We are committed to crafting and conducting high-quality research that expands our understanding of transitions. We achieve this by engaging in inquiry on a wide range of student success supports including, but intentionally beyond, The First-Year Experience; contributing and pushing conversation on creating equitable higher education environments supporting student transitions; and disseminating information gathered through research to create spaces for conversation that will intentionally connect research to practice.
2023 National Survey on the First-Year Experience
We are excited to announce the administration of the 2023 National Survey on the First-Year Experience. Invitations to participate will be sent in waves to institutional leaders through the end of July 2023. We welcome all institutional types and request submissions by submitted by Monday, August 7, 2023.
To assist in institutional data collection, view the full survey and instructions prior to submitting.
Even if your campus does not offer some of the programs listed, we request that you or a representative from your campus take just a few minutes to complete a few questions on the survey.
Preparing for Submission
This document contains the full version of the 2023 National Survey on the First-Year Experience. This document will give you a sense of the content for the purpose of identifying the best institutional contact to complete the questionnaire and/or receive information to ensure accuracy of data submitting. The survey is set up in several “branch patterns,” meaning that it is unlikely that any one institution will complete all these questions.
Background
This survey is intended to gather information regarding the first-year experience at your institution. The "first-year experience" refers to any program, initiative, and/or educational activity specifically or intentionally geared toward first-year students. This goes beyond merely making educational activities available to first-year (non-transfer) students. We are interested in learning about your school's first-year experience and the students it serves.
You will be asked about the following activities related to your institution's first-year experience:
- General information about your institution's attention to the first-year
- First-year seminars
- Pre-term orientation
- First-year academic advising
- First-year learning communities
- Residential programs or initiatives
- Early alert/academic warning systems
- Common reading programs
In each of these sections, we will be asking questions about the following features of first-year initiatives:
- Students who participate
- Formats and characteristics
- Staffing and administration
- Assessment
COVID-19 open-ended question
The end of the survey includes the following required open-ended question:
In thinking about the first-year experience at your institution, identify and describe practice(s) that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic that remain in effect today?
Questions
If you have any questions regarding the survey, contact Dr. Jamil D. Johnson at nrcrsrch@mailbox.sc.edu.
We thank you for your time and participation in the 2023 National Survey on the First-Year Experience.
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