First-year Needs

When I was a Resident Assistant I primarily worked with First-Year Students. It was such a great experience! You could really see the students develop  from high school students into (mostly) independent adults. I didn't know much about theory back then, but it was clear that their behavior and attitudes changed throughout the two semesters of living in the First-Year Residence Hall Program. Now that I look back, it was a great program and some-what ground breaking. I participated in a professional-level committee for piloting a campus-wide first-year residential experience. We utilized programs from around the country and it was great to see work at that level while I was still a student.

There was a blog post this morning about first-year programming and the needs of first year students. All of what she states is true, the transition from high school to college can be difficult and overwhelming. First-year programming generally tries to alleviate a lot of the stress and provides a safe, comfortable community in which to learn and grow. It is a great idea.

My friend Stephen, who was involved in student leadership, Greek life, and student housing while we were both undergrads, was working with Sophomore Programming. I read a posted opportunity about a position leading Sophomore Programming, and it brought back the conversations Stephen and I had when we were working with the two populations.

We talked about the need for a second year of programming, and what it meant for the following years involved. Should there be a third-year program? What about a fourth/final year? What about non-traditional, part-time students, do they not have a community in which to feel comfortable? And what about non-traditional first-year students, are we assuming they have the skills that traditional students do not? It poses a lot of questions that don't always seem to be realized (or answered), beyond the said need for first-year programs.

Comments

  1. MelissaSeptember 14, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    As someone who got her BA in three instead of four years, I think a program aimed at juniors/seniors would be really helpful. I was always in limbo, because I wasn't "officially" a senior, and wasn't automatically invited to networking seminars, how to interview workshops, etc. Career-oriented programs should be open and available to all college students!

    As a commuter grad-student now, I don't really identify with many of the other "kids" in my classes. When you don't live on campus and all of the graduate functions are held during the day, it's really tough for those of us who work full-time and take classes at night to feel engaged in "campus life".

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    I think this is a challenge that Higher Ed is sorting out. We have been doing a great job of supporting first-years and then basically abandoning (strong word, I know) them to their own experience after that. Tricky. Especially with limited resources and the knowledge that we HAVE to support first-years or we won't retain them/help them succeed

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#CSAM18 Day 29: The Four S’s of Transition

There are Four S's of transition: Situation, the 5 W's of the transition. Self, personal/demographic characteristics and psychological resources of the person going through the transition. Social support, which is pretty self explanatory. Strategies, how a person responds to the transition. There are also three parts of a transition: moving in, moving through, and moving out. Title of theory: Transition Theory Year theory was published: 1981 Students originally studied: Dr. Schlossberg has done a lot of research on adults, adults through transitioning, and counseling Background of the author: Dr. Nancy Schlossberg is a Professor Emerita, Department of Counseling and Personnel Services, College of Education at the University of Maryland. She's a recognized expert on adult transitions among other topics. She has many articles that focus on adult transitions, including focusing on retirement. How theory can be used now: We can use this as one way to understand how we, along wi
Read more

#CSAM16 Day 16: Development of Mexican American Identity

Ethnic Identity in children has five components. 1 - Ethnic self-identitification, this is when children identify themselves with their ethnic group. 2 - Ethnic constancy - children understand that their identity is constant and unchanging. 3 - Ethnic role behaviors - children engage in behaviors that align with their ethnic group. 4 - Ethnic knowledge - children realize that certain knowledge or behaviors are specific and relevant to their ethnic group. 5 - Ethnic feelings and preferences - children develop feelings about their belonging within their ethnic group. Children develop within the framework gradually and is dependent on learning about themselves in social settings. Title of theory: Development of Mexican American Identity Year theory was published: 1993 Students originally studied: 45 Mexican American children between the ages of 6 and 10. Both of their parents were of Mexican descent. Background of the authors: Martha E. Bernal was the first Latina to receive a PhD in psy
Read more

Retention

Today was a day (but not the first) that I realized I will not stay at my institution for the long-term. I might not even stay in higher ed. Today showed me the two very different sides of retention, of risk factors, of student process. Today I was reminded of how powerless I am in the machine of higher ed. This afternoon I attended a training session focused on student retention and one of our efforts to reduce student loss. It was framed in a very interesting way: get students back on campus for Spring term. Take specific steps for a specific group of students: reach out, get in contact, work on a plan to get them back on campus for the Spring. There was no discussion about student success. No mention of student goals. We talked about process, numbers, data, and enrollment. Later in the day I attended a student veteran group meeting. One student veteran, after a discussion about being on campus, said "I would rather be back in Iraq". Yes. A student would rather be I
Read more