Published in partnership with the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education

First-year seminars and learning communities are two of the most commonly offered high-impact practices on U.S. campuses. The goals of these initiatives are similar: helping students make connections to faculty and other students, improving academic performance, and increasing persistence and graduation. As such, it is not surprising that many institutions choose to embed first-year seminars in learning communities.

This volume explores the merger of these two high-impact practices. In particular, it offers insight into how institutions connect them and the impact of those combined structures on student learning and success. In addition to chapters highlighting strategies for designing, teaching in, and assessing combined programs, case studies offer practical insights into the structures of these programs in a variety of campus settings.

Friedman, a recognized expert on seminar administration and assessment, provides a comprehensive framework for deciding what to assess, what kinds of data to collect and from whom, and how to use findings for continuous program refinement and improvement. The volume is a useful tool for administrators launching a new seminar or managing a decades old course. While centered on the first-year seminar, Friedman’s suggested strategies can be applied to a wide range of educational experiences in the first college year and beyond.

Other volumes in the series:
Volume I: Designing and Administering the Course
Volume II: Instructor Training and Development
Volume III: Teaching in the First-Year Seminar
Volume IV: Using Peers in the Classroom

These are also available as a Five Volume Set

The First-Year Seminar: Designing, Implementing, and Assessing Courses to Support Student Learning and Success, a five-volume series, is designed to assist educators who are interested in launching a first-year seminar or revamping an existing program. Each volume examines a different aspect of first-year seminar design or administration and offers suggestions for practice grounded in research on the seminar, the literature on teaching and learning, and campus-based examples. Because national survey research suggests that the seminar exists in a variety of forms on college campuses -- and that some campuses combine one or more of these forms to create a hybrid seminar -- the series offers a framework for decision making rather than a blueprint for course design.

The set includes:
Volume I: Designing and Administering the Course
Volume II: Instructor Training and Development
Volume III: Teaching in the First-Year Seminar
Volume IV: Using Peers in the Classroom
Volume V: Assessing the First-Year Seminar

The volume opens by defining common seminar configurations, goals, and course topics, drawing on national studies and institutional research reports. It also offers guidance in selecting a seminar model. The authors also address strategies for launching and administering the seminar and successfully managing change within the course. Broadly conceived, this first volume in the five-volume series lays the ground work for more in-depth coverage to follow.

Other volumes in the series:
Volume II: Instructor Training and Development
Volume III: Teaching in the First-Year Seminar
Volume IV: Using Peers in the Classroom
Volume V: Assessing the First-Year Seminar

These are also available as a Five Volume Set

Published in partnership with the Office of Student Engagement, University of South Carolina

For more than a decade, educators have focused on illustrating the effectiveness of educational interventions by measuring changes in grade point averages, retention, satisfaction, and participation. What such measures don't tell us is what students know or are able to do as a result of their educational experiences. Yet, this is the kind of data colleges and universities are increasingly asked to report by state legislatures, regional accrediting agencies, and a number of other stakeholders. Responding to this call requires new assessment vehicles that report success through the eyes of students using measurable learning outcomes for courses, programs of study, and cocurricular experiences. A Faculty and Staff Guide to Creating Learning Outcomes presents a framework for developing and assessing student learning outcomes in a brief, accessible format.