Interim associate provost for academic success Joseph Cope piloted a first-year seminar last semester for undeclared students exploring academic paths and adjusting to college life. Almost half of students who had taken the course in the fall of 2019 reported that the course encouraged them to pick a major or career path that was right for them.
In the fall, 84 students had enrolled across five sections. The course focuses on academic success and wellbeing, aiming to assist students in identifying a major that best suits them.
According to an article published by The Lamron on Dec. 5 2019, the idea of a first-year seminar was introduced in fall 2018 because of lower first-year retention data between undeclared and declared students.
Based on positive student feedback, the course is continuing to be offered this semester with a greater emphasis on student connection, however, the curriculum has largely stayed the same since last semester.
Previously, the course was taught for an hour every week for the entire semester. Now, the class meets twice a week for only half of the semester.
“We found that, in terms of promoting connections between the students, that meeting for just once a week for an hour [made it] very easy for this class to kind of drop off,” said Cope. “We are finding that it does promote a better sense of continuity and connection in the students because now they’re having multiple points of contact with each other and with the instructors during the week.”
According to data collected from students who took the course, 72 percent agreed that they would recommend the course to other first-year students coming to Geneseo. Similarly, 46 percent of students believed that INTD 188 helped them identify a major or career path that fits them.
Cope explained that he and his team are currently revising the curriculum to reach the students that the course did not work for.
“So just under 50 percent of students indicated that they felt satisfied or very satisfied with the career programming and major exploration elements of the class, which suggests to us that we need to figure out how to reach that other 50 percent that felt that maybe there was not enough of that in the class,” Cope said.
Provost and vice president for academic affairs Stacey Robertson said that the seminar and the Wildly Important Goal project are collaborating to allow students to feel more at home at Geneseo.
“A high priority for us is helping students find their home and helping students find a sense of belonging,” Robertson said. “They need intentional guidance and helping them negotiate the sometimes gray and murky path toward finding a sense of belonging in a major program.” For the upcoming fall semester, Cope and his team are working on expanding the course to all students who need guidance transitioning to college. Moreover, the English and psychology departments are working on first-year seminars for students in the major.
“Psychology is in the process of developing one, the English department is in the process of developing one,” Cope said. “We have heard from faculty and other departments where conversations about building up first-year seminars specific to their program majors are underway.”
Many of the STEM departments have their own freshman seminars already to prepare students for the major, according to Cope. However, students believe that the STEM departments could be doing more to prepare students for college and their major.
“I went to one of the geology seminars and I thought it was really awkward because there were only two other people there,” geology major junior Emily de Jong said. “And the biology one was more about students and adults sharing their research than preparing you for the major.”