First-Year Seminars Increase Persistence And Retention

The first year of college can be very difficult when a student has not planned ahead for a greater chance to succeed. It is often regarded with anticipation and a fear of failing. These feelings can be easily diminished by implementing the right tools that are at the disposal of students. Having the right foundation is crucial and is a key component to a successful first year of college. This will greatly increase the probability that students will return the next year to further pursue a degree in their chosen studies. Some avenues for students to explore are studying before testing for developmental courses, getting to know your staff, learning about different financial sources available, familiarizing

First generation college students remains to be a challenge for the community college system as well as the university system (Ward, Seigel, & Davenport, 2012). The challenges extend from their lack of academic study skill practices to their lack of socialization skills (Ward, Seigel & Davenport, 2012).

College is indirectly served to have fun, make new friends, and learn about ourselves. As an attendant at Miami-Dade College I would never forget the real reason for enrolling in this institution. Any other individual who is a current student should know that education is the knowledge of putting potential to maximum use. Throughout the semester I have been given various assignments and objectives to comprehend making it challenging. At Miami-Dade College, the professors offer a variety of ways that can ensure academic success. My academic success this semester came with being able to be self-motivated, communicate with professors, and use available resources throughout the campus.

College is a place to meet new people, grow your mind and network. College is where you can find a lot of people that have an influence on how your grown and interact with others, interactions are not always pleasant but you must always try your best to defuses so that you come out on top. Not only is it people that influence you but there are also other factors such as environment, athletic issues, finance and personal issues which any and most students enroll in a college or university face. In the movie ‘Higher Learning”, based on Columbus University campus, you see all these factors these factors play a roll in one or more students lives.

Spending so much time together gives little opportunity for first-year students to be exposed to older students. In a sense, putting the first-year students together constantly is like picking up a high school class and placing it in a different setting. It is important, from the beginning, to show first-year students the differences in climate between high school and college. Exposing them to older students would assist in this endeavor.

Early alert intervention programs can be beneficial to colleges to assist them with identifying students who are at risk of not being academically successful (Tampke, 2012-2013; Bryan & Simmons, 2009). Equally important, students entering college for the first time encounter significant changes from those encountered in high school as the academic demands are usually more rigorous. In addition, some freshman students struggle with academic success, which impacts persistence; therefore, early intervention programs should be considered. According to Vanthournout, Coertjens, Donche, and Van Petegem (2012), student academic persistence is an expected outcome of early intervention programs.

The environment of a seminar-based college classroom has a lot to do with student’s personal

PER 101 gives students access to a college success course textbook, which guides every student along their journey to success through various chapters and their lessons. All chapters from this textbook is essential for students to have whether they take the course or not. Chapter five of the textbook, “You and Your College Experience”, focuses on the college students first before their education. “You and Your College Experience” informs students that college begins the foundation of a student’s personal life and lifestyle. These aspects result in a multitude of benefits that are earned over time. For instance, students gain the training and skills for a lifetime career, that they choose to pursue. In the beginning of chapter five, the author talks about more benefits of obtaining a college education. Knowing all the benefits from college, makes students want to ensure that they are successful at completing their work and developing their character.

To begin, the First Year Seminar course, WVUE 191, as directed by Scott Robertson himself, provided a relaxing, one-hour class that allowed students to share their personal and academic backgrounds and receive feedback on how to handle life and adulthood in school safely and responsibly. All the work assigned was simple to do, but at the same time, gave loads of insight about the ins and outs on what to expect for the rest of the semester up to graduation and beyond.

Pre-college and student behaviors preparation plays an integral part in a student’s transition into college. Temple (2009) noted that successful student behaviors include frequently conferencing with their guidance counselor about college preparations, and developing an awareness about the college transition process. Students must be prepared academically to attend college. Therefore, schools must prepare students not only to be good citizens but to also academically challenge and prepare students to enter a career or college. The Best Colleges (n.d.) wrote that choosing the just right college increases the retention of FGS. Baum, Ma, & Payea (2011) noted that many FGS lack the substantial preparation required to successfully perform and acclimate to college socially and academically. Self-determination, resilience, and persistence play a vital role in assuring that FGS remain in their chosen higher learning institution.

Although many people will have different opinions on how to achieve personal success in college and consequently increase student retention, there are effective strategies that are proven to aid in achieving these goals.

2004). If community colleges are able to provide resources for students to formulate culturally based clubs and organizations in efforts to aid in the retention and persistence efforts amongst minority students. Research also indicates the correlation amongst student engagement and student persistence (Astin, 1985; Tinto, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). A recent study conducted by (Wang and Shiveley, 2009) showed improvement in the retention of first-year students because of their participation in extracurricular activities. Students who are involved in activities are more likely to be successful.

I have recently been thinking about withdrawing from your Honors Seminar mainly because of my inability to remember information from last semester. If I cannot do that, should I really be in an Honors Course? I wanted to talk with you about it first though because I have also been going over all the information from all my classes last semester. Even if I do withdraw from your class, it is still information I need to be able to recall. This week I have been trying to take detailed notes during class and writing the main points out after class to help remember information from class, but I wanted to ask you if it would be okay for me to ask you questions about readings from last semester and if there is any advice you could offer. I am sure

Upon identifying programs available on various college campuses as they relate to first year students; it has become noticeable that university leaders are concerned with the retention of students within their first and second year of college. Therefore many universities have developed programs that are focused on the success of the freshman student and ensuring that group of students’ matriculations throughout their degree programs. As quoted in “The Dynamics of Organization in Higher Education (Kuh, 1996) “the frequent and increasingly predictable accusation that institutions of higher education operate in “silos” is based on their various schools, colleges, and athletic programs operating in parallel with one another, more focused on promoting than on adhering to or accomplishing broader institutional

Transitioning into higher education presents challenges for all students, whether it’s their age or previous educational history. Numerous individuals are extremely nervous as they are entering into an advanced environment such as higher education. This because college is a new learning environment at a completely different level. However, freshmen find college to be difficult at first because it’s harder for them to adjust. That’s why many universities should have student centers in place to help students. Student centers give students the pathway for flexible learning as it results in being successful in higher education (Baužienė & Vosyliūtė 2015).