Our Invitation to You

The National Resource Center is pleased to now offer online courses on current topics related to the first-year experience and students in transition. Online courses are designed to come as close as possible to providing students with the same course content and opportunities for interaction with classmates and with the instructor as traditional or classroom-based courses as well as take advantage of pedagogy and teaching techniques that are not possible or uncommon in a traditional format. Our online courses will take place during a five-week period with the majority of instruction occurring in an asynchronous environment. Asynchronous instruction is neither timebound nor place-bound and does not require the simultaneous participation of all students and instructors. It utilizes tools such as email, threaded discussions/forums, listservs, and blogs.

This course is an introduction to qualitative research with an emphasis on the history and foundations of work in the qualitative tradition, how to design and execute a qualitative study, and the challenges of gathering and analyzing qualitative data. Key to this course is experience in the field. Students will gather a portfolio of exemplars including participant and non-participant observation, interviewing, conducting a focus group, and analyzing documents and records.

Course Dates: September 21 - October 18, 2013

Julie Rotholz

Julie Neururer Rotholz is a clinical assistant professor in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies at the University of South Carolina. She currently teaches courses on student development theory, ethics, diversity, and research paradigms. She has taught qualitative research at Penn State University as well as at USC. She has published articles on the college transition experience as well as a book on professional development. Rotholz also currently serves as the Director of the Higher Education Business Administration program with the College of Education and the Moore School of Business. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and was awarded the Association for the Study of Higher Education's "Dissertation of the Year Award" for her qualitative work.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will provide participants with an overview of integrated academic and career advising in practice. Participants will be presented with various definitions of advising, come to develop an appreciation for various models of integrated academic and career advising and the rationale for their use, and will appreciate the benefits and barriers involved in integrated advising models. Participants will learn about strategies used to establish evidence supporting the effectiveness of advising activities and programs. Finally, participants will have an opportunity to develop strategies for improving the integration of advising models on their campus.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Describe the disciplinary and paradigmatic foundations of qualitative research
• Demonstrate competence in using qualitative methods, including interviewing; mining documents and records; and recording observations, both participant and non-participant
  
• Demonstrate expertise in analyzing and composing qualitative findings
  
• Explain the importance and application of trustworthiness criteria
• Apply high ethical standards in the conduct of gathering and reporting qualitative findings

REQUIRED TEXTS

• Merriam, S.B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Course Dates: September 30 - November 1, 2013

Instructor
Stephanie M. Foote
Associate Professor of Education in the Department of First-Year Programs
Kennesaw State University

Stephanie M. Foote

Stephanie M. Foote is an Associate Professor of Education in the Department of First-Year Programs at Kennesaw State University.  Prior to coming to coming to Kennesaw in 2011, Stephanie was the administrator for academic success and first-year programs at the University of South Carolina Aiken.  In 2009, Stephanie won the NODA Outstanding Research Award for her dissertation study of the perceived effects of first-year seminar participation on the experience of students in their first semester of college. She has published and presented on her research college students in transition, and she has developed and taught online courses on fostering the success of first-year students.  Stephanie has served as a Commission Chair for the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Commission on Admissions, Orientation, and the First-Year Experience, and she currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (JSARP).  Stephanie is also the Editor for the Journal of College Orientation and Transition (JCOT).

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to engage participants in an exploration of many of the fundamental aspects of first-year student success. Drawing from multiple perspectives, participants in the course will be challenged to: a) move beyond generational characteristics to understand who first-year students are and what issues potentially impact their success; b) apply the information generated through readings, reflective assignments, and discussion to innovate practices aimed at fostering first-year student success; and c) develop a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods that can be used to measure first-year student success.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

1. Participants will identify issues that impact the success of first-year students on their campus.
2. Participants will develop strategies and transform existing practices to encourage first-year student success.
3. Participants will understand how to use qualitative and quantitative methods to measure first-year student success.

REQUIRED TEXTS

• Challenging and Supporting the First-Year Student: A Handbook for Improving the First Year of College by M. Lee Upcraft, John N. Gardner, and Betsy O. Barefoot.

http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787959685.html

http://www.amazon.com/Challenging-Supporting-First-Year-Student-Jossey-Bass/dp/0787959685

ADDITIONAL READINGS
Articles and excerpts from journals, including several from the Journal on The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, and other web-based resources will be provided in WebStudy. Additionally, optional readings have been identified and will be posted in each module for participants who wish to further explore concepts discussed in the context of this class.