Call for Case Studies
What Makes the First-Year Seminar High-Impact?
An Exploration of Effective Educational Practices
The responsibility for college success has historically rested with the student, but since the
1980s, educators have taken increasing ownership of this, designing structures that increase the
likelihood of learning, success, and retention. These efforts have included a variety of initiatives—firstyear seminars, learning communities, writing-intensive courses, common intellectual experiences,
service-learning, undergraduate research, and senior capstones among others—that have come to be
known as high-impact practices. Evidence suggests these experiences may play a central role in helping
students achieve important learning outcomes for the global marketplace, such as intellectual and
practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrative learning.
Kuh (2008) has examined the characteristics of these educational experiences and suggests their
effectiveness stems from a number of key factors. First, high-impact activities demand that students
devote considerable time and effort in completing educationally purposeful tasks. They engage students
with faculty and their peers in formal and informal conversations “about substantive matters, typically
over an extended period of time” (Kuh, 2008, p. 14). High-impact activities frequently engage students
in authentic learning tasks, meaning that students have the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in
the classroom to problems and situations on the campus and in the community. The interaction with
peers and faculty and opportunities for real-world learning experiences also increase the likelihood that
students will encounter people who are different from themselves. Such experiences “challenge students
to develop new ways of thinking about and responding immediately to novel circumstances” (Kuh, 2008,
p. 15). Finally, high-impact activities are effective in helping students achieve important learning
outcomes because students participating in these activities typically receive frequent feedback about
their performance, which allows them to make adjustments and increases the likelihood of their
achieving outcomes in the future.
The first-year seminar is perhaps the most common high-impact practice on our campuses, with
96% of respondents to a study of student success initiatives at four-year institutions indicating that they
offered such a course on their campuses (Barefoot, Griffin, & Koch, 2012). Among two-year institutions,
80% responding to a similar survey reported offering a first-year seminar (Koch, Griffin, & Barefoot,
2014). First-year seminars are also highly variable, with many institutions offering more than one type
(Young & Hopp, 2014). A quarter century of research on first-year seminars has yielded tremendous
knowledge about the structure, organization, and administration of these courses on U.S. college
campuses. However, our understanding of course pedagogy and the presence of characteristics that
define educationally effective experiences remains limited. What is it about the way first-year seminars
are designed and delivered that makes them high-impact educational practices?
To fill this gap, the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in
Transition at the University of South Carolina invites contributions for a new book exploring effective
educational practices within the first-year seminar. We are seeking high-quality case studies describing
first-year seminars that intentionally integrate practices or assignments demonstrating two or more of
the characteristics of effective educational practices identified by Kuh and O’Donnell (2013):
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expectations set at appropriately high levels,
significant investment of time and effort,
interactions with faculty and peers,
experiences with diversity,
frequent and constructive feedback,
periodic and structured opportunities for reflection and integration,
relevance through real-world applications, and/or
public demonstration of competence.
Cases are sought from a variety of institutions (e.g., public and private; two-year and four-year;
large and small) and representing a range of seminar types (e.g., extended orientation, academic,
discipline-specific, basic study skills, hybrid). Successful proposals will include a detailed description of
how these characteristics are enacted within classroom practices and assignments as well as their impact
on the seminar’s effectiveness.
References
Barefoot, B. O., Griffin, B. Q., & Koch, A. K. (2012). Enhancing student success and retention throughout
undergraduate education: A national survey. Brevard, NC: John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in
Undergraduate Education.
Koch, S. S., Griffin, B. Q., & Barefoot, B. O. (2014). National Survey of Student Success Initiatives at Two-Year
Colleges. Brevard, NC: John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter.
Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Kuh, G. D., & O’Donnell, K. (2013). Ensuring quality and taking high-impact practices to scale. Washington,
DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Young, D. G., & Hopp, J. M. (2014). 2012-2013 National Survey of First-Year Seminars: Exploring high-impact
practices in the first college year (Research Reports on College Transitions, No. 4). Columbia, SC:
University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in
Transition.
Case Study Submission Guidelines
Case studies should be approximately 2,500 words, excluding tables and figures, and follow the
suggested template:
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Description of the institution and its students (approximately 150 words)
Description of the seminar and the specific practices or assignments that
intentionally integrate educationally effective practices (approximately 1,500 words)
Discussion of the evaluation (formal or informal) of these effective educational
practices, specifically, and their impact on the first-year seminar (approximately 500
words)
Implications (approximately 350 words)
Details and examples are provided below.
Description of the Institution and Its Students
Example
ThisXUniversityisafour-year,public,researchuniversitylocatedinY,offering50undergraduate
majorsinitssixdegree-grantingcolleges.Inthefall2016,Xhadanenrollmentof21,000studentsofwhom
16,000wereundergraduatesand4,000werefirst-yearstudents.Amongundergraduatestudents,70%are
White,15%areAfricanAmerican,8%areHispanic,6%areAsian,andlessthan1%areNativeAmerican.
Approximately20%ofX’sundergraduatesareovertheageof25,50%aremale,25%liveincampushousing,
andmanyarefirstintheirfamilytoattendcollege.
Description of the Seminar and the Educationally Effective Practices
This section forms the core of the case study, offering readers insight into the structure of the first-year
seminar and how educationally effective practices have been intentionally woven into the course’s design
and delivery.
The First-Year Seminar
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What type of seminar does the case describe (e.g., extended orientation, academic
seminarwithuniformorvariablecontent,preprofessionalordiscipline-linkedseminar,
basicstudyskills,hybrid)?
Which students are served? If the seminar is offered for a specific population of firstyearstudents,describethatgroupofstudentsandtherationaleforofferingseminarto
them. If it is a subset of all first-year seminars offered, what percentage of first-year
studentsareservedbytheseminardescribed.
Whoteachestheseminar?Ifitisteamtaught,pleasedescribeteammembersandtheir
instructionalroles.
Arepeerleadersusedintheseminar?Ifso,describetheirrole(s).
Howmuchcreditdoestheseminarcarry?Howmanyhoursperweekarestudentsinthe
seminarclassroom?
How is the seminar taught? (e.g., description of pedagogy, assignments, out-of-class
experiences)
This section should also include information on (a) the number of hours first-year seminar students
spend on these activities and (b) the learning objectives of the specific educationally effective practices
or assignments (e.g., to develop students’ ability to produce and revise various forms of writing; to foster
collaboration and teamwork with other students; to help students explore cultures, life experiences, and
worldviews different from their own).
Educationally Effective Practices
A successful case will provide evidence of classroom practices or assignments, which may include other
recognized high-impact practices (e.g., service-learning, common intellectual experience, learning
community, undergraduate research), that intentionally demonstrate at least two of the following
characteristics of effective educational practices:
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Expectations set at appropriately high levels. Students feel challenged and
assignments are constructed accordingly.
Significant investment of time and effort. Students are expected to engage skills
frequently and persistently throughout the experience.
Interactions with faculty and peers. High levels of discussion and collaborative
problem solving are present among students themselves and in concert with faculty.
Experiences with diversity. Students are exposed to differing viewpoints, ways of
knowing, and life experiences.
Frequent and constructive feedback. Students receive consistent feedback from
instructors focused on improvement and student development.
Periodic and structured opportunities for reflection and integration. Critical
reflection assignments are a regular part of the experience, perhaps connected with
an electronic portfolio.
Relevance through real-world applications. Students have the opportunity to
connect learning to life experiences or current social contexts.
Public demonstration of competence. Students make public presentations to their
peers, such as a capstone poster presentation or participation in a colloquium event.
(Kuh & O’Donnell, 2013, p. 8).
Discussion of the Evaluation of Educationally Effective Practices
Rather than an overall or global assessment of the first-year seminar, this section should describe the
evaluation (formal or informal) of the specific educationally effective practices or assignments that were
integrated into the seminar. What suggests these specific practices or assignments had a positive effect
on the seminar? Can the seminar described in the case be compared to another seminar on campus that
did not intentionally include these elements? If a formal assessment of the specific effective educational
practices and their impact on the seminar has not been completed, are there future plans to do so, and
what will that assessment entail?
Implications
This section should be a concise summary of the case study and the merits of intentionally including
educationally effective practices or assignments into a first-year seminar. Implications for future practice
and/or application to other campus or seminar types should be addressed.
Submission
Case studies can be submitted online at https://form.jotform.com/52994627987984. The deadline for
case submission is April 4, 2016.
Review Process
Submissions are reviewed by members of the National Resource Center editorial staff and external
reviewers. Review takes approximately 8 to 12 weeks. The National Resource Center requests that any
work submitted for consideration not be submitted to another publisher while it is being reviewed.
Acceptance
Uponacceptanceofthecasestudy,theNationalResourceCenterwillenterintoapublicationagreementwith
theauthor(s).AnticipatedpublicationdateforthisvolumeisFebruary2017.
Copyright
Unless specifically designated by a grant or contract, the University of South Carolina holds the
copyright for all publications produced by the National Resource Center, including those produced with
federal funds.
For more information, contact:
Ms. Toni L. Vakos, Editor
National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (803) 777-1924