Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - As part of its day-long series of activities to open the 2007-08 school year, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville invited Jean Henscheid, a fellow with the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, to speak following Chancellor David Markee's remarks during convocation on Aug. 27. Markee and Provost Carol Sue Butts have made a commitment to taking a more comprehensive approach to the quality of the first-year experience of entering freshmen and transfer students.

Henscheid was introduced by the new UWP director of First-Year Experience, Joanne Wilson, professor of engineering. Wilson, who was named to the half-time position in August, has been a member of the UWP faculty for 20 years and has worked to develop a freshman orientation program in engineering. She explained that the presentation and conversation generated by Henscheid will be the first step in a year in which faculty and staff from across the university will collaborate on this initiative.

"I am looking forward to learning together about how to help students make effective and successful transitions," she told the audience of faculty and staff.

Henscheid said that research in the area of first-year experience began 30 years ago, when people began returning from Vietnam and going back to school, finding themselves disengaged from their faculty. Researchers began to investigate their experiences and that work has evolved into systematic inquiries such as those conducted by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

While everything that occurs in a college student's life has an impact on the quality of the first year experience, according to Henscheid, "the toughest nut to crack is what happens in the classroom. Research tells us that students learn best when teachers employ active and social learning strategies," she said.

Some examples she shared were applied learning activities, field trips which take students out of the classroom and afford them hands-on opportunities, and integrating theory with practice. She also suggested a number of other techniques which have proven effective in helping students transition during the first year, such as embedding first-year seminars in learning communities, monitoring "high-risk" courses which traditionally have higher rates of low grades and reaching those students before they get too far along in the semester, and integrating curricular and co-curricular life.

"We know that many students report that they go to school from 9 to 3 and then they have their 'real' life," she said. The better a school does at integrating classroom life with other activities, the more students report feeling invested in their experiences," she explained.

Another critical area for developing successful first-year experiences is in the area of diversity, Henscheid explained. She offered a number of strategies for working with students from diverse backgrounds, such as paying attention to campus leadership and culture, rewarding first-year advocates, encouraging participation in diversity issues from upper level administrators, and establishing strong cross-divisional partnerships.

To accomplish these goals, Henscheid said that it is critical for universities to mentor and support faculty, both in terms of professional development and rewards.

"We know there have to be reward structures in place, as well as emphasis on best practices, faculty development opportunities and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Successful schools reward their faculties in multiple ways," she said.

Following her presentation, Henscheid opened a brainstorming session with the auditorium-sized crowd, which offered a number of suggestions, posed questions, and discussed how Henscheid's observations might be customized to the UWP campus.

"It was great to see that many people in one place having this discussion," said Wilson. "We have already generated a number of good ideas."

Lyn Bouck, professor of industrial studies, said this was an important step for the college.

"Dr. Henscheid provided valuable insights regarding the First-Year Experience initiative. Among her comments, she emphasized the importance of hiring an administrator to oversee the First Year Experience program. We at UW-Platteville have already employed an administrator and have taken a salient step forward. In my opinion, the hiring of an administrator demonstrates the commitment of the university to take a well-founded, evolving program to the next level of development," she said.

Dean of students Richard Egley agreed that it was an important step and said he looks forward to working with faculty and staff in the coming year.

"The presentation was a very good way for faculty and staff to begin discussions in earnest about the ways in which we can help first-year students be more successful and therefore, more likely to become graduates and professional employees in Wisconsin. I believe that we possess fundamental knowledge about how to help freshmen succeed. This knowledge needs to be linked to a clear commitment by faculty and staff to assist freshmen in the very critical first year of university. The discussion is started; the next important step will be to back it up with action and resources," said Egley.

Anyone interested in learning more about UWP's First-Year Experience initiative may contact Wilson at (608) 342-1081.

Contact: Joanne Wilson, director of First-Year Experience, UW-Platteville, (608) 342-1081, wilsonj@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu