Megann Horstead
Content Producer
North Central’s first-year experience (FYE) program sometimes gets a bad reputation from students citing how it’s not useful. However, in terms of meeting its goals, the program has proven to be successful and seeks to continue this trend moving forward.
Director of the FYE program and psychology professor Karl Kelley pointed out how the program works in preparing students for undergraduate study at North Central.
Kelley noted the importance of creating faculty and student relationships during the first year of college and how it adds to student success.
“At North Central part of our mission is effective advising,” said Kelley, who emphasized how critical it is for students to build relationships with not only their first-year advisor but also their first-year mentor (FYM).
Faculty representation spans across all academic divisions and helps to peak student interests.
“We change (faculty) every year. There is a core group that has been with the program for a while, but (there are about) 25% new people every year. We cover all divisions,” Kelley said.
Kelley also suggested how the use of the program’s 3-tiered model establishes and sets forward goals, but also helps in making perceived benefits known to students.
In describing the program’s goals, he said the first goal is placing emphasis on supporting students. The second goal of program challenges students and encourages self-reflection. The third goal gets students to think about ways to make themselves distinctive.
“We try to get students thinking about this (ways to become distinct and how to develop a niche) earlier… because the earlier you start thinking about it, the more meaningful your current classes are and then hopefully we can get you connected and involved later on,” Kelley said.
Although there are some who cannot see the program’s benefits, there are others who believe otherwise.
Kelley stated, “I think what we’re seeing now is a more restriction in range. More people are actually liking the book and the topic… anytime you have to pick a single book or topic there’s bound to be differing opinions.”
Self-report evaluations have revealed that students most enjoy the mentoring aspect of the program, according to Kelley.
“I liked being able to ask questions to our FYM, and it was nice to listen to the questions that my classmates posed because they brought up topics that I would have never thought about,” said first-year student Deidre Ewers
There has been more development in extending the program’s reach outside of the FYE course over the years.
“FYE doesn’t end with the course. If it’s going to be effective, it will continue for the whole first year,” said Kelley. “I think what we’re trying to do now is find more connections in the winter and spring terms.”
FYE has benefitted a number of NCC’s students not only through the first-year experience course, but also indirectly through the How-to-be-a-Sophomore event, Cardinal Camps and D-term service trips, just to name a few.
Winter term’s How-to-be-a-Sophomore event offers first-year students a number of tips for success moving forward in their undergraduate career.
Cardinal Camps indirectly provides first-year students a chance to get away and broaden their world experiences without leaving the country’s borders.
Although the program’s D-term service trip have fallen out of the program’s reach over the past three years, Kelley said this is one component of the program he would like to revive.
“I would like to bring back another D-term experience primarily for first-year students,” Kelley said. “We did the New Orleans trip twice. Again, there other opportunities for first-year students. I think we can do things with first-year students but nothing like that. We’re trying to talk about how to bring back these kinds of opportunities.”
The program has shifted its focus to Cardinal Camps over the last three years.
The last D-term service trip was offered in Dec. 2011. Kelley said a number issues come into play when offering first-year service trips. Finding the right book to tie everything together is one challenge.
“We’re trying to find books that can connect with students that they understand that there’s value,” Kelley said.
Sometimes students cite grievances for having to take the FYE course, complete assigned readings, and discuss topics for books that are not helpful or appealing to them.
“I would change the reading requirement,” Ewer said. “We ended up not using our book the whole term, and it would have been a better use of our time if this class was strictly informative.”
To connect more with students, the program is continuously looking to fulfill needs and interests through course evaluations. Because the program strives to engage students, their voices are heard now more than ever.
There is a first-year council made up by representatives from FYE courses. With this group’s presence returning for a second year, student input becomes more centralized.
Students would find a number of other program changes initiated when Kelley stepped in as director of the FYE program.
“There are components that we are now building more directly into this course where we challenge students to think about themselves and their majors and careers in different ways,” said Kelley.
Students are now required to take a personality quiz via woofound.com to help in guiding them or re-affirming their career paths. In the end, the assessment streamlines the career and major exploration and highlights areas where weaknesses may lie and skill development is needed.
Moving forward, the program will undergo changes in curriculum, but at this time, there is no word of any major overhauls, according to Kelley.
Of course there will be students who will hold strong differing opinions about the program and its benefits, but as Kelley pointed out, the matter is more complicated than it may first seem.
“College isn’t something that is done unto, it is something you have to do,” Kelley said. “And I think FYE if it works, is a place where students can begin to do that.”
