traditional disciplines of instruction or administrative roles.

During the first five years of implementation, approximately 15,000 students have participated in the First-Year Experience. Over 500 faculty and administrators have participated in the required instructor training session. To accommodate increased student enrollments, the number of COL-101 sections offered each semester has continued to increase. During Fall 2005, there are 150 sections of the course being taught, with approximately 3,000 students enrolled.

The Office of Institutional Research has conducted follow-up research on each cohort of new full-time students since Fall 2000. This research consistently shows that students who successfully complete COL-101 during their first semester perform better than their peers who do not enroll in COL-101 or who enroll but do not successfully complete the course. Specifically, the research shows, at a statistically significant level, that COL-101 completers earned higher first semester grade point averages than those who did not enroll and those who did not successfully complete the course. COL-101 completers also earned higher cumulative grade point averages at the end of their first year than those who did not enroll and those who did not successfully complete the course. Successful COL-101 students completed a higher percentage of their first semester credit hours. Successful COL-101 students were also more likely to continue their enrollment to the second semester and second year. Comparisons of these groups of students can be seen in the figures below.

In addition to the success of the students, the Moraine Valley First-Year Experience has received several local and national awards. They include:

• 2004 Teaching and Learning Excellence Award, Illinois Community College Board
• 2003 First Place Terry O’Banion Shared Journey Award, National Council on Student Development and League for Innovation in the Community College
• 2003 Best Practice Award, National Council on Student Development
• 2003 Exemplary Program Award, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
• 2003 Innovation of the Year Award, Moraine Valley Community College
  

For more information about the First-Year Experience at Moraine Valley Community College, contact Joann Wright, Assistant Dean for New Student Retention, at wright@morainevalley.edu.

References

Astin, A. W. (1993) What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Tinto, V. (1996). Persistence and first year experience in the community college: Teaching new students to survive, stay, and thrive. In J. N. Hankin (Ed.), The community college: Opportunity and access for America’s first year students (Monograph No. 19, pp. 97-104). Columbia: University of South Carolina, The National Resource Center for the Freshman Year Experience & Students in Transition.

Tina Stovall serves as Dean for Counseling, Advising and Multicultural Student Affairs at Moraine Valley Community College, one of the 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges, located in Palos Hills, IL. She is a 1999 graduate of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where her dissertation research focused on the relationships between participation in a community college student success course and academic performance and persistence. She can be reached at stovall@morainevalley.edu. Beginning January 2006, Dr. Stovall will be serving as Vice President for Student Services at Lake Land College in Mattoon, IL.

Joann Wright is the Assistant Dean of New Student Retention at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, IL. She is pursing a doctoral degree in Executive Community College Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.