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InhaltsangabeFirst-year programs and interventions have become critical launching pads for student success and retention in higher education. However, these programs often flounder not because of what they are trying to do, but because of the ways in which they are implemented. Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs offers faculty, academic administrators, and student affairs professionals a comprehensive and practical resource that includes step-by-step guidance for developing new first-year programs and enhancing existing programs. The book explores the key elements that contribute to sustained student success and the programs that have the capacity to continue to meet student needs while making the most of scarce resources. The authors show how to create and sustain critical partnerships, put in place the needed organizational structures, and include strategies for developing effective assessments and evaluations. Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs is filled with illustrative examples and profiles of successful programs from a range of institutions that vary in size, type, selectivity, and culture. Examples of common programs and interventions include summer bridge programs, student orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, residential programs, developmental education, and many more. Based in scholarly literature, theory, and practice, the book highlights the initiatives that facilitate the transition, learning, development, and success of new college students.

Praise for Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs "An essential guide to the thorny task of not only developing successful first-year programs, the critical building blocks for student college completion, but also sustaining them over time. It should be at the top of the reading list of all faculty, staff, and administrators concerned with making substantial improvements in student success in the first year of college." Vincent Tinto, Distinguished University Professor, Syracuse University "Grounded in scholarly literature and higher education theory, Developing and Sustaining Successful First-Year Programs provides a much-needed next-generation resource to advance a comprehensive, integrated, and multi-faceted first-year experience as well as practical guidance to educators who want to become more effective first-year student advocates." Jillian Kinzie, associate director, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, NSSE Institute "The authors do an excellent job both of providing a conceptual framework for the first year and of grounding their program descriptions in the work of a diverse range of campuses, providing exemplars of good practice, centered on assessment, in enhancing student academic achievement and persistence. The book will be of use both to policy makers and administrators focused on enhancing student success and to practitioners who will make good use of excellent observations and recommendations." Scott Evenbeck, president, The New Community College at CUNY