Workshop
Mapping and Evaluating the First
Year of Higher Education
Dr Randy L. Swing
Bio
Dr. Randy L. Swing serves
as Co-Director of the Policy Center on the First Year of College, located in Brevard,
North Carolina. He develops assessment strategies and instruments for improving
the first college year. He served on the development teams for Your First College
Year (YFCY), a posttest of UCLA’s annual freshman survey and the First-Year
Initiative (FYI), a national benchmarking study of first-year seminars. Randy
moderates the First-Year Assessment Listserv; and served as editor of Proving
and Improving: Strategies for Assessing the First College Year. He also serves
as Fellow at the National Resource Center on The First-Year Experience and Students
in Transition at the University of South Carolina. Until 1999, Dr. Swing held
leadership positions at Appalachian State University in assessment, advising,
orientation, and first-year seminar. Time Magazine named Appalachian a 2001 “College
of the Year” for outstanding service to first year students.
Synopsis of workshop
This session is a primer on the first
year of higher education with focus on two elements, first-year programs and
the evaluation of those programs.
In the first half of the session
we will use a typology of first-year initiatives to explore the full range of
educational programs that American Universities use to address the needs of
first-year students. Through discussion and small group activities we will compare
the goals and objectives of a wide-range of educational options that are easily
transferable to Australian higher education.
The second half of the session will
be a primer on how to measure the effectiveness of these programs. How can educators
determine if programs are working as intended and make changes for improvement
if needed? Techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of programs will include
a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches. We will use samples of surveys,
essays and data for hands-on experiences.
Expect lively discussion, group interaction,
and a fast-paced workshop
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Questions?:
contact z.holbeck@qut.edu.au
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