First Year Experience Mini-Conference

Nationwide, the transition to college is challenging for high-risk students. LaGuardia is no exception. To address this problem, LaGuardia has designed, prepared and launched a new, credit-bearing First Year Seminar course that integrates discipline-based curriculum with co-curricular innovation to more effectively support high-risk students’ transition to colleege.

The FYS at LaGuardia has grown dramatically, and is already demonstrating its impact. By the end of 2015-16, more than 10,000 LaGuardia students will have enrolled in an FYS course. Data analyzed for LaGuardia’s First in the World grant shows statistically significant gains in credit accumulation, next-semester persistence and one-year retention. Advancing success for first year students, the growth of the FYS opens possibilities for re-invigorating the broader First Year Experience college-wide.

The “Building First Year Success” Mini-Conference provides an exciting opportunity to spotlight the experiences of First Year faculty and staff and the lessons and programs they design to facilitate student success.