Preconference Workshops

Enhance your time at the upcoming Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience by attending one or more of our learning workshops.

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Full-Day Workshop

Best Practice in the First College Year: Defining What Works and Why

Date: February 16, 2025 | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Registration Fee: $250

Presenters:

John N. Gardner, President, John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education;
Senior Fellow, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition - University of South Carolina
Betsy O. Barefoot, Senior Scholar, John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education;
Fellow, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition - University of South Carolina

For more than three decades, a significant investment has been made by many colleges and universities to improve the first year. But funds spent have often not yielded expected returns in student learning and retention. In this workshop, the presenters will explore the questions, "What works in first-year programs and why... or why not?" They will draw from recent research findings and provide a variety of examples of best practice. Participants will be challenged to reflect on the first year at their own campuses-what initiatives have made a positive difference in the first year and what challenges remain?

Half-Day Workshops

Date: February 16, 2025 | 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Registration Fee: $175
Presenters:

Dottie Weigel, Associate Professor and Program Director - Messiah University
James Winfield, Associate Dean of First Year Experience, General Education and Retention Strategies - Southern New Hampshire University

A quick glance at headlines for the Chronicle of Higher Education show student disconnection is problematic. As educators, we know student engagement is critical for student success. Unfortunately, it can seem like an insurmountable task in a digital age where reaching students is challenging. In this workshop, participants will gain strategies to engage students in a variety of classroom and beyond-the-classroom contexts, including first-year seminars. Participants will be able to enhance curriculum or first-year programming. Special attention will be given to engaging first-generation students and the dispositions of effective instructors. Participants will be better equipped to engage students in a powerful way.

Date: February 16, 2025 | 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Registration Fee: $175
Presenters:

Bryce Bunting, Assistant Dean - Brigham Young University
Dallin George Young, Assistant Professor - University of Georgia

Today’s students are nearly always in transition – they enter, choose majors, temporarily leave and return, move back and forth between work and school, and experience many more periods of change. While these transitions present challenges, they can also be the source of tremendous growth. In this workshop we introduce a new theory of transitions grounded in ideas of community, participation, and becoming. Participants will have opportunities to work collaboratively to apply theory-based practical tools, evaluate their current practices, and develop prioritized plans for improving and refining the ways they support students across their many transitions.

Date: February 16, 2025 | 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Registration Fee: $175
Presenters:

Jacob Manlove, Associate Professor - Arkansas State University
Shaquita Renelique, Associate Dean and Coordinator of the First Year Experience - Arkansas State University
Toccara Carter, Director of Transition Studies- Arkansas State University
Rasheda Hamilton, Transition Studies Coordinator- Arkansas State University

This workshop will equip participants with tools and provide collaborative opportunities to enhance their first-year experience (FYE) program, aligning them with university goals, fostering retention, and securing administrative support. The focus will be on crafting clear learning outcomes, aligning them with broader university missions, and adopting appropriate assessment cycles. Participants will engage in reflective collaboration to help imagine or reimagine their programs, develop efficiencies, and employ both formal and formative assessment strategies to evaluate program progress and performance. Facilitated brainstorming topics will include: marketing campaigns, bridging the gap between student and academic affairs resources, and innovative programming efforts.

Date: February 16, 2025 | 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Registration Fee: $175
Presenters:

Tara Coleman, Professor - Kansas State University

Engaging in thoughtful dialogue and constructive conflict is crucial for college success. Not only do students struggle with this, but many of us are hesitant to admit that we can also struggle. Personal experience, cultural lens, emotions, power dynamics, and social capital influence how, why, and if you will engage. In this workshop, participants will analyze why conflict and difficult conversations can be challenging, role-play scenarios from the group’s campus experiences to help them develop scripts for handling difficult situations, share advice on making the conversation more bearable and productive, and when it is ok to avoid it altogether.

Date: February 16, 2025 | 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Registration Fee: $175
Presenters:

Marinda Ashman, Associate Professor - Utah Valley University
Stacy Waddoups, Associate Professor - Utah Valley University
Sandi Bennett, Peer Mentor Supervisor and Adjunct Faculty - Brigham Young University
Benjamin A. Johnson, Associate Professor - Utah Valley University

It’s no secret that the severity and prevalence of anxiety and depression among college students has reached an all-time high. Students are grappling with fear, stress, isolation, lack of focus, decreased happiness, and learning difficulties. This workshop, facilitated by skilled educators and experienced practitioners, equips participants with the tools to counter this growing trend. It offers proven strategies that are suitable for all types of institutions, fostering engaging educational methods for resilience and stress management. Participants will gain tangible tools and practical exercises that they can apply immediately in their teaching, advising, and mentoring roles.

Date: February 16, 2025 | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Registration Fee: $175
Presenters:

Wayne Jackson, Director, Ginsburg Center for Inclusion and Community Engagement - University of Central Florida
Maurice "Tony" Davis, Advisor - Montgomery County Community College
Jamil Johnson, Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina

This workshop will address in particular the first–year experience of African American and Hispanic Males at institutions of higher education. We know that African American male students have the lowest retention and graduation rates compared to females and other ethnic groups (U.S. Department of Education, 2022). This workshop will also provide you the opportunity to begin the work of designing new programs and initiatives to implement during the first-year experience that will address the retention issues of African American and Hispanic/Latinx males on your campus.