A Winding Road: Engendering Faculty Support for a Successful FYE
Presented at the 33rd Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience, February 17, 2014
Dr. Kathy Clark, Faculty, and Co-Chair of QEP, Edison State College
Dr. Eileen DeLuca, Dean and Co-Chair of QEP, Edison State College
A Winding Road
The road is long, with many a winding turn, that leads us to who
knows where, who knows where…
Bob Russell/Bobby Scott
Edison State College
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Open access, baccalaureate-granting state college.
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19 Associate Degrees
10 Bachelors Degrees
Residence Hall on main campus
Five-county service district comprises three counties
along Florida’s southwestern Gulf coast, and two inland
counties.
Edison State College Faculty

180 Full-time Faculty
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376 Adjunct Faculty
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Edison State College Faculty Federation Union
(Chapter of United Faculty of Florida)
The Journey Begins-Foundations of Excellence
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Fall 2008 – Identification of critical student learning issues
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2009-2010 – Foundations of Excellence Study (FoE)
 Committees formed for each of the nine dimensions

7 out of 9 committees chaired or co-chaired by faculty
(committees composed of 38%-73% faculty)
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Approximately 120 faculty and staff participants on all
committees
FOE RECOMMENDATIONS
120 FOE RECOMMENDATIONS DIVIDED INTO 6 COMPONENTS
TRAINING &
DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNICATION
ASSESSMENT &
EVALUATION
STUDENT
LEARNING
STUDENT SUPPORT
ORIENTATION
FYE COURSE/QEP
STUDENT LEARNING
STUDENT LEARNING
FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE COURSE /
QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN
Finding a Path-FOE/FYE/QEP
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2011-Steering Committee (QEP/FYE) Co-chaired by a Faculty
Member and Administrator
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Six-subcommittees with faculty participants on all committees:
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Student Learning (with a Lead Faculty identified)
Student Support
Training and Development
Orientation
Communication
Evaluation and Assessment
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Spring 2012 – Initial implementation Cornerstone Experience Course.
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Fall 2012-Full Implementation of the Cornerstone Experience Course and
FYE Program.
COMPREHENSIVE FYE PLAN:
FOUNDATIONS OF SELF-RELIANCE
ASSESSMENT &
EVALUATION
ORIENTATION
STUDENT SUPPORT
COMMUNICATION
COMPREHENSIVE
MULTI-YEAR
FOE PLAN
TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT
The Cornerstone in the FYE Context
Our FYE – Foundation of Self-Reliant Learning
Training and
Development
Communications
Cornerstone FYE Course
Assessment
Student Support
Orientation
The Cornerstone Experience
Cornerstone Experience Five-Year Implementation Timeline
Cornerstone Experience
Implementation Timeline 2012 – 2017
Initial Implementation
All FTIC degree-seeking students testing into 2 or more developmental
Beginning Spring 2012
courses will be required to enroll in Cornerstone Experience course
Open sections for students electing to enroll in an SLS course
YEAR 1
2012 - 2013
All FTIC degree-seeking students testing into 2 or more developmental
courses will be required to enroll in Cornerstone Experience course
YEAR 2
2013 – 2014
All FTIC degree-seeking students testing into any number of developmental
courses will be required to enroll in Cornerstone Experience course
YEAR 3
2014 - 2015
All FTIC degree-seeking students will be required to enroll in Cornerstone
Experience course
YEAR 4
2015 – 2016
All FTIC degree-seeking students will be required to enroll in Cornerstone
Experience course
YEAR 5
2016 - 2017
All FTIC degree-seeking students will be required to enroll in Cornerstone
Experience course
Navigating the Path: Leadership
Navigating the Path:
Faculty Support and Buy-In
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QEP Advisory Committee-Co-chaired by faculty member
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2012-2013: 47% faculty
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2013-2014: 54% faculty
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Faculty leaders recruited
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Program Chairs
Lead Faculty
Faculty Senate Leaders
Representatives from key program areas
Navigating the Path:
Picking up Travelers
Navigating the Path:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work
•
Implementation Team
•
Advisory Committee
Navigating the Path:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work
• Orientation, Registration,
Advising Committee
• Assessment Committee
• Cornerstone Curriculum
Committee
Navigating the Path:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work
• Marketing Committee
• Early Alert Committee
Navigating the Path:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work
• FYE Programming
Committee
• Training and
Development Committee
Navigating the
Path:
Faculty-Driven
Assessment
Retention Initiatives
An Early Alert Committee including faculty and staff was
established to provide college-wide support for students.

During the Cornerstone Summer Training Institute, Harlan
Cohen led a workshop entitled, “Supporting the First-Year
Student: People, Places, Patience.”
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Every semester since the initial implementation of SLS 1515
courses, the overall mean score for the “Faculty-Student
Interactions” items on the SIR II have exceeded the
comparative mean for four-year institutions. SLS 1515 faculty
continue to disseminate ideas for supporting students by
leading Cornerstone Trainings.
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Navigating the
Path:
Faculty-Driven
Assessment
Navigating the
Path:
Faculty-Driven
Assessment
Navigating the
Path:
Faculty-Driven
Assessment
Navigating the Path: Section Coverage
Fall 2012
#
Taught
Total # by fullof
time
Section faculty
s
or staff
30
%
Taught
by fulltime
faculty
or staff
Spring 2013 Summer 2013
#
Taught
Total # by fullof
time
Section faculty
s
or staff
15 50% 17
%
Taught
by fulltime
faculty
or staff
#
Taught
Total # by fullof
time
Section faculty
s
or staff
11 65% 11
2
% Taught
by fulltime
faculty or
staff
Fall 2013
Total
# of
Secti
ons
#
Taught
by fulltime
faculty
or staff
18% 55 36
%
Taught
by fulltime
faculty
or staff
Spring 2014
#
Taught
Total # by fullof
time
Section faculty
s
or staff
65% 37
%
Taught
by fulltime
faculty
or staff
31 84%
Faculty Support and Buy-In
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“Adopting” a Corner
Adopting a Corner: Critical Thinking
Navigating
the Path:
Faculty-led
Professional
Development
Dr. Ann Eastman, Professor, Speech
I spend so much time caught up in my discipline and
planning what I want to cover that I sometimes forget to
consider what my students bring to the classroom in
terms of their backgrounds, their prior knowledge and
their life experiences. The Cornerstone Modules
reminded me to stop more often and assess where
students are right at that moment. Questions such as:
“Do you know what this term means?”, “Is this what you
need for me to cover?”, “Was that demonstration
helpful?” and “What can I do next time?” let students
know that their voices count.
The Way I Learn
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In this workshop, participants will learn how identify
learning styles. By making a conscious effort to know your
learning style and the environments that best suit you can
help you be successful both inside the classroom and
beyond its walls.
Faculty Teaching
Cornerstone
Course
Faculty Teaching
Companion
Courses
Staff and Administrator
Training
Required Modules Through TLC:
•QEP Course Overview and
Objectives
•QEP Course Assignments and
•Assessments
•Universal Design Strategies
•Understanding the First-Year
Student
•Diversity on the College Campus
and Beyond
•The Way I Learn
•Introduction to College Services,
Programs, Support
•Constructivist Pedagogy and the
Student-Centered Classroom
•Critical Thinking
•Discipline Paradigms and Career
Goals
Required Modules Through TLC:
•QEP Course Overview and
Objectives
•QEP Course Assignments and
Assessments
•Universal Design Strategies
•Understanding the First-Year
Student
•Critical Thinking
Required Modules Through TLC:
•QEP Course Overview and
Objectives
•Understanding the First-Year
Student
•Diversity on the College Campus
and Beyond
•Introduction to College Services,
Programs, Support
•Critical Thinking
Navigating the Path:
Training Module Completers
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As of January 2014, 111 faculty and staff have completed
the ten Cornerstone Instructor Training Modules.
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87 staff and administrators have completed five required
Staff/Administrator modules.
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602 faculty, staff and administrators have attended one or
more QEP Cornerstone Module.
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All departments are encouraged to set training
completion goals in the 2013-2014 Unit Plans.
Navigating the Path: Committed Budget for
Professional Development
Navigating the Path: Faculty Communities of Practice
Navigating the Path: Peer Support
Peer Architects are student leaders who help students with their
transition to Edison State College. Each Peer Architect will act as
a mentor for first-year students. Peer Architects are assigned to
a specific section of the Cornerstone Experience Class (SLS 1515),
have office hours in the First Year Experience (FYE) office, and
put on workshops throughout the semester specifically geared
towards enhancing a first year student’s overall experience.
Reaching the Destination: Showcasing the Talent
http://www.edison.edu/fye/staff
Reaching the Destination: Showcasing the Talent
http://www.edison.edu/fye/qep
Reaching the Destination: Marketing our Success
http://www.edison.edu/fye/awards
February 2013: The CornerSTONE goes to Professor
Miller’s class CRN 24292 with Peer Architect Jessica
Sanchez.
Reaching the Destination: Awarding Faculty
Reaching the Destination:
Marketing our Success
Video Clip
http://www.edison.edu/fye/cornerstone
Future Journeys
So on we go, his welfare is my concern, no burden is he to bear,
we’ll get there
Bob Russell/Bobby Scott
Future Journeys for Faculty Buy-In
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Honors Sections
Career Tracks
Mentoring Opportunities
Overload Opportunities
QUESTIONS?
Observe our Journey
http://www.edison.edu/cornerstone
http://www.edison.edu/fye/qep
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