Engaging the First Year Student WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

Freshman Convocation 2005

Vision QEP exhibits the following characteristics:  Model of Excellence  Students, faculty, and staff partnerships  Application of theory to practice  Integrated view of knowledge  Interdisciplinary courses and projects  Classrooms extended beyond the “walls”  Students, faculty & staff involved in community Purpose

“Engaged pedagogy is really the only type of teaching that truly generates excitement in the classroom that enables students and professors to feel the joy of learning.” bell hooks

QEP Focus Engagement is a process of connecting first year students more fully, personally and holistically, to their education, to their preparation for careers and to their contributing lives as citizens. Definition

Building on our Strengths WTAMU: A Great University Small class sizes Affordable Friendly Strong academic programs (CIRP, 2005)

Who Are Our Students? A Focused Topic Of the 1,221 Fall 2005 freshman, 790 were beginning their first collegiate experience. The university has more than 50% first-generation college students. WTAMU lost 421 freshmen in WTAMU lost 454 freshmen in 2005.

Student Expectations of WT A Focused Topic Only 28.9% chose WTAMU because it had a good academic reputation. Only 35% of our first year students expected to be satisfied with WTAMU. Only 9% expected to develop relationships with professors. (According to CIRP Data) Place Picture Here

Academic Challenge Level of Student Engagement Significantly Below National Average:  Number of books read  Preparation for class  Synthesis and application  Emphasis on study time

Active and Collaborative Learning Level of Student Engagement Below National Average:  Contribute to class discussion  Made class presentation  Class community-based projects  Tutored or taught other students Place Picture Here

Student-Faculty Interaction Level of Student Engagement First year students do not get the same access to faculty:  Collaborate with faculty/staff  Discuss career plans  Prompt feedback from faculty  Discuss reading & class with faculty outside of class time

Enriching Educational Experiences Level of Student Engagement Significantly Below National Average:  Participate in co-curricular activities  Field experiences, internships  Community service  Racially and religiously diverse relationships Place Picture Here

Support Campus Environment Level of Student Engagement Below National Average:  Campus helps with non- academic responsibilities (work, family, etc.)  Support to ensure social success  Quality of relationships with students, faculty, staff, administration Place Picture Here

Where are our students experiencing failure and frustration? Level of Student Engagement  Our students do not easily connect to faculty, staff, or each other.  Our students, faculty, and staff do not effectively communicate value of the Core Curriculum.  Our students are not well prepared for the collegiate experience.  Our faculty and staff do not have systemic support for implementing engaging teaching strategies.

Goal I. Enhance Active & Collaborative Learning OBJECTIVES: Goals  Facilitate faculty development & improving classroom instruction in core courses.  Infuse service-learning and project based learning into the core curriculum.

Goal II. Enrich Educational Experiences OBJECTIVES: Goals  Create unique field experiences to develop first year student civic responsibility.  Augment cultural awareness on a global level for civic responsibility.

Goal III. Develop College Success Skills OBJECTIVES: Goals  Build successful learning skills.  Link problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Goal IV. Cultivate Supportive Campus Relationships OBJECTIVES: Goals  Connect first year students to peers in the campus community.  Link faculty and staff to peers in the campus community.  Foster relationships between first year students, faculty, and staff.

Five-Year Plan  Core Curriculum Reform  Core Curriculum Fellows (Pilot ’05)  Readership WT (Pilot ’05)  Service-Learning Project “Citizen U.”  Smart Classrooms across Curriculum Initiatives

Five-Year Plan  Faculty Mentoring Program  WT TV Campus Channel  Student Learning Communities  Engaging Orientation Programs  Thematic Freshman Year Experience Course Initiatives

Measuring our Success Evaluation focus  Are QEP activities having a significant impact on student learning? Data Sources & Methods  Focus groups  CIRP (Cooperative Institutional Research Program)  HERI (Higher Education Research Institute)  NSSE (National Survey on Student Engagement)  CIEQ (Course/Instructor Evaluation Question)  CEA (Course Embedded Assessment)  Institutional Research data  YFCY (Your First College Year) Assessment

Institutional Support  Office of Quality Enhancement and First Year Experience  Center for Student Learning and Teaching Excellence (SLATE)  First Year Experience Coordinator Systemic Change

QEP Resource Allocation Plan Program Improvement Plan Total New Initiatives Initiative Request 166,454 95,000167,200145,00092,00080,500

SACS Accreditation Team Visit Accreditation Visit  April 10-12, 2006  Focus will be on QEP  Visit with all campus partners  Inquire about knowledge of QEP focus and initiatives  Exit interview Wednesday, April 12, 2006

“ All of us in the academy... are called to renew our minds if we are to transform educational institutions – and society – so that the way we live, teach, and work can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our passion for justice, and our love of freedom.” (bell hooks, 1994)

Review Reactions  Questions?  Reactions?  Ideas?