new student experiences to lots of new students charles a. weaver, iii, ph. d. department of...
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New Student Experiences toLots of New Students
Charles A. Weaver, III, Ph. D.Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
About 800-1000 majors
Psychology and Neuroscience
Roughly 200 new students each fall
Can’t afford majors-only sections
We’re at about 40-1 Student-Faculty Ratio
Faculty no longer willing to participate in U1000-like classes
Proposed: Large-Scale NSE for all majors
• All new NSC and PSY students (including transfers)
• Part of major curricular changes (pre-major, “two-strikes” policy, early identification)
• Attempt to integrate students into department earlier than we had been doing
Proposed: Large-Scale NSE for all majors
• 1 hour each week• Semester-long• Led by Advisor (Tammy Lawrence) and
UPD (me/Hugh Riley)• Weekly faculty visitor plus university
resources
Why are you here?
• New Pre-major Policies in PSY and NSC• We want to do a discipline-specific “new
student experience” class• We want you to feel connected to PSY/NSC
as well as to Baylor University• We want to share information with you
before it’s too late to make a difference
What are we going to do?
• Part of each class will be devoted to specific topics (like “what’s important your first semester?” and “what can I do now to prepare for graduate school applications?”
• Part of the class will be to answer your questions and discuss challenges of first year experiences
• You’re going to get to meet the faculty of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, hear what they do, and ask them questions
Articles and Readings Readings:• Adjusting to Your New Life at Baylor• Studying: What works and what doesn’t• Freshman Survival Guide• Career Paths within the clinical and counseling fields
(Departmental Document)• Graduate School (Dr. Lawrence)
Tasks (to be completed for credit)• Prepare for Your Advising Appointment• Using MAP-Works• Pre-Major Application
Sessions• Surviving your first semester• Premajor policy • Getting Involved: Psychology Club, Psi Chi,
BNS, Nu Rho Psi• Who can you turn to for help? (Dr. Martha
Lou Scott & Bethany McCraw)• MAP-Works (Ron English)• Academic Success (Study Tips)• Advising (Joyce Miller )• Health-related professions (Dr. Rich Sanker)
Sessions
• Staff introductions (with goodies)
• Diversity and Adjustment (student panel,
based on Stephens et al., 2014, Difference-
Education Intervention)
• Graduate School Advising
• Brandy & Cigars with PSY/NSC Faculty
(well, Dr. Pepper Floats….)
Successes
• Connection with Students & Department
• Explicit statements of Expectations
• Roll-out of Pre-major requirements
• MAP-Works completion (virtually 100%)
• Title IX Education
Areas for Improvement
• Attendance wanes (the “Chapel Problem”)
• Limited individual feedback & interaction
• Intervention is student-driven
• First-year students know everything
