Welcome to the Re-Imagining the First Year of College Project George L. Mehaffy

Vice President for Academic Leadership and Change

undertake innovations simultaneously in 4 “buckets”—1. Institutional Intentionality, 2. Curriculum, 3. Faculty and Staff, and 4. Students.

some examples of innovations in each area:

• Institutional Intentionality

* Administrative structures

* Budgeting

*Data and Data Analytics: Predictive analytics, use of data in scheduling and advising, etc.

* Collaborative, not individual. Creating opportunities for crowdsourcing, collective projects, etc.

* Creating a supporting environment for innovation * Building a culture of obligation

 

• Curriculum

* Personalization. Software that takes each student on a different journey

* Course Re-Design: Blended courses such as the ones we are working on. Interdisciplinary courses, gateway courses, etc.

* Pathways: Reduced choice, math alternatives, First Year Seminar, Orientation, Summer Bridge

* Degree maps

 

• Faculty/Staff:

* Incentives for teaching in the first year

* Research about first year outcomes

* Collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs

 

• Students

* Non-Cognitive Factors: belonging, mindset, etc.

* Advising: Professional, linked to data, intrusive, etc.

* Career Focus: purpose, ethnography of work, early field experiences

* Reduction in choices