Campus Connection

UWL faculty member is one of two directors of project to re-design first-year college experience.

UW-La Crosse is among 44 universities nationwide selected to participate in the three-year “Re-Imagining the First Year of College” project. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) initiative hopes to transform the first year of college to enhance students’ success while in school and in the 21^st century workplace. [caption id="attachment_41639" align="alignright" width="240"] Jo Arney, UWL associate professor of Political Science and Public Administration.[/caption] Jo Arney, associate professor of Political Science and Public Administration, is taking a two-year leave from UWL to be one of two primary directors of the national project, which is funded by grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and USA Funds. Arney will help campuses throughout the country network and share student success strategies. “We tend to think about student success in a classroom or within a department or even at the university level, but to step back and think about it — with no institutional barriers — is really exciting and really needed in our country,” says Arney. “As more students come to college who are low-income and first-generation, we need to figure out strategies so we can help all students move forward.” The first year of college is the point when undergraduate institutions experience the greatest dropout rates. The objective of the RFY project is to help project participants — and ultimately AASCU’s 420 state colleges and universities nationwide — to implement changes that enhance the first-year student experience and increase student retention and graduation rates, particularly among historically underserved populations. Arney says UWL is doing a lot of things right for first-year students. The campus has a strong retention rate as well as initiatives and programs set up to support student success such as Eagle Alert, which allows instructors to provide feedback regarding academic concerns, and UWL 100, a course offered to help incoming students transition to UWL and college. The RFY project brings together campuses like UWL, that are successful in these areas, as well as those that aren’t. The schools also represent a broad cross-section of the nation’s higher education institutions in terms of size and location. What they all have in common is strong leadership and other qualities that are conducive to effecting broad-scale and sustainable change, notes George Mehaffy, vice president for academic leadership and change at AASCU. UWL and the other schools will select and implement evidence-based strategies and programs that focus on four core areas to help first-year students succeed: institutional intentionality, curriculum, faculty and staff roles, and student roles. As part of RFY, UWL will participate in a learning community with other campuses. This will allow participants to attend national conferences and educational webinars, receive one-on-one mentoring, access online tools and resources, and share ideas, successful strategies and lessons learned. “We are pleased that these AASCU institutions will commit their enormous talent and knowledge to the success of this initiative, which I believe will have a profound effect on undergraduate education in the 21^st century,” said Mehaffy. “Together, with the engagement of all campus stakeholders – from students to academic leadership – we will strive to transform the first-year student experience and ensure student success.” AASCU will kick off the RFY initiative with academic leaders — including four people from UWL —  attending the association’s 2016 Academic Affairs Winter Meeting in Austin, Texas, Feb. 4-6. An implementation plan for campuses is due in June and will affect students entering UWL in fall 2016. About AASCU: The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of more than 400 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development.