Five-type taxonomy of first year experience courses¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report organizes first year experience courses into five types identified by Barefoot and Fidler in the early 1990s: "extended orientation, academic seminars with uniform content, academic seminars with variable content, introduction to a discipline or professional seminars, and basic study skills seminars," with hybrid versions also offered. Extended orientation is the most common type, focused on supporting freshman-year success. Academic seminars develop writing, critical thinking, and study skills, and can have a set curriculum or vary by section topic and faculty expertise.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Course type should match institutional goals, since each type has a distinct primary focus such as transition support, disciplinary preparation, or study skills

Constraints¶

• The taxonomy was identified in the early 1990s; the report notes hybrid versions including elements from more than one type have since been offered

Target Learners¶

• First-year students in 2-year and 4-year colleges

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Academic performance, social development, persistence, and degree completion

Claims¶

• First year experience courses show a statistically significant positive effect on undergraduate degree attainment, based on one study [+W]
• First year experience courses show a statistically significant positive effect on cumulative grade point average after one year, based on one study [+W]
• First year experience courses show potentially positive effects on credit accumulation, with two of three qualifying studies showing statistically significant positive retention effects and one showing no significant effect [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

• First year experience course (college success course / freshman seminar)

Key Sources¶

• First Year Experience Courses. (2016). What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/662