Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for the First Year of College [Hardcover]

In 2002, the Policy Center on the First Year of College (supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and Lumina Foundation for Education) sponsored a project to recognize colleges and universities as Institutions of Excellence in their design and execution of the first year. Thirteen colleges and universities—representing a broad spectrum of campus types—were selected as exceptional institutions that place a high priority on the first-year experience. Achieving and Sustaining Excellence in the First Year of College includes case studies of each of the thirteen exemplary institutions. These studies illustrate and analyze the colleges’ best practices in teaching, assessing, and retaining first-year college students. The individual case studies offer lessons learned and have broad potential application beyond the particular type of institution represented.

Foreword xiii

Preface xxi

Acknowledgments xxv

About the Authors xxvii

1 On Being Named an Institution of Excellence in the First College Year: The Process and the Places 1

2 Research Methods 19

Part One: Case Studies of Two-Year Institutions 33

3 The Community College of Denver: A Second Family for the First-Year Student 35
Marc Cutright, Randy L. Swing

4 LaGuardia Community College: A Window on the World 59
Betsy O. Barefoot, Michael J. Siegel

Part Two: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with Fewer Than 2,000 Students 85

5 The First Year at Eckerd College: Responsible Innovation 87
Stephen W. Schwartz, Michael J. Siegel

6 Kalamazoo College: No Stone Left Unturned 113
Stephen W. Sl£¼