April 13, 2006

1
Oakland UniversityFoundations of Excellence in
the First YearProject
April 13, 2006
2
OVERVIEW OF FOE PROCESS

• Council and Subcommittees
• Nine Dimensions
• Report Process
• Surveys

3
SURVEY PERCEPTIONS OF THE NINE DIMENSIONS
Dimension
Faculty/Staff Means
Student Means
highest lowest Five point scale
4
OVERALL FROM STUDENT SURVEY
Students Answering 4 or 5
Question
5
OVERALL FROM FACULTY/STAFF SURVEY
Faculty/Staff Answering 4 or 5
Question Given way 1st yr. conducted
6
PHILOSOPHY DIMENSION

• Create a university-wide first-year philosophy
• Units teaching and serving first-year students
  should develop plans for putting philosophy into
  practice
• Create a first-year council

7
PHILOSOPHY DIMENSION (cont.)

• Encourage development and delivery of first-year
  initiatives by all departments
• General Education philosophy and first-year
  philosophy should be in alignment

8
ORGANIZATION DIMENSION

• Create a comprehensive approach and plan for the
  first college year
• Include both academic affairs and student affairs
  in planning and decision-making about first-year
  programs and initiatives
• Create a First Year Council to track progress and
  programs

9
ORGANIZATION DIMENSION (cont.)

• Create a Teaching and Learning Center for faculty
  development and student engagement
• Create a culture of assessment in both student
  affairs and academic affairs
• Provide recurring funding for first year and
  general education initiatives

10
TRANSITIONS DIMENSION

• Explore Best Structure(s) to Support First Year
  Experience
• Develop a required common experience for
  first-year students
• Establish a user-friendly Web page centered on
  the first-year experience

11
TRANSITIONS DIMENSION (cont.)

• Build an incentive structure to increase faculty
  involvement in a university first-year experience
  initiative
• Hire more academic advisers in alignment with
  national averages

12
FACULTY DIMENSION

• Develop student readiness criteria and use as
  part of admissions process
• Make smaller classes for first-year students a
  priority
• Create a Teaching and Learning Center and make
  first-year teaching one of its foci

13
FACULTY DIMENSION (cont.)

• Reward faculty for participation in orientation
  activities related to the first year
• Include first-year initiatives in promotion and
  tenure criteria
• Encourage voluntary faculty participation in
  first-year initiatives through incentives

14
ALL STUDENTS DIMENSION

• Create a specific plan for first-year students
  and high-risk subpopulations of first year
• Create a first-year council with representation
  from academic and student affairs
• Create special initiatives for targeted
  subpopulations in the first year

15
ALL STUDENTS DIMENSION (cont.)

• Review existing programs for enhancements and
  institutionalize those that effectively address
  the first year
• Consider block registration for first-year
  students and making the first-year seminar
  mandatory

16
LEARNING DIMENSION

• Identify and assess learning goals specific to
  first-year students
• Institute a required first-year experience
• Analyze DFWI rates for courses with high rates of
  first-year students and revise admissions
  criteria as needed

17
LEARNING DIMENSION (cont.)

• Provide a first-year advising center to
• achieve a better advisor/student ratio
• monitor at-risk students
• Institute incentive plans and policies to
  encourage first-year students to make University
  education their primary focus
• Activate pre-requisites in Banner

18
DIVERSITY DIMENSION

• Diversity and multi-cultural events specifically
  designed for first-year students 
• Tracking of first-year student participation in
  multi-cultural events
• Follow-up to New Student Orientation in second
  semester

19
DIVERSITY DIMENSION (cont.)

• Enhancing diversity of faculty involvement in
  first year
•  
• Make first-year seminar mandatory for all
  students
• Increase resources for diversity programming in
  the first year

20
ROLES AND PURPOSES IN HIGHER EDUCATION DIMENSION

• Replace vague generalizations about higher
  education with clear, precise, enthusiastic
  language
• Develop a more balanced approach to explaining
  the value of higher education
• Emphasize exploration, excitement and involvement
  in General Education promotion materials

21
ROLES AND PURPOSES IN HIGHER EDUCATION DIMENSION
(cont.)

• Focus on non-career oriented values of higher
  education in first year seminar
• Focus on Kresge Library as a resource of broader
  value beyond research projects
• Streamline communications to first-year students

22
IMPROVEMENT DIMENSION

• Align a structure for improvement with a coherent
  philosophy of the 1st year
• Develop measurable goals for student achievement
  in the first year
• Develop goals and outcomes for first year courses
  and programs

23
IMPROVEMENT DIMENSION (cont.)

• Develop a feedback mechanism to institute and
  track changes.
• Regularly communicate and discuss progress
• Increase campus knowledge about - and involvement
  in the first year

24
NEXT STEPS

• Creation of Phased Action Plan
• FOE Task Force
• Key Administrators
• Presentation of Plan and Feedback
• Senate
• Academic Council
• Department Chairs
• Kick-off Meeting Fall 2006
• NCA Special Emphasis Self-Study