Balmy South Carolina breezes greeted Jeri Krogseth and me upon our late night arrival in Columbia, South Carolina for the 13th Annual Conference of the Freshman Year Experience. For the first time, two new strands were included in the conference proceedings: The National Forum on New Students with Dis- abilities and the National Forum on New Student Athletes. Our presenta- tion, “A Safety Net for Success”, scheduled for the Forum on New Students with Disabilities, was slated first thing on Friday morning, allow- ing us to enjoy the rest of the confer- ence.

In the New Students with Disabili- ties Forum, Jeri and I were considered experts on the subject, and new information for us was scarce, to say the least. However, it was nice to learn that B.C. generally, and Capilano College specifically, are on the leading edge of service provision to students with disabilities. I have a copy of the program and proceed- ings from this forum and would be happy to share it.

The Freshman Year Experience Conference began early Sunday morning. The focus of the conference was Campus Communities: Inten- tional and Involving. I attended the following presentations:

1. The Freshman Seminar - A Flexible Fixture in American Higher Educa- tion. This took us through the results of a national survey of freshman seminar programming to provide an overview of freshman seminar experiences.

2. Peer Leaders Program: This was a discussion by peer leaders about their experiences in supporting faculty and students. Talk about enthusiasm! Wow!

3. A Model of Decision Sequencing in the Transition to College: This

A Conference in South Carolina

Learning about the Freshman Experience

by Jolene Bordewick

session outlined the decisions high school students make in their transition to College. This was an interesting overview of ways in which students arrive at decisions to enrol in one institution over another.

. Evaluation Results of University

101: Paul P. Fidler, Director of Research at the University of South Carolina, discussed survey results including descriptions of partici- pants, return and retention, use of services and campus relationships.

. University 101: Faculty Speak Out:

Faculty areas represented in this presentation included science/ math, humanities and social sci- ences, provisional year programs, and diverse academic fields. In 101, academic faculty are fully participa- tory in instruction with matching peer leaders to support their endeavors. Interesting approach!

. Challenging, Caring and Connect-

ing: This presentation focused on the qualities resulting in effective

teaching styles. A fresh approach to ‘classroom instruction. . Connecting with First Year Stu-

dents: Swing and Brantz of Appa- lachian State University had stu- dents singing, swinging and rappelling to bond and build a sense of “community” in their first year experiences. Great fun.

. Recruiting, Training and Retaining

Effective Instructors: This seminar dealt with keeping instructors and faculty effective through ongoing training for freshman seminar instructors. Enthusiasm and encouragement!

. Massasoit Community College’s

Freshman Seminar: Building Community Through Assessment in the Design and Development of a Freshman Seminar Course: This presentation focused on the two-

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year college versus the university, which was applicable to our situation at Capilano.

In addition to the content sessions, a number of plenary sessions and guest speakers completed the pro- gram. Of special interest was “RisQue Business”, a talented group of students who provided the audience with improvisational vignettes of student concerns on sensitive issues: date rape, AIDS, bulimia, homophobia, drug abuse and suicide. Not the stuff we dis- cussed back in the olden days! Great student connector.

This was truly a memorable conference.