AC 2007-1947: WHAT DO OUR STUDENTS THINK IS IMPORTANT DURING FRESHMAN YEAR?

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component to help the freshman make this major transition is a series of mentoring courses that the entering student can select for the first semester. This paper will discuss topics the freshman raised with their mentors and what the students think is important during the first year. Index Terms – Freshman Advising, Mentoring. Introduction Numerous studies document the importance of educating new students about their new academic setting [1 5]. Indeed, helping students anticipate and understand life changes can help the university realize a significantly higher first-year student persistence rate [6]. For many years, university programs have incorporated these components via the implementation of pre-college orientation programs that include: 1. Raising the knowledge level of first-year undergraduate students with regard to lifestyle changes that can occur in moving to a campus environment [7]. 2. Developing an awareness of the services offered by the university is crucial in the creation of a productive adjustment process [8]. 3. Expanding new students' knowledge of changes in status, residence, failure, relationships, and authority through both interactive discussions and written materials documenting success strategies [9]. 4. Helping students develop a positive attitude toward their first year at the university. We use our summer orientation programs to address these items, and also help students become aware of the changes that are taking place in their lives and begin the transition in the student's immediate family structure by introducing professional counselors and advisors during the summer registration program. This expansion of their family is continued in the fall semester, in ENGR0081 and ENGR0011, as peer mentors and faculty are added to their family structure. This paper is designed to give a brief overview of our freshman student transition and retention program, and show what our students think is important. Background information ENGR0081 is a course that explains the university policies and procedures to the students. It is required for all freshmen engineers [11]. It is a zero credit class, however the freshmen are graded pass/fail based on attendance and participation. The addition of peer mentors in ENGR0081, allows us to provide student success tips as well as survival tips from a student’s perspective. This allows us to further expand the student’s new family structure by allowing the peer mentors to act as brothers and/or sisters. P ge 12605.2 In the past this course was a typical introduction to engineering where once a week the entire freshman class would get a lecture on the different fields of engineering. The typical syllabus was an introduction session, followed by eight separate presentations by the different departments within the school of engineering, a study skills session, presentations by the Co-op and study abroad programs, a session dealing with spring semester registration and a “open house” session sponsored by all the departments. Typically there would be no presentation on the last week or the week of Thanksgiving. By student accounts, the program was “very cold” and the students’ lack of respect for the course resulted in them ignoring most of the material presented in the sessions. To make the course more “active”, the course was modified in the Fall 2001 to include an additional once a week peer mentoring component. Now, students meet twice a week, once in the large group lecture, and once with their respective mentors. With this design, ENGR 0081 has two main goals: Primary: Provide peer mentor support to assist the students in a smooth transition from high school to college, Secondary: Aid in identifying the engineering program the new students will eventually major in. The concept behind the mentor component of ENGR0081 is to create a “friendly environment” where the students can feel free to express their feelings and concerns in a non-classroom setting. To accomplish this we have designed small classes (10-15 students per mentor) that initiate a close bond between the freshmen students and their mentor. There are similar programs that use faculty instead of students [12], however, we felt that building a student/student relationship would be more valuable in solving the various transition issues. The classes are based upon a common non-academic theme. The small class size and common interests increases the opportunity for a personal relationship to build between the freshmen and their mentor. Once this relationship is developed between the student and the mentor, we have found that this has improved our ability to present material on transition topics such as: University resources, Wellness, Diversity, Transition from high school to college, Time Management, Working in Teams, Study Skills, Test Preparation, Stress Management, Study Abroad, Co-op, Getting Involved, Building and Creating a Resume, and Spring registration information. By having the mentors “slip” this information into their weekly meeting the students do not even realize they are gaining valuable college success skills. All mentors select a theme that is based on their own personal interest. The only requirement is the course schedule must fit into one of the pre-designed 30 seminar time slots on Monday through Friday from 12:00 pm 7:50 pm. The current and/or past themes range from teamwork to sports to exploring Pittsburgh [11]. The Transition Process Mentoring is often thought to be a lot like coaching. In fact, many mentors do find that their role as mentor takes on the task of coaching the students through the various difficult transitions from high school to college. Making transitions is an integral part of life. It is important that all P ge 12605.3 participants in the student’s life, including, parents, faculty and university staff, understand that during the transition from high school to college, students often experience a sense of loss for what has changed in their life or despair over relationships that have changed or have been replaced [13]. The first year college adjustment embodies both a loss experience as well as an exciting set of new opportunities [14]. These changes can affect the students’ first year experience, including their performance in the classroom and their desire to stay in school. The culminations of such experiences are recognized within three major areas of transition: Academic Transitions The first transition that many engineering students encounter is within the academic milieu, which is often compounded by the additional challenges these changes elicit. As a student moves from high school to college he/she is channeled through the high school highly structured daily schedule of planned activities. Upon entering college, the same student is now in charge of creating and implementing their own schedule that is typically different each day, may include night classes, and also has free time throughout the day. In addition to time management, other changes that potentially add to transition frustrations are: different teaching styles from high school teachers, walking across campus and going from building to building as opposed to walking though hallways of the same building, being the best student back home is different than competing with all the top students at the university, etc. Previous studies indicate that a student’s first semester success can lay the groundwork for engineering program completion and/or degree attainment [15 & 16]. Therefore, appropriate support systems must be activated during the very first interaction students and their families have with the university. Several positive outcomes have been realized when students and parents are provided time with members of the university community who will continue to work with the first year students. Examples of positive outcomes are: Students develop more realistic expectations for their upcoming year that translates into lower frustration levels for ideals unrealized [17], Participating in educational exchanges increase student/parent perceptions as relative equals by the university, and are therefore more likely to become engaged in ongoing open communications [18], Early awareness of campus resources strengthens and developing a students potential to persist through a four-year college program [19]. Given the three outcomes listed above, it can be hypothesized that a mentoring program that attends to these needs of the students will assist in creating a more successful academic transition experience. Family Transitions For most first year students, arriving on campus initiates the progression from family and compliance, to residence hall living and independence. Being away from home for the first time is typically a period when students test their freedom, and begin apprehensively enjoying their challenging new environment. Simultaneously, parents may be either celebrating the departure of their child or trying to convince the student to come home every weekend. Additionally, P ge 12605.4 parents might encourage the student to make new friends, or afraid of losing their child, they might prevent the student from making many university-related connections. In our mentor sessions, students are told that the entire family is going through a change and is experiencing both excitement and sadness. It is okay and natural for the student to feel homesick and have doubts. Therefore, it is important to communicate both spontaneously and on a regular basis with their family. Interestingly, what a family may not realize is research has discovered that leaving home often fosters improved relationships with parents via the compilation of new-found freedom