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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

 

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Featured Speakers
Questions
If you have any questions about the content or organization of this event, contact Nina L. Glisson at (803) 777-8158 or ninal@mailbox.sc.edu. Information about this Conference and other events sponsored by the Center can be found at www.sc.edu/fye.

 

  

Click Here to Download the Conference Program

Interactive Schedule Planner

This interactive schedule planner has been designed to help you in scheduling the sessions you would like to attend during the 31st Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience. To begin using the planner, simply click on the date listed below for a listing of sessions to be presented during each time block. We hope that this planner is useful in ensuring that the conference is educationally enriching for you and in making the most of your conference experience.

Our Invitation to You

Although educational paths are often hindered by factors outside of our control, we, as educators, must help students overcome barriers by providing them with the essential supports and tools that enable them to succeed throughout their higher education experiences. This task is not simple; rather, it is a dynamic undertaking that we must continually adapt to meet the changing needs of students. The Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience sponsored by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition provides a forum where higher education professionals can share experiences, concerns, and high impact practices regarding student learning, development, and success. We invite you to be a part of productive collaborations, conversations, and relationships aimed at providing successful student transitions in the first college year.

Conference Highlights
  • Colleague clusters at luncheon
  • Outstanding keynote and plenary speakers
  • Commercial and non-profit exhibits
  • Focused dialogues to facilitate networking

Conference Discounts

  • Reduced fees for presenters
  • Early bird registration fee
  • Discounted fees for institutional teams
  • Student discounts
  • Fee waivers for chief academic officers accompanied by three or more fee-paying participants representing the same institution

Conference Culture

The Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience is designed to provide educators from nearly every corner of higher education a comfortable, welcoming environment to share innovative ideas, programs, tools, high-impact practices, and research critical to the first-year experience. The conference aims to promote a scholarly practice and applied research in a comprehensive and engaging community open to the diversity of ideas, in which all delegates are given the opportunity and resources to grow personally and professionally. The conference welcomes graduate and undergraduate students to attend and participate in this professional development opportunity, encouraging them to grow their knowledge of the academic communities that surround them.

Conference Undergraduate Student Fellowships

The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition is offering five undergraduate student fellowships that will cover the registration fee for the Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience. To learn more or to apply for these fellowships, visit http://www.sc.edu/fye//annual/fellowships.html or contact Sarah Smith at (803) 777-3984. The application will be available via our web site beginning August 22, 2011 with a submission deadline of November 5th, 2011.

Possible Session Topics

  • Improving and institutionalizing first-year seminars
  • Using assessment to build better programs
  • Researching the first college year
  • Exploring first-year programs at community colleges
  • Forging stronger partnerships between academic and student affairs
  • Initiating and strengthening service-learning and community service initiatives
  • Maintaining a commitment to a diverse student body
  • Implementing vibrant learning communities
  • Exploring student health issues
  • Improving academic and career advising
  • Encouraging critical thinking and holistic learning
  • Incorporating active-learning strategies in the first-year classroom
  • Expanding first-year initiatives past the first semester
  • Involving peer mentors in educational initiatives
  • Designing and implementing common reading programs
  • Implementing early alert/early referral programs
  • Exploring teaching tools and technology to enhance learning
  • Developing partnerships with parents
  • Bridging generational gaps
  • Managing classroom and technology etiquette
  • Improving faculty training and development