Welcome! The students of EGL 102 section 003 would like to present the results of their research papers. Let’s start with Defining the Problem

Defining the Problem The problem is that Oakton lacks a structured and conscientious program for freshmen students.

Explaining the Goals Our main goal is to design a year-long Freshmen Success Program for Oakton that is based on research. We also wanted to research the following questions:

7 Research Questions What are the typical problems of college freshmen? What are the typical problems of community college freshmen? Who are considered “at risk” students? Who drops out of college (and why)? How have students learned to succeed on their own? What do other year long programs look like? How are these programs assessed?

Literature Review What are the typical problems of college freshmen? “The High School/College Disconnect” Michael Kirst 2004 (Speaker: Albert Flores) “Understanding the College First-Year Experience” Kirk S. Kidwell 2005 (Speaker: Nirav Ankleswaria) “Alcohol Use among College Students” Ann Bolton-Brownlee 1987 (Speaker: Oana Dragomir) “Freshmen Starter Kit” Carla Barnhill 2005 (Speaker: Noeul Park)

Literature Review What are the typical problems of community college freshmen? “Naming the Other: How Dominant Culture Privilege and Assimilation Affect Selected Underrepresented Populations at the Community College” Clifford P. Harbour et. al 2003 (Speaker: Rich Amoloria) “A Study of White, Black, and Hispanic Students” Julie Weissman 1998 (Speaker: Kristen Parinas) “Student Involvement in the Community College Setting” Christopher A. Chaves 2003 (Speaker: Penny Christopoulos)

Literature Review Who are the at-risk students? “Valuing Diversity-Student Teacher Relationships that Enhance Achievement” Linda Olson Jacobson 2000 (Speaker Radek Kubala) “Monitoring At-Risk Students, A School-Based Action” Robert King 1999 (Speaker: Chase Martin) “Understanding At-Risk Korean Youth” Suhyun Suh 2005 (Speaker: Amy Kim)

Literature Review Who tends to drop out? “Use of Personal Development Test to Identify High School and College Dropout Students” Russel Cassel 2003 (Speaker: Sarah Choi) “Studies Show College Dropout Rate Up, School in Disrepair” 1983 (Speaker: Deibi Palaguachi) “Developing and Nurturing Excellence in African American Male Adolescents” Deryl F. Bailey and Pamela O. Paisley 2004 (Speaker: Lonnie Kash) “Dropping Back In” Stacy Perman 2004 (Speaker: Pedro Gomez)

Literature Review How have students learned to succeed? “Ideas in Practice: letters of advice from at-risk students to freshmen” Commander Nannet Evans and Maria Valeri-Gold 2005 (Speaker: Dana Tourloukis) “Your First Year for College: 25 tips to help you survive and thrive your freshmen year and beyond” Randall S. Hansen 2005 (Speaker: Cathy Mayer) “College Success: High school librarians make the difference” Topsy N. Smalley 2005 (Speaker: Molly Dermer)

Literature Review What are the characteristics of other year long freshmen success programs? “The Freshman Year Experience: Student Retention and Student Success” Meg Wright Sidle and Janet McReynolds 1999 (Speaker: Joanna Boksa) “Orientation Programs: A Foundation for Student Learning and Success” Debra A. G. Robinson et al. 1996 (Speaker: Jenny Panares) “Supporting First Generation College Freshman with Small Group Intervention” Wendy A. Folger et al. (Speaker: Pintal Patel) “Mind the Gap: Prospects for Easing the Transition from High School to University” Alan Sears 2004 (Speaker: Eric Tharappel)

Literature Review What are the characteristics of other program assessment tools? “The Effects of Freshman-Year Programs at Community Colleges” Carol A. Kozeracki 2003 (Speaker: Caitlin McAuliffe) “Effectiveness of a Freshman Seminar in an Urban University: Measurement of Selected Indicators” Heather E. Howard 2004 (Speaker: Stefano Vitale) “Assessment of the First-Year Experience” Joseph B. Cuseo 1993 (Speaker: Alexandra Buraczynska)

Our proposed Freshmen Success Program First of all OCC must have a structured, comprehensive, conscientious, and measurable Freshmen Success Program The most important characteristics of this program are building relationships and making connections. The program should start in the summer with an orientation program for students and training for faculty, staff, and counselors. The summer orientation program should offer students various experiences and services: Counseling and Advising Designing an educational plan Being paired with a mentor Being placed in a freshmen interest group Being placed in a Core group Orientation Blog Registering for Facebook College Success Mini Course Speaker: Theo Liakos

Our proposed Freshmen Success Program Summer Orientation Continues: Early Registration Tour of Campus Student + Significant Other Orientations Participation in the Admissions Process Social Event Freshmen Reading Round Up Survey given to search for and round up “at-risk” students Summer Orientation can be one week long or it can be one Saturday long It should occur at various times throughout the summer so most students can attend It should be considered mandatory A truncated version should be offered between Fall and Spring semesters for new freshmen Speaker: Caitlin McAuliffe

Our proposed Freshmen Success Program During the entire first year: Intrusive counseling/advising Tutors inside high drop-out rate courses (English & math) School-sponsored events for freshmen interest groups, mentors and the mentored, and core groups. Faculty-Student events Team-Taught College 101 course strongly encouraged Extensive follow-up by counselors (refine and monitor performances in classes) Faculty trained in cooperative learning and teaching to various kinds of learners Social gatherings (parties) Friendship-building events Academic services that support courses that students are enrolled in Speaker: Molly Dermer

Our proposed Freshmen Success Program Last pieces of advice: Make a Freshmen Success Program visible to all during the year Faculty-Staff must be aware of his or her role Visibly posted Calendar of Events for Freshmen Success Program Conscientious efforts to convey a message of success to students Speaker: Stefano Vitale

Speaker: Richard Amoloria Our Assessment Tool We have 2 ideas: Idea #1 An electronic survey/questionnaire administered before freshmen year begins to assess how students feel about their impending academic journey to assess programs students think will help them to assess what they think it will take to succeed in college An electronic survey/questionnaire administered after freshmen year ends To assess how students feel about their freshmen journey To assess programs students used and how effective students thought they were To ask students what they liked or disliked about Freshmen Success Program Speaker: Richard Amoloria

Speaker: Albert Flores Our Assessment Tool Idea #2: Conduct an experiment Experimental and Control Groups (100 in each) Experimental group randomly selected Control group matched as closely as possible to experimental group Compare GPAs and Drop-out rates after each semester for as long as possible Questionnaire should also be given to each of the groups Determine which programs they utilized and whether or not they were satisfied with the programs. Determine what they attribute to their success or failure Determine their obstacles Determine their support systems Speaker: Albert Flores

Any Questions? Thank You for Coming!