First-Year Study Group

First-Year Study Group

Meeting Minutes

October 25, 2013

In attendance: Connor Baade, Stacey Bradley, Sara Corwin, Dan Friedman, Maegan Gudridge, Nichole Knutson, Jeremy Lane, Gene Luna, Aaron Marterer, Kim McMahon, Bethany Naser, Mary Wagner

I.  Feedback on the website

a.  Study group website is live, and the committee approves its simple, straightforward layout.

b.  Orientation Subcommittee would like to launch its initiatives from the site.

c.  Next steps include making announcements through the Provost’s email and a USC Times article.

II.  Update from Orientation Subcommittee

a.  The schedule for 2014 summer orientation was finalized to be from June 13-July 31, with an additional optional transfer orientation date on August 4th.

b.  With the current advising and scheduling methods, USC cannot effectively manage more than 5,000 freshmen and 1,400 transfer students in the incoming class. It is very difficult to distribute full and adequate schedules meeting the recommended 15 quality credit hours for first-year students.

c.  Creative Services has offered to help develop the orientation resource guide book.

III.  Analysis of our students, continued

a.  The committee continued to review the “Profile of USC First-Year Students” document and discussed implications for the committee’s future work.

i.  Actual engagement and behaviors

1.  The layouts for some residence halls were designed for upperclassmen that are more familiar with the university. As the size of the freshman class increases, more first-year students are living in these buildings that do not allow for optimal interaction and engagement. The committee suggests creating more first-year learning communities in these halls that were not originally designed for first-year students.

2.  Might reconsider giving upper-class housing preference to high ability students since our more at-risk students may benefit by living on-campus.

3.  Students are moving to the residence halls on the perimeter of campus while activities and services are more centrally located. There is also limited to no programming in the residence halls on weekend. This creates a campus dynamic that poses obstacles for the first-year experience. How do we provide students with services and events that are convenient and relevant?

4.  As personalized accommodations become more prevalent, the demand for a customized experience and individualized support services may continue to increase. The committee discussed the idea of a “Student Success Support Team” assigned to each student including ACE coach, career coach, advisor, U101 instructor, etc.

5.  Based on what we know about students’ preferences regarding technology, the committee discussed a need for an online portal that shows students information regarding their “next steps” at the university. An online portal would provide the opportunity to target student populations to deliver a message they may specifically need to receive instead of inundating students with information that does not apply to them. There is a discussion currently occurring regarding adoption of a similar tool.

ii. What we know: Implications for policy and practice

1.  The later students come to orientation; the more likely they are to receive less desirable overall class time, course selection, and registration experience. The committee should consider policies that will help ensure most first-year students leave orientation with 15 credit hours scheduled.

a.  Should colleges manage the release of seats differently? Do we need to pre-register students? What percent of students leave orientation with less than 15 credit hours?

b.  First, the committee recommends evaluating solutions to provide all incoming students with the opportunity to register for 15 quality credit hours. Once this concern is resolved, the committee should draft consistent messaging regarding the value of enrolling in 15 credit hours each semester of the first year of college and distribute it to all advisors assisting with the registration process during orientation.

c.  Consider whether there are enough opportunities for students to catch up to 30 completed hours after the first year of college, not including AP or transfer credit. How can we help students map out a strategy for completing 30 credit hours in their first year?

2.  Students are more likely to lose their scholarships because of insufficient credit hours than just GPA, and students who lose their scholarship are 3.6 times more likely to leave the university. If students are only taking 12 credit hours each semester, there is no cushion to drop a course and remain a full-time student.

a.  What enrollment management implications exist surrounding the ability to drop courses? Is there a need for students to consult with an advisor or success coach before dropping a course? How do we communicate these concerns with advisors?

3.  One way to assist students with an undeclared major is by creating major clusters, which include a common curriculum for a broad range of majors designed to minimize the credit hours students may take that would not count if they change their major. This would help facilitate the exploration of different subject fields while also making meaningful progress towards degree completion.

4.  Is there a way to address the unenforced policies surrounding a student’s academic success in courses tied to their major? (e.g. If a student receives a C in a course twice, he/she is supposed to be removed from his/her major)

5.  Are there any interventions at end of each semester if students are not on track (with enough credit hours) to graduate on time?

IV.  Preparing for next meeting

a.  Committee members were asked to review the comprehensive SWOT analysis about USC’s approach to the first-year experience.

b.  Committee members received five notecards and were asked to write one learning outcome for the first year experience based on the prompt: “At the end of the first-year, students should…”