What is a First-Year Seminar?
Mary Stuart HunterAssociate Vice President
University 101 Programs and
National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition
What makes a course a First-Year Seminar?
Deconstructing “First-Year Seminars”
First-Year For new students
First year in college
First year on our campus
Seminar Small class sizeSetting for exchange of
ideas and information Through discussion,
responsibility for teaching and learning is shared
Origins of First-Year SeminarsJohns Hopkins University – 1877
non credit, system of faculty advisers (Gordon, 1989)
Lee College – 1882first reported first-year seminar (Barefoot & Fidler, 1996)
Boston College – 1888first extended orientation seminar (Gahagan, 2002)
Reed College – 1911credit, orientation course (Fitts & Swift, 1928)
1948 survey indicated that 43% of institutions offered a required orientation course (Gordon, 1989)
Increased growth of first-year seminars since 1980
In 2009, 86.5% of survey respondents (n=890) indicated they had a first-year seminar
(National Resource Center’s 2009 Nationqal Survey of First –Year Seminars)
What is a First-Year Seminar?A course designed to “assist students in their academic and social development and in their transition to college. A seminar, by definition, is a small discussion-based course in which students and their instructors exchange ideas and information. In most cases, there is a strong emphasis on creating community in the classroom.” (p. 275-276)Hunter, M. S., & Linder, C. (2005). First-year seminars. In M. L. Upcraft, J. N. Gardner, & B. O. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (pp. 275-291), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
A freshman seminar is a course intended to enhance the academic and/or social integration of first-year students by introducing them to (a) a variety of topics, which vary by seminar type, (b) to essential skills for college success, and (c) to selected processes, the most common of which is the creation of a peer support group. (p. 49)Barefoot, B.O. (1992) Helping first-year college students climb the academic ladder: Report of a national survey of freshman seminar programming in American higher education. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA.
Types of Seminars• Extended Orientation• Academic - with uniform content across
sections• Academic - on various topics• Basic study skills• Pre-professional or discipline-linked• Hybrid
Extended Orientation Academic - with uniform content
Academic - with various topics
Basic study skills Pre-professional or discipline-
linked
Hybrid
Rationale for First-Year Seminars
Why does a first-year seminar exist on your campus?
Table talk time…. Please do not turn page or look ahead!
Your Rationale May Depend Upon
Institutional mission and visionInstitutional typeStudent needs and characteristicsCulture and politics of the campusType of seminar
Potential Rationales for First-Year Seminars
Enhances student persistence from first to second year
Increases academic performance and eventual degree attainment
Assists with academic and social integration
Encourages and intrusively demands active student involvement in learning
Provides a setting for examining and discussing student-institutional fit
Helps students transition to new learning environment and community
Transmits culture and expectations of institution
What other rationales did you discuss at your table?
A “laboratory” for good practices in undergraduate education
(Chickering & Gamson, 1987)
Student-faculty contact Active learning Prompt feedback Time on task High expectations Respect for diverse learning styles Cooperation among students
Potential Commonalities Across Seminar Types
Small class sizeDiscussion intensivePeer connectionsFaculty/student and student/student
interaction
Engaging pedagogyEarly and frequent feedbackOut of class engagementIntentional development of communityReflection of and support of institutional
mission and goals
Characteristics of “successful” Seminars (broad-based campus support and long life)
• Academic credit• Centered in first-year curriculum• Involve both faculty and student affairs in
design and instruction• Instructor training and development• Compensation or other reward for teaching• Involves upper level students in seminar
delivery• Assessment
(Barefoot & Fidler,1996)
Digging Deeper
Survey Data on Current Status of First-Year Seminars in the United States
ReferencesBarefoot, B.O. (1992) Helping first-year college students climb the academic
ladder: Report of a national survey of freshman seminar programming in American higher education. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA.
Barefoot, B.O. & Fidler, P. P. (1996) The 1994 national survey of freshman seminar programs: Continuing innovations in the collegiate curriculum. Columbia: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F (1987) "Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education" American Association of Higher Education Bulletin pp.3-7
Fitts, C.T. & Swift, F.H. (1928). The construction of orientation courses for college freshmen. University of California Publications in
Education, (1897-1929), 2(3). Pp. 145-250.
Gahagan, J.S. (1992) A historical and Theoretical framework for the first-year seminar. In National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, The 2000 national survey
of first-year seminar programs: Continuing innovations in the collegiate curriculum (Monograph No. 35) Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina.
Gordon, V.N. (1989) Origins and purposes of the freshman seminar. In M.L.Upcraft, J.N.Gardner, & Associates (Eds.) The freshman year experience: Helping students survive and succeed in college (pp. 183-197). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hunter, M. S., & Linder, C. (2005). First-year seminars. In M. L. Upcraft, J. N. Gardner, & B. O. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-
year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (pp. 275-291), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Padgett, R.D. & Keup, J.R. (2011) 2009 National Survey of First-year Seminars: Ongoing efforts to support students in transition (Research Reports on College Transitions No. 2) Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
Contact InformationMary Stuart Hunter
Assistant Vice ProvostUniversity 101 Programs & The National
Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition
University of South Carolinaph 803-777-4761 [email protected]