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Is your campus planning to launch a first-year seminar program? Do you have a seminar but lack strong institutional support? Do you want to strengthen an existing seminar program? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, this teleconference will be of vital interest to you.

Even though first-year programs have been found to improve student persistence and academic performance, not every campus has been able to create the type of program that can achieve these aims. This discussion centers on the barriers educators may face in establishing or institutionalizing first-year seminars and on using assessment to develop a successful program for your campus. We invite you to join the discussion to hear what campuses are doing to overcome institutional barriers and boost their students’ success.

Is the curriculum for first-year students on your campus empowering them to achieve academic success? If your campus has a first-year seminar, is it meeting the goals for which it was designed? For the first time in the history of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, the Center’s experts and colleagues gather for a teleconference to discuss the evolution of new student seminars, highlight best practices, offer answers to the most frequently asked questions, and talk with viewers about their own challenges and opportunities. The panelists also share lessons learned from years of research; practical suggestions for launching, maintaining, and assessing these courses; and a description of the new student seminar as a catalyst for institutional change. Together the panelists, practitioners, and viewers thoroughly examined the past, present, and future of this cornerstone of the American college curriculum. A comprehensive resource packet is included.