Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for the First Year of College

Betsy Barefoot is co-director of the Policy Center on the First Year of College, and directed the publications center for the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina for 11 years. John Gardner is executive director of the Policy Center on the First Year of College and was the founder of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina. He has co-authored three other books with Jossey-Bass.Marc Cutright is assistant professor of higher education at Ohio University and a research fellow of the Policy Center on the First Year of College.Libby Morris is associate professor of higher education and interim director, Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She is editor of the Journal of Innovative Higher Education.Charles Schroeder is a senior executive with Noel-Levitz and cofounder of Jossey-Bass' About Campus magazine.Stephen Schwartz is a visiting senior fellow at the Policy Center on the First Year of College.Michael Siegel is a research associate for the Policy Center on the First Year of College.Randy Swing is codirector of the Policy Center on the First Year of College.

• Foreword xiiiPreface xxiAcknowledgments xxvAbout the Authors xxvii1 On Being Named an Institution of Excellence in the First College Year: The Process and the Places 12 Research Methods 19Part One: Case Studies of Two-Year Institutions 333 The Community College of Denver: A Second Family for the First-Year Student 35Marc Cutright, Randy L. Swing4 LaGuardia Community College: A Window on the World 59Betsy O. Barefoot, Michael J. SiegelPart Two: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with Fewer Than 2,000 Students 855 The First Year at Eckerd College: Responsible Innovation 87Stephen W. Schwartz, Michael J. Siegel6 Kalamazoo College: No Stone Left Unturned 113Stephen W. Schwartz, Randy L. SwingPart Three: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with 2,000 to 5,000 Students 1437 Drury University: Balancing Intellectual Rigor with Intrusive Personal Support in the First Year 145Charles C. Schroeder, Randy L. Swing8 Elon University: Transforming Education Through a Community of Inquiry and Engagement 166Libby V. Morris, Randy L. Swing9 West Point and the Plebe-Year Experience: The Long Gray Line 191Michael J. Siegel, John N. GardnerPart Four: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with 5,000 to 10,000 Students 21710 Lehman College of the City University of New York: Excellence in the Bronx 219John N. Gardner, Betsy O. Barefoot11 The First Year at Texas A&M University– Corpus Christi: Starting with a Clean Slate 243Michael J. Siegel, Marc CutrightPart Five: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with 10,000 to 20,000 Students 27112 Appalachian State University: High Standards for the First Year in North Carolina’s High Country 273John N. Gardner, Betsy O. Barefoot13 The Story of Ball State University: “Everything Students Need” 299Randy L. Swing, Marc CutrightPart Six: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with More Than 20,000 Students 32314 Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis: Success and the City 325Marc Cutright, Michael J. Siegel15 University of South Carolina: Creator and Standard-Bearer for the First-Year Experience 349Libby V. Morris, Marc CutrightPart Seven: Conclusion 37716 Findings and Recommendations 379Epilogue: Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year 397Appendix A: All Participants in the Institutions of Excellence Study (N = 130) 403Appendix B: Initial Letter of Invitation to Participate in the Institutions of Excellence Project 409Appendix C: Semifinalists 415Appendix D: Letter to Semifinalists 419Appendix E: Announcement Letter to Thirteen Institutions of Excellence 423Appendix F: Research Subject Information and Consent Form 427References 431Index 433