SASR
October 9, 2012, Revised March 26, 2013
The FYE course curriculum
College readiness/college integration courses are among the research-based practices recommended for improving
retention and are considered a high impact educational practice by the AAC&U LEAP (Liberal Education and American’s
Promise) initiative. The AST recommends expanding the FYE course across the University with attention to the diverse
needs of the colleges. The core curriculum will be included in all FYE courses. Additional material may vary widely and
should introduce students to various academic disciplines, themes appropriate to college and academic success, and
faculty research interests.
Roughly 50% of class time for the FYE will include meeting general learning objectives. Faculty are also responsible for
educating FYE course students in the advising process at USA and advising for general academic success.
Each FYE will also have a peer leader assigned to the course. A list of peer leader responsibilities are outlined on our
webpage http://www.southalabama.edu/academicsuccess/docs/FYE_Peer_Leader.htm . The peer leader provides
social and academic mentoring to assist students with course material and transition to college.
All FYE courses will incorporate the selected scales from the College Persistence Questionnaire1 for global course
assessment purposes. This assessment will be administered in week 10 or 11 of the semester.
FYE students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor and their FYE instructor prior to withdrawing
from the FYE.
First Year Experience learning objectives (required for all FYE courses)
Learning objectives are guided by elements of college readiness2 including:
Contextual skills and awareness (CS)
Academic behaviors (AB)
Academic knowledge (AK), these are most likely tied to discipline or theme
Key cognitive strategies (KCS)
At the end of the FYE, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate information literacy (AB,KCS)
2. Demonstrate skills and habits necessary for academic success, including submitting work on time, study skills,
note-taking, test-taking, written and oral communication (AB)
3. Demonstrate the ability to utilize technology (including PAWs and our LMS) in support of learning (AB)
4. Identify and practice appropriate academic behavior (AB, CS)
5. Practice critical thinking OR apply critical thinking strategies to a seminar project or activity (KCS)
6. Explain the importance of peer review and group work (AB) and apply both practices
7. Develop effective time-management skills (AB)
8. Explain and be able to access appropriate campus resources (AB, CS)
We now have an FYE project page in Sakai that you are welcome to use as an accompaniment for the text. It was
designed to be used by students before the in-class coverage of the material. Each lesson includes several elements,
including auto-graded quizzes.
The LC/FYE Sakai page includes assignments designed by current FYE faculty which address the learning objectives
listed above. We encourage LC/FYE faculty to use that Sakai page and the assignments available there and to modify
those so they are appropriate for their specific course.
1
Davidson, W.B., Beck, H.P. and Milligan M. (2009) The College Persistence Questionnaire: Development and Validation of an
Instrument that Predicts Student Attrition. Journal of College Student Development 50(4), Pp373-390.
2
Conley, D.T. (2007) Redefining college readiness. Eugene, OR: Educational policy improvement center.
http://www.aypf.org/documents/RedefiningCollegeReadiness.pdf