Exhibitor Session
First-Year Experience Annual Conference
February 2015
The First Year Matters:
But What Matters Most?
John N. Gardner
President, John N. Gardner Institute
Senior Fellow, USC National Resource Center
and Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Betsy O. Barefoot
Senior Scholar, John N. Gardner Institute
Fellow, USC National Resource Center
Session Overview
An “Exhibitor” session
What is the Gardner Institute?
The First Year Matters
The Big Lessons
What Matters Most
Three Routes to Action
Foundations of Excellence®
Gateways to Completion®
Retention Performance Management™
What Difference Can You Make?
jngi.org
NOTICE: This is an approved
exhibitor session! Voluntary
participation on your part could
lead to reductions in your
discretionary time and
resources, and big increases in
your student success outcomes!
jngi.org
Yes, we have something to sell …
how uniquely American!
Mainly, we are selling:
Experience
Knowledge
Wisdom
Big Ideas
Processes
(to achieve big changes for big improvements)
jngi.org
Who were we? Who are we?
jngi.org
We represent the
Gardner Institute.
Founded in 1999, the Gardner Ins3tute is a non-­‐profit, 501c3 undergraduate higher-­‐educa3on-­‐focused organiza3on based in Brevard, NC. •  An outgrowth of Barefoot/Gardner’s work at USC •  Serving all sectors of US higher educa<on and some en<<es abroad •  Using assessment, planning, and technology-­‐driven ac<on processes to improve student performance •  With a research-­‐ and experience-­‐based focus on applica<ons to campus prac<ces •  Offering tools, processes, wisdom, and advice to increase student success •  Exper<se from the academy for the academy jngi.org
Historic Purposes
of the First Year
Making money that can be reallocated to “higher status” endeavors Weeding out students who don’t belong Structuring teaching so that senior faculty can avoid teaching new students What’s Your Purpose? jngi.org
The First Year Matters
It is the founda3on for… -­‐ Student success in colleges and universi3es that were not designed for them. -­‐ Ins3tu3onal redesign to meet today’s students’ needs. jngi.org
The First Year Matters
It is the founda3on for… –  Decisions to stay or transfer –  Reten<on, therefore revenue –  Impact on gradua<on rates –  The development of long-­‐term rela<onships –  Decisions to stay or transfer jngi.org
The First Year Matters
It is the founda3on for… –  Other important decisions like which groups to join –  Acquiring certain behaviors that may or may not carry over into later adulthood –  A redefini<on of family member roles –  The development of long-­‐term rela<onships –  Developing economies of <me –  Conduc<ng ini<al assessments jngi.org
What Matters Most:
The Big Lessons
•  Colleges and universi<es are not designed for students we now serve and so must be redesigned. •  Many of us weren’t trained to teach these students. •  We need a focus, preferably on what we control. •  We need to rethink “the first-­‐year experience.” •  There are two types of first-­‐year students: first-­‐<me first-­‐ year and transfer. •  Transfer is norma<ve route to BA but s<ll has low status. jngi.org
What Matters Most:
The Big Lessons
•  Most common response to the first year—start a “program.” •  Some have become “High Impact Prac<ces” such as the HIP first-­‐year seminar, which this conference was originally designed to disseminate. •  Programs are necessary but not sufficient; we need an ins<tu<on-­‐wide approach. •  We need new language going beyond “comple<on” and “reten<on” •  Comple<on for what? jngi.org
What Matters Most:
The Big Lessons
Our focus should be on “excellence.” Use standards of excellence: Founda<onal Dimensions.® Stop avoiding the faculty and instead engage them. Need to do self study to assess performance and produce a plan. •  Need to execute the plan to a high degree. •  Need cross-­‐campus partnerships to do so. •  The “real” first-­‐year experience—the gateway course experience. • 
• 
• 
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jngi.org
The Gardner Institute’s work
is a response to the need for
assessment processes to
create action plans to improve
institutional and student
performance.
jngi.org
The Gardner Institute’s
Three Routes
Founda<ons of Excellence® Gateways to Comple<on® Reten<on Performance Management™ jngi.org
Foundations of Excellence
jngi.org/foe-program
Founda<ons of Excellence (FoE) is the gold standard of first-­‐year assessment. By using a comprehensive approach to evalua<ng all components of the first year, ins<tu<ons can develop a plan to improve their approach to both the first-­‐year and transfer experience. Plans that are implemented “to a high degree” yield significant improvements in student reten<on. jngi.org
Gateways to Completion
jngi.org/g2c
Gateways to Comple<on (G2C) is a comprehensive set of tools and processes that help faculty and staff collect and analyze data, create and implement interven<ons, and develop and make use of teaching techniques. These techniques will help to increase student learning and success in historically challenging courses. jngi.org
Retention Performance
Management
jngi.org/rpm
Reten<on Performance Management (RPM) is a flexible series of <me-­‐ and resource-­‐efficient processes and tools that help ins<tu<ons create, implement and/or refine reten<on and comple<on plans. The flexible RPM processes can help ins<tu<ons with various phases of reten<on (first year, sophomore year, etc.) and/or various popula<ons for whom reten<on is a concern (first-­‐
genera<on, low-­‐income, etc.). jngi.org
Next Steps
•  Visit the Gardner Ins<tute exhibit booth •  Follow up with us: [email protected]; [email protected] •  Check out our website: jngi.org •  Par<cipate in a gra<s webinar: jngi.org/webinars •  Talk with past par<cipants •  Apply! jngi.org
When You Return to Your Campus,
What Difference Can You Make?
§  Use your own sphere of influence to . . . §  encourage your superiors to take the first year seriously. §  share your knowledge and insights about the first year. §  Prac<ce assessment and use assessment results for improvement. §  Learn from others at this conference about what magers -­‐ -­‐ and what magers most. jngi.org
Exhibitor Session
First-Year Experience Annual Conference
February 2015
Betsy O. Barefoot
Thank you!
[email protected]
828-475-6018
John N. Gardner
[email protected]
828-885-6014