THE FIRST-YEAR PROGRAM

A Description and Brief History

The First-Year Program (FYP), a living-learning program, began in 1987 as a pilot program and was required for all incoming students in 1988. It is a two-semester, threeunit course, split between a team-taught, residentially-based fall course and an individually taught, research skills seminar in the spring. The fall course, usually called “the FYP,” normally is team-taught by two faculty (although there is the occasional team of three) who are expected to be of different disciplines. Each class, or “college,” has approximately 30-32 students (45 in the case of three-person teams), all of whom live together in their own residence hall or in a wing of larger hall. The faculty teams create a course based on an interdisciplinary theme. Before they arrive on campus, incoming students choose from the college descriptions and are placed accordingly. The courses all include an emphasis on reading, writing, research, and oral communication skills. Each team member is assigned 15 students in the college as his or her advisees. The spring course, known as the “First Year Seminar” or FYS, continues the work of the fall, but in a “stand-alone” research-skills-based seminar based on a theme of the faculty member’s choice. The only limitations are that the FYS course cannot be a course regularly offered by a department and it should have some degree of interdisciplinarity. Continuing faculty are expected to make a three-year commitment to teaching in the FYP/FYS.

The Goals of the FYP

The FYP’s mission statement reads: “The FYP helps bring students into the culture of the academic enterprise through guided practice in the development of communication skills and the critical assessment of knowledge, and by emphasizing students’ own responsibility for their curricular, co-curricular, and residential choices and the quality of the communities in which they live and work.” There are more explicit statements of the philosophy and goals of both the communications skills and residential components of the course available on the FYP website at http://web.stlawu.edu/fyp . The FYP Administrative Structure The FYP office is in 168 Whitman Hall. The program is headed by the Associate Dean of the First Year, who is appointed from the faculty for a three-year term; the current director is Professor of Economics Steve Horwitz. The program has a Faculty Development Committee that designs workshops on pedagogy for program faculty and also plans the program’s annual retreat. It also has several other standing and ad-hoc committees. The FYP is supported by two administrative secretaries. Debbie Bishop works directly with the Associate Dean of the First Year and is the main clerical point of contact for the FYP. In addition, Janet Torres provides clerical support for two other Whitman offices (Academic Planning, Advising, and Services and the University Writing Program) in addition to some responsibilities to the FYP.

The FYP and Student Life

In its role as a living-learning program and as a point of entry for new students, the FYP works closely with the Division of Student Life, and the Office of Residence Life in particular. (The offices of Student Life and Residence Life are located in the Student Center.) Matha Thornton, Director of Residence Life, has responsibility for the residential staff of the FYP as well as housing first year students. Residence Life also has an Associate Director for Housing (Michelle Burns), an Assistant Director for Community Development (Joshua Drake), and three Residential Coordinators who directly supervise the staff of Community Assistants. The Associate Dean and the Director of Residence Life work cooperatively to oversee the residential portion of the FYP. Each FYP college has two or three student Community Assistants who are in charge of educational and social programming, referral to campus resources, community building, and enforcement of the Code of Student Conduct. FYP colleges also have one Mentor, who typically was a member of that college the preceding year and acts as a writing tutor. Mentors usually attend class and a small number live with the first-year students.

The FYP and Other Academic Resource Offices

In addition to the FYP, the Office of Academic Planning, Advising, and Services and the University Writing Program are housed in Whitman Hall. Because FYP faculty advise first-year students, the program works closely with the Director of Academic Advising (currently Associate Professor of History Liz Regosin) to ensure that student problems are being addressed and that faculty are prepared to engage in short-term and longterm curricular planning with new students. The FYP also works with the Coordinators of Academic Support (Ginny Schwartz) and Academic Achievement (Lorie Mackenzie) and the Director of Academic Services for Students with Special Needs (John Meagher) to ensure that first-year students who are struggling academically have access to the services they provide. The Director of the University Writing Program (Associate Professor of English Richard Jenseth) plays a central role in carrying forward the FYP’s mission to teach communication skills and in broader faculty development initiatives.

Controversial Aspects of the FYP

The FYP has been subject to ongoing review and controversy. Strong feelings on campus exist about the FYP--most positive, some negative. Over the years, the FYP has become progressively institutionalized and the level of controversy has slowly faded, especially as its positive effects on our recruitment and admissions picture have become clear. The course was originally team-taught for a full year, and one reason for the change to a stand-alone spring course in 2001 was perceived student dissatisfaction with the second semester of the then-current FYP structure. The student evaluations suggest that students are happier with the new spring course, and that the FYP has improved its ability to teach research skills effectively. Another controversial issue is the multidisciplinary aspect of the program, which raises concerns regarding academic rigor and competence. In addition, some departments are concerned about their ability to meet departmental staffing needs when members are serving in the FYP at the same time the departments are trying to put forth a Senior-Year Experience and contribute to other programs on campus.

The Costs and Benefits of Teaching in the FYP

As you consider whether you would like to become part of the FYP, we offer the following non-exhaustive lists of what that commitment usually means for the faculty in the program. The FYP does require a lot of its faculty, but it also provides rewards, some of which are not available elsewhere.

What you give to the FYP:

Regular time commitment of teaching a 1.5 unit course for an entire year. Additional “irregular” time commitments that occur outside the usual teaching semester: for example, an annual 2-day retreat in late May, team planning meetings during the summer breaks, writing and other faculty development workshops during the academic year and breaks, and orientation week obligations.

Advising responsibilities. You are assigned 15 first-year students as advisees; these students normally continue to be your advisees until they declare a major in the Spring of their sophomore year. The advising relationship can be seen as a plus and a minus. You will definitely get to know these 15 students quite well, which can be good or bad depending on the students. They also will need more time and attention from you than most upperclass students until they learn the ropes. In addition, most FYP faculty participate in advising incoming students during the summer (via phone and email). Doing so is compensated with a modest stipend.

Although involvement in the residential life component of the FYP differs among colleges, you may find yourself working with staff on residential issues such as harassment, sexual assault, and vandalism. College teams (faculty, CAs, and the appropriate Residential Coordinator) are expected to meet for an hour or so bi-weekly to talk over relevant student issues. In addition, a phone call or email informing you that one of your FYP students is in the hospital or otherwise in crisis is, unfortunately, not that rare. Contact with parents of your advisees is also an occasional part of the job, both with students having problems and in more general settings such as Family Weekend or Orientation.

Working on a team. Once again, team teaching is both good and bad (see below for some of the rewards.) Creating a syllabus with a colleague is very time-consuming. Instead of working at your own pace and making your own decisions about books, assignments, policies, etc., you will be negotiating all of these issues at the same time that you must follow common coursework requirements set by the FYP. And these decisions and negotiations do not end with the first day of class. Collaborating on a course requires a great deal of time and patience, especially when teaching first-year students. Some have compared it to “co-parenting.”

The St. Lawrence University stretch--i.e., teaching outside your field. As discussed above, this is one of the more controversial aspects of the FYP, and it is one of the hardest and most time-consuming parts of teaching in the FYP for many faculty. For example, the program recently had a historian of pre-modern China teaching in an FYP college about religious diversity in contemporary U.S.. Doing so required from her a great many hours of research, new class preparations, and background reading. In addition, all FYP faculty must adjust to teaching and grading about topics and material taught by their colleagues. Team teaching across disciplinary lines requires the time to engage in frequent and clear communication among the teaching team members, and to making a sustained commitment to working collaboratively.

In sum, what you give to the FYP is time and lots of it--time you could be devoting to research and scholarship, to departmental or programmatic teaching and service and, of course, to building a life outside work. On the other hand...

What the FYP gives back to you

One semester paid leave and other compensation and access to resources. The FYP requires 4.5 contact hours per week, which is 1.5 hours per week more than a standard one-unit course. Over the course of two semesters, this adds up to 3 extra contact hours per week, or a full course. Although you may take a one-course reduction per year as compensation for the overload, you can instead choose to teach two courses in your home department each semester you are in the FYP and take a semester’s paid leave at the end of a three-year commitment. The paid leave is available only to those who teach at least 3 semesters in the FYP; i.e., you cannot do 6 semesters in the spring FYS and earn the leave.

In addition, you receive a generous planning stipend the first time you teach in the program. Half of that stipend is contingent upon consistent participation in the various faculty development programs during the year. After the first year, FYP faculty receive a more modest summer stipend for their participation at the May retreat and in course planning. There are also resources available for field trips and other course-related activities with students.

Working with a team. As we said above, team teaching can also be very rewarding. From the close pedagogical work with a colleague, you can get all kinds of new ideas, you see another teacher in action in the classroom, you receive support and advice from your partner when dealing with problems in the classroom, and you gain the intellectual fun of course planning with a colleague. You may even make a really good friend or two in the process! And even when things are not going so smoothly, since you have to get along with your colleague, you get good practice in conflict management and in the sundry skills required for smooth teamwork. (You can change your partner/team at the end of a year, but that means a new prep, so if you are happy, it makes sense to stay with the same one for three years.)

Faculty development. The program as a whole offers faculty development workshops and a supportive work environment. Since FYP faculty have many of the same problems and goals, you inherit a ready-made cadre of experienced, understanding, and helpful colleagues. One of the unexpected benefits of the FYP has been its strong, positive impact on the quality of teaching across the campus. Faculty take what they learn about teaching in the FYP and apply it in their departmental courses and elsewhere. The FYP has been the leading edge of pedagogical innovation on campus for many years and that remains one of the significant benefits of program participation. Reduces isolation. Working in the FYP, you can make friends and develop collegial relationships all over the University, which helps you avoid the Stuck-And-Isolated-In- My-Department syndrome. Having a broad and cross-departmental base of support can be very important to personal happiness as well as professional success. In addition, you will accumulate experience dealing with a wide spectrum of student problems. You will also learn more about how RLC and other Student Life offices work at SLU while developing collegial relationships with staff and thus avoiding the dreaded The-Only-People-I-Know-And-Ever-Talk-To-Are-Professors syndrome.

Common college experience. All students at SLU are in the FYP during their first year. You can use this common experience to connect with students and to help them connect with each other in your other courses, especially those that enroll a lot of firstyear students. In addition, you can assume, in all your classes, that your students get basic communication and research instruction. You can also assume they all have the same writing handbook (Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference) and refer to it in other classes and when commenting on papers.

First-year student expertise. You are guaranteed to become a certified First-Year Student Expert after a year in the FYP and a Master after three years. This expertise can only help improve your teaching and advising generally. Miscellaneous Advice From Those Of Us Who Have Been There Our most important piece of advice for new faculty who are considering teaching in the FYP, or definitely will be teaching in the FYP, is to talk to people who have been there. And from those people, here are some other bits of advice: Be sure you pick a good team. Talk to other people (preferably who know you as well as the faculty with whom you are considering working) about your prospective teammate(s).

Attend the faculty development workshops and take advantage of the experience and knowledge of other FYP faculty and staff. Have fun with your partner/team and students. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Never lose your sense of humor.

“Some things I learned the hard way: 1. Say no when you need to. People understand. Only take on extra service work what you can do well. 2. Practice balance: don’t let the campus swallow your life whole, and don’t stress one aspect of the job (teaching, service, scholarship) too much over the others. 3. Be organized. Develop a filing system and keep perfecting it. 4. Take control of the paper//cc:mail/e:mail flow somehow. A method for handling it efficiently will be a boat to let you float on top of it, rather than drown in it. Remember: you don’t have to read everything with equal attention!”
Anne Csete, Histor