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 Slide 2 The
First Year: How Far Have We Come? The Glass Ceiling Slide 3 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
Slide 4 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 Slide 5 A
Nine-Part Model for First-Year Excellence: (Foundations of
Excellence ) Purpose/rationale Organization Learning Transition
Faculty Serving All Students Diversity Roles & Purposes
Improvement www.fyfoundations.org Slide 6 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 Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 9 Slide 10 Slide
11 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. Slide 12
Principle#2. Rethinking How the First Year Is Organized Whos 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? Slide 13
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? Slide 14 Learning (contd.) 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?
Slide 15 Principle #4. Rethinking the Transition Experience When
does the transition to UW begin? What is the role of the schools,
the family? Slide 16 Slide 17 Transitions (contd.) 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? Slide 18 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? Slide 19 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 Slide 20 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? Slide 21 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? Slide 22 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 Slide 23 An Ideal World We would begin
with a clear vision. Then we would develop the components of that
vision. Slide 24 The Real World Lots of bits and pieces already in
place Slide 25 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 Slide 26 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. Slide 27
Contact Information Betsy Barefoot, EdD Co-Director & Senior
Scholar Policy Center on the First Year of College
[email protected] www.fyfoundations.org Copyright, 2008
Artwork by Steve Tansley Scottsdale, Arizona
