Geneseo piloted a new first-year seminar course during the fall 2019 semester for students who were exploring major options and getting adjusted to college life.
Interim Associate Provost for Student Success Joseph Cope explained that the idea for a first-year seminar was introduced in fall 2018 due to lower first-year retention data between undeclared versus declared students.
“That suggests maybe we need to be doing more to ensure that they find their place at Geneseo, that they’re getting the skills and exposure to advisement and understanding of career paths and the major selection that could help them be successful going forward,” Cope said.
First-year seminars are common at other institutions, and there had even been similar first-year courses offered from Geneseo in the early 2000s, according to Cope.
“[It’s about] introducing students to the conventions of higher education, [to] some of the structures and processes that they may not be familiar with,” Cope said.
Cope explained that the course—INTD 188—was created in collaboration with many offices on campus, such as the Office of the Dean of Academic Planning and Advising, the Department of Career Development and the Office of Diversity and Equity on topics like academic advising, major selection, career exploration and identity and inclusivity on college campuses. Other offices also developed curriculums for the class.
“We also had weekly lessons as well as two core sessions that were basically designed by Laura Swanson of Lauderdale Health and Counseling Center, which were really focusing on health and well-being and self-care and imagining how to respond to setbacks,” Cope said.
Cope said that students have been receptive to the information they are learning in the courses based on short reflective assignments the students are required to write for the course. Currently, more data is being collected to determine whether the course should become permanent and sent through the Senate approval process.
“What we’re doing is we’re looking at what the impact is, so we can look at how students who completed this course did during their first semester and how that compares to students who didn’t take a first-year seminar,” Cope said.
Several other assessments are being explored next semester, such as offering two more sections of INTD 188 that are open to any student and an INTD 288 for first semester transfer students as well as planning a first-year summit for faculty leaders.
There are five undergraduate teaching assistants for each section of INTD 188 who are meant to offer a valuable perspective of a current student that professors might not have, according to Cope.
“We wanted to make sure that this was an experience where students enrolled in the class would also have the opportunity to make a connection with another student who’s been there,” Cope said.
INTD 188 teaching assistant senior Alison Coggins is heavily involved on-campus, which is why she said she believes Cope reached out to her to be a TA. She is the TA for Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Stacey Robertson’s section of the course.
“He thought that I would be someone who could kind of model involvement to the students while also having balance,” Coggins said. That’s something really important that has taken me just about four years to fully figure out; how to truly balance everything and how to figure out what does work and doesn’t work.”
Coggins explained that when she plans lessons, she considers what might interest the students.
“I’m just figuring out what I know from my time as an RA that might interest them, what I know from my time as a peer mentor that might interest them and what I know from just being a student that they can either get involved in or kind of sink their teeth into,” Coggins said.
According to Coggins, student feedback has been a bit mixed because some students did not know what to expect from the course.
“There’s one of my students in particular that, at the beginning of the class, they were kind of like, ‘this is just kind of a waste of my time,’” Coggins said. “It’s been really interesting watching the lessons that means something to them. They’re one of the students who participates the most and [they] like our reflections especially.”
Coggins said she feels like first-year seminars are important for students because it gives them a “roadmap to college” and makes the transition from high school to college less “intimidating,” because it is a 15-person class.
Coggins said she feels offering this course is another “scratch of the iceberg” at figuring out how to best help students transition to college.
“I think the fact [this is] turning us in such a great direction because it’s helping us even just test the waters of like, what else are we missing? I think this class is a really good way to start that,” Coggins said.