Freshmen Bearkats Can Now Get 'First Year Experience'
This year will be a great year for freshmen entering Sam
Houston State. Not only will they get to participate in many
events revolving around the university’s 125th anniversary
in October, but they will also be the first to have the opportunity
to participate in a new program called the First Year Experience,
according to Keri Rogers, associate dean and director of the
First Year Experience program.
The FYE program was designed to make first-time freshmen
successful college students and aid in SHSU freshman retention,
which currently stands at approximately 64 percent, Rogers
said.
“While it does benefit the university, I think we’re
more concerned with the students,” she said. “The
real focus is on the students.”
The program is working to reach those goals through several
components in which students may participate on a volunteer
basis.
The first is SAM 136, an introduction to collegiate studies
course that focuses on study skills; time, stress and money
management skills; civic and campus involvement; wellness;
career and major exploration; and university traditions and
history.
The freshman seminar is a three-hour elective course and
will be taught by staff members from a range of departments
on campus, including Career Services, the Counseling Center,
Recreational Sports, Student Activities, Undergraduate Admissions,
Student Advising and Mentoring Center and the Dean of Students’
Office.
To facilitate learning in SAM 136, there will only be 25
students per section.
“Hopefully they will get to know their instructor more
one-on-one and have a resource they feel comfortable going
to to ask questions in the future,” Rogers said.
FYE is also striving to reach its goals through the Freshman
Learning Community, a program where students take the same
core classes together. Unlike with the Honors program and
the Bearkat Learning Community, FLC is non-residential.
“This is just another option,” Rogers said. “(In
cases where) they don’t want to live with the same group
they take classes with.
“They’re taking their English, their history,
SAM 136 and computer science” for a 12-hour work load,
she said. “If they want to take 15 hours, then they
have an option of taking something; so CJ majors are taking
that introduction to CJ class.”
These programs are not only beneficial to students because
of the “college survival” skills being taught
but also for the skills that will carry over into everyday
life, according to Rogers.
“Some of these are life skills,” she said. “Time
management, goal setting, money management, wellness, just
how to learn, these are things you are going to use outside
of college, especially in the new working environment.
“When they graduate, they are going to use a lot of
those skills,” Rogers said. “With ‘how to
read a textbook,’ they’re going to have training
manuals and things like that, so they’re going to be
doing a lot of learning even after they graduate.”
With 180 already enrolled in the SAM 136 class and approximately
15 in the FLC, Keri said she sees the program as having a
lot of potential to grow in the future.
The FYE committee has already implemented changes in the
format of new student orientation, such as changing it from
two and a half days to one and a half days, as well as tutorial
information. In addition, the committee is working to set
up a freshman convocation for next fall.
There is no additional cost to students who want to participate
in the program, with the exception of tuition for SAM 136.
Freshmen, or students with fewer than 16 hours, who would
like to take SAM 136 may sign up for the class during registration.
Those who wish to participate in the FLC must sign a one-year
commitment and should visit the FYE office, located in Lee
Drain Building Room 200, in the dean’s suite.
—END—
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer
Gauntt
Aug. 23, 2004
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