Foundations of Excellence™ in the
First College Year
A Project of the
Policy Center on the First Year
of College
400 N. Broad Street
Brevard, NC 28712
828-966-5313
www.brevard.edu/fyfoundations
Foundations of Excellence™
in the First College Year
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FYE—a 20 year old reform movement
A victim of its own success
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First-year orientation seminar
Retention effort
Fragmented activities
Foundations Project—an attempt to move
beyond
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Aspirational model
Measurement
First year as unit of analysis & distinct set of
experiences
Foundations of Excellence™
in the First College Year
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Two institutional sectors: sector-specificity
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Phase I
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AASCU: 125/98
CIC:94/78
Applications for Phase II
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AASCU: 400
CIC: 515
AASCU 68
CIC 54
24 Founding Institutions—12 per sector
56 Affiliate Institutions
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AASCU 33
CIC 23
Project Schema
•Current Practice
Inventory
•Foundational Dimensions
•Performance Indicators
(PIs) and Surveys
•NSSE
•Summative Evaluation of
Achievement of
Dimensions
Dimensions
Foundational Dimensions™
Statements
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Dimensions—characteristics of institutional
effectiveness
Philosophical/Operational principles
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Academic mission is pre-eminent
First year is central to mission
Original Dimensions: 6
Content analysis & synthesis
Dimensions after Phase I: 12 (8 in
common)
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AASCU: 9
CIC: 11
Philosophy Dimension
(in
common)
Approach the first year in ways that are
intentional and based on a
philosophy/rationale of the first year that
informs relevant institutional policies and
practices.
The philosophy/rationale is explicit, clear and easily
understood, consistent with the institutional mission, widely
disseminated, and, as appropriate, reflects a consensus of
campus constituencies. The philosophy/rational is also the
basis for organizational policies, practices, structures,
leadership, and resource allocation.
Structures Dimension
(in
common)
Create organizational structures and
policies that provide a comprehensive,
integrated, and coordinated approach
to the first year.
These structures and policies provide oversight and
alignment of all first-year efforts. A coherent firstyear experience is realized and maintained through
effective partnerships among academic affairs,
student affairs, and other administrative units and is
enhanced by ongoing faculty and staff development
activities and appropriate budgetary arrangements.
Diversity Dimension
(in
common)
Ensure that all first-year students
experience diverse ideas, worldviews,
and peoples as a means of enhancing
their learning and preparing them to
become members of pluralistic
communities.
Whatever their demographic composition, institutions
structure experiences in which students interact in an
open and civil community with people different from
themselves, reflect on ideas and values different from
those they currently hold, and explore their own
cultures and the cultures of others.
Roles & Purposes Dimension
(AASCU)
Promote student understanding of the roles
and purposes of higher education, both for
the individual and for society, and support
the development of relevant personal goals.
First-year students are provided opportunities to examine
their motivations and goals with regard to higher
education in general and to their own college/university.
They are exposed to the value of general education as
well as to the value of more focused, in depth study of a
field or fields of knowledge (i.e., the major). In general,
institutions help students realize a variety of balance
points: for example, learning for personal enrichment;
learning to prepare for future employment; learning to
prepare for citizenship; and learning to serve the public
good.
Life Purpose Dimension
(CIC)
Involve all students in an exploration of
life purpose through instructional
content and reflections on life
experiences.
The first college year helps students clarify
personal values and beliefs, personal
strengths and areas of interest, and, in turn,
career goals. Academic planning and student
development programming provide learning
and advising experiences that facilitate the
process of self-discovery and the
development of intrinsic motivation
Project Methodology
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Face & Construct Validity—based on work of Policy
Center staff, partners, and 178 institutions in Phase I
Predictive Validity—
 Cross-Sectional Study: student data (NSSE), faculty
data (CSHE survey), CAO/CSAO data (CSHE
surveys), institutional data bases
 24 Founding Institutions will rate themselves on
their achievement of the Dimensions
Project Methodology
(cont.)
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CSHE will look for relationships
among selected NSSE items,
CSHE data, and institutional data
in relation to the Dimensions
Outcome Areas
•Critical thinking
•Problem solving
•Communication
Academic and cognitive skills
•Self-understanding
•Interpersonal skills
Psychosocial development
Attitudes & values
Persistence to 2nd year
•
•
•
•
Citizenship
Civic participation
Multicultural understand
Ethics
Data & Sources
Students/NSSE
Faculty/CSHE
 Background/demographic
 Professional activities
 Perceptions of institutional policies,
practices, & values re: first-year students
Data & Sources
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Administrators/CSHE
Organizational structures
Budget
Personnel policies
Program policies
Characteristics of first-year programs
Program review policies
Support services
Data & Sources
Other: Institutional data files
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First-year class sizes
Senior faculty teaching first-year
courses
Persistence—past five years
Program completion rates
Faculty Profile
A Model for Action
CS
rm
fi
n
o
C
or rove
p
m
I
HE
Dimensions
ce
r
o
F
k
s
Ta
Conclusion
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A work in progress: (euphemism for
“everything inconclusive at this
point”)
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Will we find relationships between the
data collected on Dimensions and
learning outcomes and retention?
Should we maintain sector-specific
Dimensions or develop one set for all of
higher education?
Teleconference—stay tuned