The Divisions of Academic and Student Affairs at Clarion University have created The Center for First Year Experience. Dr. Rich Lane, department of English and modern languages, and Erin Schuetz, director for Student Orientation, Acclimation and Retention, will direct the center, located on the 4th floor of Becht Hall.
"The center's formation comes after a two-year process during which more than 100 members of the university's faculty and staff, along with 25 students, conducted self-study research on the aspects, programs and efforts where impact was made on the first-year experience at Clarion," said Dr. Susanne Fenske, vice president for student affairs.
Among the recommendations within the report, the steering committee called for the development of a centralized office to be directed by a faculty member and a professional from student affairs, which will work to develop a "comprehensive, consistent and coordinated campus-wide system," to better serve and retain students from their first to second years.
"Schuetz and Lane bring great experience, passion and knowledge for this endeavor," Fenske said. "The Center for First Year Experience coordinates the efforts of the university's student success coaches and provides collaboration on first-year experiences such as orientation, mentoring, co-curricular programs and first-year courses."
An additional effort to address needs of first-year students at Clarion has been the creation of inquiry seminars, now in their second year. Dr. Leah Chambers will continue her work as the coordinator of the inquiry seminar program. Program assessment indicates the inquiry seminar courses are benefiting first-year students in a number of ways, including in the development of teamwork, critical thinking and classroom presentation skills.
Of 361 students who responded to a survey about their experiences in their inquiry seminar course during the 2015-2016 academic year, 65 percent reported that the course challenged them in a positive way, 72 percent reported growth in teamwork skills and 64 percent would recommend their inquiry seminar course to an incoming first-year student.
This fall, students taking inquiry seminar courses will complete research projects and display them in a Celebration of Learning. Statistics show that undergraduate research is a high-impact educational practice that positively impacts student retention.