Begin with a Cornerstone: Building College-Wide Engagement for FYE

Presented at the 35th Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience,

February, 2016
Dr. Kathy Clark, Associate Dean, Academic Success, Co-Chair of QEP
Dr. Eileen DeLuca, Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs, Co-Chair of QEP
Florida SouthWestern State College

Florida SouthWestern State College

Open access, baccalaureate-granting state

college.

20 Associate Degrees, 10 Bachelors Degrees

Residence Hall on main campus

Five-county service district comprises three
counties along Floridas southwestern Gulf
coast, and two inland counties.

Fall 2015

Headcount 15,742
Full-Time 34.2%; Part-Time 65.8%
71.0% of students are 24 years old or younger
170 Full-time Faculty
507 Adjunct Faculty
Florida SouthWestern State College Faculty Federation
Union (Chapter of United Faculty of Florida)

Source: http://www.fsw.edu/rta/quickfacts

Creating the Cornerstone Experience

Course

The Foundation
Foundations of Excellence

Fall 2008 Identification of critical student learning issues

2009-2010 Foundations of Excellence Study (FoE)

Committees formed for each of the nine dimensions

7 out of 9 committees chaired or co-chaired by faculty

(committees composed of 38%-73% faculty)

Approximately 120 faculty and staff participants on all

committees

The Foundation FOE/FYE/QEP

2011-Steering Committee (QEP/FYE) Co-chaired by a Faculty

Member and Administrator

Six-subcommittees with faculty participants on all committees:

Student Learning (with a Lead Faculty identified)

Student Support
Training and Development
Orientation
Communication
Evaluation and Assessment

Spring 2012 Pilot Implementation Cornerstone Experience Course.

Fall 2012-Full Implementation of the Cornerstone Experience Course and

FYE Program.

Creating the Cornerstone Experience Course

Focus Group Comments

Faculty buy-in
Planning (Foundations of Excellence)
College support (advising and registration)
Course assessment
Student learning outcomes
Creation of rubrics
Course benefits
Faculty workload (training module completion)
Creation of the training modules (train the trainer
model)
Territorial academic issues (critical thinking vs.
success strategies).

Focus Group Comments (continued)

Curriculum sub-committee
Marketing sub-committee
Textbook selection sub-committee
Relevancy sub-committee
Critical thinking sub-committee
Student success sub-committee
Applied learning sub-committee

The Cornerstone Experience

Developing the Cornerstone Experience

Course

Starting from the Ground Level

Faculty Support and Buy-In

QEP Advisory Committee-Co-chaired by faculty member

2012-2013: 47% faculty

2013-2014: 54% faculty

2014-2015: 51% faculty

2015-2016: 50% faculty

Faculty leaders recruited

Program Chairs
Lead Faculty
Faculty Senate Leaders
Representatives from key program areas

Building the
Foundation
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work
Advisory

Marketing

Building the
Foundation:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work
Early Alert Committee

Cornerstone Curriculum

Sample Learning Outcomes and Assessments

Building the
Foundation:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work

Orientation, Registration
and Advising

FYE Programming

Building the Foundation:

Faculty-Driven Committee
Work

Implementation Team

Assessment Committee

Faculty-Driven
Assessment

Faculty Driven Assessment

Faculty Driven Assessment

Building the
Foundation:
Faculty-Driven
Committee Work

Training and
Development Committee

Faculty Teaching
Cornerstone
Course

Faculty Teaching Companion Staff and Administrator

Courses
Training

Required Modules Through TLC:

QEP Course Overview and
Objectives
QEP Course Assignments and
Assessments
Universal Design Strategies
Understanding the First-Year
Student
Diversity on the College Campus
and Beyond
The Way I Learn
Introduction to College Services,
Programs, Support
Constructivist Pedagogy and the
Student-Centered Classroom
Critical Thinking
Discipline Paradigms and Career
Goals

Required Modules Through TLC:

QEP Course Overview and
Objectives
QEP Course Assignments and
Assessments
Universal Design Strategies
Understanding the First-Year
Student
Critical Thinking

Required Modules Through TLC:

QEP Course Overview and
Objectives
Understanding the First-Year
Student
Diversity on the College Campus
and Beyond
Introduction to College Services,
Programs, Support
Critical Thinking

:
Training Module Completers

As of August 2015, 181 faculty and staff have

completed the ten Cornerstone Instructor Training
Modules.

739 faculty/staff have completed one or more QEP

Cornerstone Modules.

120 faculty and staff attended the 2015 Cornerstone

Summer Training Institute.

All departments are encouraged to set training

completion goals in the 2014-2015 Unit Plans.

Course Development
Focus Group Comments

Leadership at all levels

Faculty Training
Defining the student population required to
take the course
Faculty buy-in
Development of the learning outcomes (four
corners) and assessments
Syllabus development
Development of the training modules

Implementing the Cornerstone Experience

Course

Five-Year Implementation
Timeline

Cornerstone Experience
Implementation Timeline 2012 2017
Initial Implementation
All FTIC degree-seeking students testing into 2 or more developmental
Beginning Spring 2012
courses will be required to enroll in Cornerstone Experience course
Open sections for students electing to enroll in an SLS course
YEAR 1
2012 - 2013

All FTIC degree-seeking students testing into 2 or more developmental

courses will be required to enroll in Cornerstone Experience course

YEAR 2
2013 2014

All FTIC degree-seeking students testing into any number of developmental

courses will be required to enroll in Cornerstone Experience course

YEAR 3
2014 - 2015

All FTIC degree-seeking students will be required to enroll in Cornerstone

Experience course

YEAR 4
2015 2016

All FTIC degree-seeking students will be required to enroll in Cornerstone

Experience course

YEAR 5
2016 - 2017

All FTIC degree-seeking students will be required to enroll in Cornerstone

Experience course

Section Coverage
Semester
Fall

Fall

Fall

Fall

2012

Spring 2013

Summer
2013

2013

Spring 2014

Summer
2014

2014

Spring 2015

Summer
2015

2015

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

% Taught
by full-time
faculty or
staff

Charlotte

0%

0%

0%

40%

75%

0%

78%

100%

0%

70%

Collier

33%

50%

0%

92%

90%

67%

85%

93%

67%

42%

Hendry/Glades

0%

0%

0%

0%

50%

0%

80%

100%

0%

100%

Lee

65%

82%

29%

63%

86%

88%

69%

89%

83%

61%

100%

50%

65%

18%

65%

84%

69%

74%

91%

74%

60%

Campus

Online
College Total

SLS 1515 Enrollment

Semester
Fall 2012

Spring 2013

Summer 2013

Fall 2013

Spring 2014

Summer 2014

Fall 2014

Spring 2015

Summer 2015

Fall 2015

Campus

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Sec

Enr

Charlotte

43

29

13

113

74

210

117

19

10

241

Collier

124

64

30

13

347

10

157

54

26

608

15

261

118

26

681

Hendry/Glades

15

19

19

52

40

11

94

35

129

Lee

20

430

11

191

138

34

902

20

379

160

68

1619

35

713

12

274

67

1766

FSW Online

24

612

17

303

11

200

54

1414

36

650

13

234

58

1126

19

411

109

2841

College Total 30

108 2531

Committed Budget for Professional Development

Faculty-led
Professional
Development

Adopting a Corner: Critical Thinking

Adopting a Corner: Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking in Careers Lecture Series

Peer Support

Peer Architects are student leaders who help students

with their transition to Florida SouthWestern State
College. Each Peer Architect will act as a mentor for firstyear students. Peer Architects are assigned to a specific
section of the Cornerstone Experience Class (SLS 1515),
have office hours in the First Year Experience (FYE) office,
and put on workshops throughout the semester

Faculty Communities of Practice

Arri v i ng a t t he tSat i on: Sho

wca si ng t he T
al ent
http://w ww
.fsw
.edu /fy
e

Honors Sections
Fall 2014

Linked Courses

SLS 1515 Linked Courses

Fall 2014

SLS 1515 (13190)

linked to
BSC 1010 (21835) and 1010L (21841)

Spring
2015

SLS 1515 (22251)

linked to
BSC 1010 (21835) and 1010L (21841)

Linked Courses

SLS 1515 Linked Courses

Fall 2015

MAT1033 CRN 14674 (Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-11:45)

linked to
SLS 1515 CRN 14408 (Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-2:20)

Overall FTIC, Degree-seeking Year-to-Year Retention

Implementing the Cornerstone Experience Course

Focus Group Comments

Communication Implementation
Team/Student Services
Peer Architects (postponed for one semester)
Campus structure (standardized processes)
Training and Development modules
videoconference vs. in-person
Rubric standardization workshop
Clear process of orientation, advising and
registration for FYE students
Broad-based involvement of faculty

Summary

Important to have organizational leadership at

all levels.
Required - 3 credit hour course.
Curriculum faculty from several disciplines
(development of course took approximately 4
months for the first draft)
Standardized college processes and
procedures for registration and advising
(multi-campus).
Continuous work-in-progress

http://www.fsw.edu/fye

QUESTIONS?

http://www.fsw.edu/fye

www.fsw.edu/fye