From the start, freshmen bolstered
Originally published May 27, 2007 in The (Monroe, La.) News-Star
The University of Louisiana at Monroe campus, with all of its recent renovations, is a true example of an exterior that reflects an inner confidence. Every year we grow more pleased with the academic achievements of our students and our faculty. This past year was no different as our students' ACT scores were higher than ever before, and our faculty secured record amounts of outside funding.
To continue in that direction, our faculty and our staff are working to ensure that our students succeed. In a landmark study of student dropout behavior, Dr. Vincent Tinto of Syracuse University theorized that college success results from interaction between a student and the educational environment. He observed that lack of integration into an institution's academic and social systems will lead to low commitment and a subsequent decision to leave the college. Further research demonstrated that much of college success is determined by each student's first-year experience.
At ULM, we employ several tools to ensure our students continue their academic achievements, especially during their first year, evidenced by our current fall-to-spring persistence rate, which is the highest it's been in more than a decade. The first-year experience, or FYE, is a comprehensive program that begins with PREP, a two-day orientation program for incoming freshmen, and continues throughout the student's initial year at ULM. At PREP, students learn about university services, talk with professors in their majors and meet other students interested in the same academic disciplines.
Students are introduced to ULM's academic environment through the Summer Reading Program. The program, which started in 2005, is designed to introduce first-year students to intellectual exchange at ULM. During PREP, all incoming freshmen will receive free copies of this summer's book, "Mountains Beyond Mountains," purchased by our administration. While the books chosen for the Summer Reading Program are excellent material for everyone, the program and the book serve a much more important function.
"Mountains Beyond Mountains" plays an integral role in the mission of the first-year experience at ULM. The book's message of social activism and compassionate community service will be carried out this fall thanks to a grant secured by English faculty Christopher Harris and director of retention Barbara Michaelides. The grant, awarded by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, will provide first-year students the opportunity to study social and environmental issues. As part of the first-year experience, students will work with local relief agencies such as the Red Cross, the local food bank, and other United Way agencies. In addition, critical reading, writing and thinking skills are emphasized by our faculty as they use the Summer Reading Program books in freshman English classes.
The first-year experience continues when students return to campus and participate in Week of Welcome and Convocation. Week of Welcome engages students in events through which they explore the institution's varied social organizations. ULM places special emphasis on the first-year experience with Convocation, an event that inaugurates students into the campus community. As a bookend to commencement, Convocation congratulates students on joining the ULM family and marks the start of their college experience. A notable feature of the previous two Convocation ceremonies is that the authors of the Summer Reading Program books were featured speakers, which allows our students to compare their intellectual experience of reading the selection with the views of the author and begin the process of developing critical thinking skills.
Continuing to build on the theoretical basis of increased integration into the academic and social fabric of the institution, ULM developed an innovative program called Learning Communities, or LCs, as our students refer to them. Established for first-year students in 2006, these voluntary communities house students enrolled in the same majors. Not only do students live together in ULM's new residence halls, but they attend three classes together, Freshmen English, a freshman seminar and a core class that pertains to their major. These living and learning communities provide students with the opportunity to connect with others who share the same academic and personal interests. As part of the overall First-Year Experience, LCs helps students connect with resources to support their success in the first year and beyond.
In the following months, I will write columns for The News-Star about the innovative methodology being explored by our faculty for freshman courses. All of our first-year initiatives are designed to ensure our students possess the tools they need to succeed at our rigorous institution, which will prepare them for a lifetime of achievement.