ON SOLID GROUND: THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE AS A FOUNDATION FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

Abstract

The first-year experience has often been implicated as a critical transition period for student success in college. For decades, colleges and universities have dedicated resources to their first-year students. However, the first-year experience is often discussed in vague imagery without considering the efficacy of longstanding programs. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate different aspects of the first-year experience to determine how these programs might be improved.

This study is a multi-article dissertation and was organized and framed using transition theory. In the first article, I used an integrative literature review approach to study the development of the first-year experience movement in the U.S. historical context. The second article used hierarchical linear modeling to evaluate different dimensions of quality of two high-impact practices, service-learning and learning communities, that are often implemented as part of a first-year experience to evaluate how quality relates to various outcomes. The third article used a critical quantitative approach to study the experiences of disabled first-year students to examine how they find support and develop a sense of belonging on campus. Implications for research, practice, and policy for the three articles are discussed.