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First Year Experience

 

The First Year Experience Program at A-State

The First Year Experience Program, also known as FYE, is a program that is designed to help students prepare for the transition from high school to college. All sections of FYE include core information that covers A-State Policies & Procedures, Academic Resources, Study Skills, Academic Research & Writing, Leadership & Campus Involvement as well as materials crucial to the academic and personal growth of each First Year Red Wolf. Each FYE Instructor will serve as a mentor and all sections of FYE use a common text which is written by A-State faculty to address information and resources specific to A-State. The A-State FYE Program is interdisciplinary, meaning that each section of FYE is based within the department or college of the student’s major. This interdisciplinary approach exposes and excites first-year students about their major and career opportunities.

A-State Students Walking on Campus

Making Connections

All first year students enroll in a Making Connections course. This three-credit course is designed to help students make a successful transition into college by connecting students with their major, college peers and a faculty mentor. There are many sections offered within the various academic disciplines at A-State including a honor and undecided sections. While each course has a special emphasis on the students’ academic discipline, all sections include a common core including campus resources, A-State policies, learning techniques, critical thinking skills, and degree information.

For more information contact, Kelli Listenbee, First Year Experience at klee@astate.edu.


What is a Common Reader?

A Common Reader is a book assigned to all first-year students to read during the fall semester. The purpose of the First-Year Common Reader is to promote a shared intellectual experience to engage students socially and academically both inside and outside of the classroom.

Themes from this year’s selected reader "This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women" edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, will be incorporated into discussions, activities and experiences of first-year students.

Common Reader programs are designed to: create a sense of community, promote discussion, set academic expectations for students, provide a shared intellectual experience, encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue, increase faculty-student interaction, promote critical engagement with ideas and encourage reading among first-year students.

This I Believe II