Engaging the First Year Student

WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYQuality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

Freshman Convocation 2005

VisionQEP exhibits the following characteristics:

Model of Excellence

Students, faculty, and staff partnerships

Application of theory to practice

Integrated view of knowledge

Interdisciplinary courses and projects

Classrooms extended beyond the “walls”

Students, faculty & staff involved in community

Purpose

“Engaged pedagogy is really the only type of teaching that truly generates excitement in the classroom that enables students and professors to feel the joy of learning.”

bell hooks

QEP Focus

Engagement is a process of connecting first year students more fully, personally and holistically, to their education, to their preparation for careers and to their contributing lives as citizens.

Definition

Building on our Strengths

WTAMU: A Great University

•Small class sizes

•Affordable

•Friendly

•Strong academic programs

(CIRP, 2005)

Who Are Our Students?

A Focused Topic

Of the 1,221 Fall 2005 freshman, 790 were beginning their first collegiate experience.

The university has more than 50% first-generation college students.

WTAMU lost 421 freshmen in 2004.

WTAMU lost 454 freshmen in 2005.

Student Expectations of WT

A Focused Topic

Only 28.9% chose WTAMU because it had a good academic reputation.

Only 35% of our first year students expected to be satisfied with WTAMU.

Only 9% expected to develop relationships with professors. (According to CIRP Data)

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Academic Challenge

Level of Student Engagement

Significantly Below National Average:

Number of books read

Preparation for class

Synthesis and application

Emphasis on study time

Active and Collaborative Learning

Level of Student Engagement

Below National Average:

Contribute to class discussion

Made class presentation

Class community-based projects

Tutored or taught other students

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Student-Faculty Interaction

Level of Student Engagement

First year students do not get the same access to faculty:

Collaborate with faculty/staff

Discuss career plans

Prompt feedback from faculty

Discuss reading & class with faculty outside of class time

Enriching Educational Experiences

Level of Student Engagement

Significantly Below National Average:

Participate in co-curricular activities

Field experiences, internships

Community service

Racially and religiously diverse relationships

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Support Campus Environment

Level of Student Engagement

Below National Average:

Campus helps with non- academic responsibilities (work, family, etc.)

Support to ensure social success

Quality of relationships with students, faculty, staff, administration

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Where are our students experiencing failure and frustration?

Level of Student Engagement

Our students do not easily connect to faculty, staff, or each other.

Our students, faculty, and staff do not effectively communicate value of the Core Curriculum.

Our students are not well prepared for the collegiate experience.

Our faculty and staff do not have systemic support for implementing engaging teaching strategies.

Goal I. Enhance Active & Collaborative Learning

OBJECTIVES:

Goals

Facilitate faculty development & improving classroom instruction in core courses.

Infuse service-learning and project based learning into the core curriculum.

Goal II. Enrich Educational Experiences

OBJECTIVES:

Goals

Create unique field experiences to develop first year student civic responsibility.

Augment cultural awareness on a global level for civic responsibility.

Goal III. Develop College Success Skills

OBJECTIVES:

Goals

Build successful learning skills.

Link problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Goal IV. Cultivate Supportive Campus Relationships

OBJECTIVES:

Goals

Connect first year students to peers in the campus community.

Link faculty and staff to peers in the campus community.

Foster relationships between first year students, faculty, and staff.

Five-Year Plan 2006-2011

Core Curriculum Reform

Core Curriculum Fellows (Pilot ’05)

Readership WT (Pilot ’05)

Service-Learning Project “Citizen U.”

Smart Classrooms across Curriculum

Initiatives

Five-Year Plan 2006-2011 Faculty Mentoring Program

WT TV Campus Channel

Student Learning Communities

Engaging Orientation Programs

Thematic Freshman Year Experience Course

Initiatives

Measuring our SuccessEvaluation focus

Are QEP activities having a significant impact on student learning?

Data Sources & Methods Focus groups CIRP (Cooperative Institutional Research Program) HERI (Higher Education Research Institute) NSSE (National Survey on Student Engagement) CIEQ (Course/Instructor Evaluation Question) CEA (Course Embedded Assessment) Institutional Research data YFCY (Your First College Year)

Assessment

Institutional Support

Office of Quality Enhancement and First Year Experience

Center for Student Learning and Teaching Excellence (SLATE)

First Year Experience Coordinator

Systemic Change

QEP Resource Allocation Plan 2006-2011

Program Improvement Plan

Total New Initiatives

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Initiative Request

166,454  95,000167,200

145,000 92,000 80,500

SACS Accreditation Team Visit

Accreditation Visit

April 10-12, 2006

Focus will be on QEP

Visit with all campus partners

Inquire about knowledge of QEP focus and initiatives

Exit interview Wednesday, April 12, 2006

“All of us in the academy . . . are called to renew our minds if we are to transform educational institutions – and society – so that the way we live, teach, and work can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our passion for justice, and our love of freedom.”

(bell hooks, 1994)

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