Connecting the First Year:

1
Connecting the First Year

• The students whole BGSU experience

2
The Problem

• Many good programs, but too many
• Lack of centralized coordination has detracted
  from overall effort
• Redundancies and gaps
• Difficult for students to navigate

3
Existing Programs

• Many programs affect first-year students
• Some for special subpopulations
• Some also for sophmores, juniors, seniors
• There are only five programs that are designed
  for first-year students
• BG Perspective (gen ed)
• BGeXperience
• Springboard
• UNIV 100
• Residential Learning Communities (9)

4
Building on Success

• While existing programs have had success, they
  lack coherence and distinctiveness
• Coherence thematic connections across all four
  years, and spanning academic and student affairs
• Distinctiveness Framing around the University
  Learning Outcomes, of which Critical Thinking
  About Values plays the leading role

5
Three Critical Transitions

• Transition to college
• Finding a major
• Preparing for life after college
• Address all three transitions in a coordinated,
  thematic way

6
Special Issues for the First Year

• Enhancing social integration
• First-year transition issues
• Building academic skills
• Critical thinking about values
• Multicultural competence
• Intentional retention
• Navigating the system
• Engagement with external communities

7
First-year Seminar

• Address the transition to college issues
• Build academic component
• University Learning Outcomes
• Electronic portfolio use
• Must be part of BG Perspective
• Multiple versions possible

8
Transition to Majors

• For students who have decided on a particular
  major
• Courses that explore how the major connects to
  issues of the day
• For students who want to explore
• Inter- or multi-disciplinary courses designed
  around topics such as AIDS, Sustainability,
  or Oil

9
Reflecting and Looking Ahead

• Capstone courses in every major
• Synthetic, project-based demonstration of
  learning
• Culmination of electronic portfolio, with
  purposeful connection to career or further study

10
Administrative Structure

• Central oversight is necessary to ensure
  consistency and coordination
• Formal structure (such as undergraduate college)
  is unnecessary and undesirable

11
Related Concerns

• Comprehensive curricular review For the
  transitions approach to be most effective, the
  University Learning Outcomes should be
  intentional themes for all courses
• Overlap of AS group requirements with BG
  Perspective is confusing and counterproductive