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Building a First Year Experience (FYE) Program at Moreno Valley College: Recommending Guidelines, Components, and Structure Background Moreno Valley College’s Student Equity Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in December 2014, presents data reported on proportionality indices and success rates for various demographic subgroups of the college’s student population. One of the most significant findings in the analysis of the data reveals the comparatively low success rates of subgroups of the student population, based upon the five success indicators (Access, Course Completion, ESL and Basic Skills, Degree and Certificate Completion, and Transfer), established by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. The critical finding by the Student Equity Committee is that five subgroups of students at the college had four or more areas that were below equity or at medium low equity performance levels, based upon a five-year average of proportionality indices. The five subgroups were African American/Black students, students in in three age ranges (20-24 year olds, 25-29 year olds, and 40 year old or over), and foster youth 25 years old or younger. Of the five indicators examined by the college, the ESL and Basic Skills indicator contained the highest number of disproportionately impacted groups at MVC. In fact, the data in the Student Equity Plan’s Table 2, displayed below, show that the overall success rates of subgroups of MVC’s student population in basic skills were low even when compared to state averages. Table 2: Remedial Cohort Success Rates: MVC vs Statewide ohorts 2007-2008 2007-2008 Course MVC Success Statewide Success

Remedial English

40.3%

43.6%

Remedial ESL

13.3%

27.1%

Remedial Math

20.6%

30.6%

Based upon an analysis of the data, the committee focused on the basic skills area of the college. It identified goals and planned activities to consider specific ways within basic skills cohorts to close equity gaps and to increase students’ success rates. Among the committee’s goals and activities, one was to appoint a workgroup to review the literature on first-year experience programs established at other institutions of higher education to identify “best practices” regarding how those institutions improve the success rates of students. The workgroup’s review of the literature reveals that “best practices” among first year experience programs share common components that focus on restructuring the curriculum and providing support services to promote students’ persistence and to improve their academic success. (While

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MVC does not have a FYE program, the college possesses a number of component features to create a FYE program.) Literature Review of Common Practices: First Year Experience, High Impact Programs (HIP) A commonality in FYE programs at colleges and universities is high-impact practices to improve success rates of students. In his foundational work, High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter (2008), George Kuh identifies ten high-impact practices (HIPs) which research has established improves success rates for most students, specifically in the areas of persistence and student development, with the highest benefits to those students from historically underserved populations. These ten HIPs include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

first year experience, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects, undergraduate research, diversity/global learning, service learning, community-based learning, internships, and capstone courses and projects.

Despite the evidence regarding increased student success as a result of these practices, Kuh also notes that these HIPs by themselves are not a guaranteed solution to faltering success and persistence rates of college students; rather, he cautions that “[o]nly when they are implemented well and continually evaluated…will we realize their considerable potential” (Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter 2010), and as Ryan Padgett, Assistant Director of Research, Grants, and Assessment at The National Resource Center for the First Year Experience and Students in Transitions further cautions, “High-impact practices are not a onesize-fits all model… . They must be tailored to your specific institution” (2011). One HIP at colleges and universities is scheduling first year seminars for students. Kuh notes that “First Year Seminars and Experiences” are seminars or “programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. The intent of these highquality first-year experiences is to place a strong emphasis on critical inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that develop students’ intellectual and practical competencies” (9). A similar perspective is that these courses are designed to “assist students in their academic and social development and in their transition to college. A seminar, by definition, is a small discussion-based course in which students and their instructors exchange ideas and information. In most cases, there is a strong emphasis on creating community in the classroom” (Hunter & Linder 275-56). In their report “First Year Experience Program: Components and Resources,” Jess Jong and Anna Krenkel point out that FYE “programs aim to improve retention and courses success rates through mandatory success courses, counseling

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sessions, and learning communities” and that administration should target “basic skills and developmental student populations due to historically low levels of engagement” (4). Extended orientation seminars, academic seminars with generally uniform content, academic seminars on various topics, professional or discipline-based seminars, basic study skills and hybrid seminars are a few examples. In fact, a successful First Year Experience program in the context of these definitions is the Pasadena City College Pathways. This program comprises three components: the summer bridge program (also called Jams), “designed to help students make a smooth transition from high school to college”; the First Year Program (FYP) Student Success Team, which consists of counselors, coaches, and tutors; and College 1, a required 3-unit transferable course that “provides [students] with a rigorous academic experience in their first semester of college,” as the students focus on the theme of One Book, One College, and the First Year Student Conference. Although the research cited here is brief, it represents the findings in the field to address the academic needs of student populations from Baltimore to Phoenix, from Denver to urban centers throughout California. Since the 1980s, a multitude of research studies reveals that First Year Seminars that implement engaging teaching practices and that establish objectives in alignment with assessment lead to increased retention and to second year persistence rates across all student populations (Pascarella and Terenzini 2005; Swing 2002; Porter and Swing 2006) Another common feature of HIPs at colleges and universities is learning communities. In the introduction to their article, “The Case for Learning Communities,” Maria Hesse and Marybeth Mason cite the definition offered by the authors of Learning Communities: Reforming Undergraduate Education (2004) as “‘the purposeful restructuring of the curriculum by linking or clustering courses that enroll a common cohort of students. This approach represents an intentional restructuring of students’ time, credit, and learning experiences to build community and to foster more explicit connections among students, faculty, and disciplines.’” Kuh also emphasizes linked courses as an essential component in his definition, while adding that one of the goals of learning communities is “to involve students with ‘big questions’ that matter beyond the classroom” (9). The report “What Have We Learned about Learning Communities at Community Colleges?” defines learning communities as “a popular strategy that places small cohorts of students together in two or more thematically linked courses, usually for a single semester, with added support, such as extra advising or tutoring.” Although the traditional definition of learning communities suggests creating linked classes, another definition, recognized as a HIP and embraced by the workgroup, is the exercise of “common intellectual and social activities” that would acknowledge and invite the critical notion of scalability to include an increasingly greater number of students in a FYE program (Kuh 9). Thus, this type of definition of learning communities may account for an institutional structure that provides opportunities for common thematic linkages across a curriculum to offer both academic and social experiences. RECOMMENDATIONS In short, from the review of the literature on FYE programs, the workgroup presents the following recommendations to support the creation of a Moreno Valley’s First Year Experience (FYE) program, which should primarily concentrate on those underserved populations most impacted by inequities, documented in the Student Equity Plan:

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1.

Develop a mission statement about literacy being the foundation of equity and ensure that the statement provides definitions regarding the types of literacies (academic, digital, financial, and any others) that students need to be successful in college. We recommend the following language: Rationale: The Moreno Valley College First Year Experience “embraces a comprehensive, holistic (whole person) approach to promote student success” (Cuseo, 2003). The mission of the FYE at Moreno Valley College is to develop the cognitive, practical, and academic skills that students will need to navigate effectively the college and to be successful in the First Year Experience and beyond. The literacies that students need are informed by the Moreno Valley College General Education Student Learning Objectives (GESLO), which include critical thinking, information and technology literacy, communication skills, breadth of knowledge, application of knowledge, and global awareness.

Rationale and reference to literature review: (General Education Student Learning Outcomes. Riverside Community College District: Moreno Valley College 2014-2015. Print; National Council of Teachers of English. “NCTE Position Statement: The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies.” National Council of Teachers of English. Feb. 2013. Web 1 Jan. 2015.)

2.

Develop a four-part structure of a FYE program: Pre-College, First Semester, Second Semester, and Follow-up. The following recommendations have the intention to be scalable. a.

Pre-college i. first year experience, ii. common intellectual experiences, iii. learning communities, iv. writing-intensive courses, v. collaborative assignments and projects, vi. undergraduate research, vii. diversity/global learning, viii. service learning, ix. community-based learning, x. internships, and capstone courses and projects. xi. form a focus group of student services staff, faculty, and administrators to review existing strategies of recruitment, counseling, orientation, and

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xii.

xiii.

xiv.

assessment to identify, develop and implement recruitment strategies for a Pre-College program, such as a Summer Bridge or Jumpstart. establish a “bridge” and summer math and English preparatory programs assessment testing so that students may “place” into the highest classes that are compatible based upon the students’ level of skills. provide students who successfully complete summer or bridge programs and test into more advanced or non-basic skills classes with early registration. redesign entry level/basic skills courses packaged as modules for students enrolled in math and English courses taken during the first two semesters.

Rationale and reference to literature review: Developmental summer bridge programs—typically held in the summer between high school graduation and fall matriculation in college—involve intensive remedial instruction in math, reading, and/or writing and college preparation content for students entering college with low basic skills. This report presents the early findings of an evaluation of eight developmental summer bridge programs in Texas (seven at community colleges and one at an open-admissions four-year university). While program participation did not appear to increase college enrollment, there is evidence that program students were more likely to pass college-level courses in math and writing. “Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs.” Heather D. Wathington, Elisabeth A. Barnett, Evan Weissman, Jedediah Teres, Joshua Pretlow, and Aki Nakanishi, with Matthew Zeidenberg, Madeline Joy Weiss, Alison Black, Claire Mitchell, and John Wachen (October 2011). b.

First Semester i. Create learning communities, pathways, and outside of class activities for students to bond with one another.

Rationale and reference to the literature: First year experience (FYE) programs and learning communities are considered High Impact practices (HIPs); and HIPs also address student equity by way of the “equity effects” that appear in students’ reports of their learning as their success is boosted by HIPs; the equity-minded perspective that educators can nurture; the principles of inclusive excellence that can guide colleges and universities in providing a liberal education that offers not only equitable access to HIPs, but also equitable achievement of outcomes. The document “Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-

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Impact Practices” by Ashley Finley and Tia McNair (AAC&U) is in the Student Support & Engagement folder in Dropbox. ii.

Recommend implementing “Invisible Curriculum”/FYE outside of classroom activities:             

Student clubs (Cornell/Mosley) Programs and resources fairs (Cornell/Mosley) Workshops (Cornell/Mosley) Common reading programs with related guest speakers Off campus excursions (Cornell/Mosley) Mentors, faculty and peer (Kift) Tutors (Cramp) Civic engagement: community service, volunteering and service learning (Cornell/Mosley) Student leadership opportunities Experiential learning opportunities (Cornell/Mosley, Greene) Journal writing reflecting on various aspects of FYE, reviewed with faculty and peers (Everett) Facebook (Jenkins) Providing timely feedback and reviewing it with faculty/tutors (Cramp)

Rationale and reference to literature review: In exploring successful FYE programs and the literature cited above, we found the following activities together motivate students to persist in their academic studies. Based on Hommes (2012) research concerning the importance of social networking in fostering persistence and higher academic performance, we believe integrating these activities into a coherent FYE program will help new students develop the sense of “belongingness” at MVC necessary for success. With just a few exceptions, MVC already has many of these activities in place. iii.

Require FYE students to enroll in a first year seminar (eg: college success course).

Rationale and reference to literature review: FYE programs and/or first year seminars, such as a college success course are considered a High Impact Practice (HIP); and HIPs also address

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student equity by way of the “equity effects” that appear in students’ reports of their learning as their success is boosted by HIPs; the equityminded perspective that educators can nurture; the principles of inclusive excellence that can guide colleges and universities in providing a liberal education that offers not only equitable access to HIPs, but also equitable achievement of outcomes. The document: “Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices” by Ashley Finely and Tia McNair (AAC&U) is in the Student Support & Engagement folder in Dropbox. c.

Second Semester Continue to use learning community models and outside of classes’ activities (Essay contests with an opportunity to present at a low-key, MVC-specific conference, milestone markers/achievement recognition) i.

Form a focus group of staff, faculty, and administrators to review existing strategies of recruitment, counseling, orientation, and assessment in order to identify, develop and implement recruitment strategies for a precollege program. ii. Continue to create various types of learning communities designed to be implemented within the classroom, across disciplines using a thematic approach, and outside of the classroom to foster learning-enriched environments for students to experience greater peer-relationship-type learning and heightened accountability. Note: The work of the Accelerated workgroup may provide guidance regarding this part of the recommendation.

3.

A guiding principle for our FYE program should be to help students feel: directed, focused, connected, engaged, nurtured and valued during their first year at MVC. Research indicates that students are more likely to succeed when they are directed, focused, connected, engaged, nurtured and valued. These factors are defined as follows: a. Directed: informing, guiding and preparing students to enter educational and career pathways that offer straightforward transitions from initial college enrollment to certificate and degree completion, transfer and/or career (students have a goal and know how to achieve it) Students, particularly those who enter without an educational goal, can easily get lost in the myriad of options most colleges offer. Reports from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College (CCRC), including The Shapeless River (Scott-Clayton, 2011) and How Non-Academic Supports Work (Karp, 2011), underscore the challenges

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students encounter as they attempt to navigate college. The University of Southern California Center for Urban Education’s (CUE) Equity Scorecard (2012) adds to the CCRC perspective with its consideration of how students experience systems that are complicated, ambiguous and not developed with the customer in mind. Moreover, high school students heading for community colleges receive far less guidance ahead of time on how to navigate college than do their peers who are headed to four-year institutions. Institutions can ameliorate these issues by directing students into pathways, providing learning communities where students move together for one or several semesters along a clearly defined path and/or helping students develop meaningful education plans that map how to get from entry to a certificate, degree or transfer. b. Focused: helping students clarify their aspirations and develop an educational focus that they perceive as meaningful and feasible (students stay on track— keeping their eyes on the prize) At Macomb Community College in Michigan, student success courses are delivered in two ways. Students who have a goal take one version of the course while those who are undecided take another. If a student cannot connect the college experience to the attainment of a goal that is important to them, they are much less likely to persist. For this reason, it is important that we help students clarify their aspirations and develop an educational focus that they perceive as meaningful and feasible. In How Non-Academic Supports Work, Karp (2011) emphasizes that community college students are particularly motivated by the connection between education and jobs, a point also made by other studies (Grubb, 2006). To build on this motivation, it is important to have supports in place that continuously remind students of the big picture—that staying in college and completing a certificate or degree will translate into improved employment opportunities. c. Connected: creating connections between students and the institution and cultivating relationships that underscore how students’ enrollment and involvement with the college community can contribute to their academic and personal success (students feel connected to the college) The more relationships students have with others, the more difficult it is for them to walk away from school. Relationships can be developed during an orientation session, in a student success course or through a learning community. Connections can form among a group of Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program participants who “hang-out” after class or through culturally-focused programs like Puente that help participants build their social capital by linking them to different personal and professional networks (Rodriguez, 2007). They can be forged with faculty members who have confidence that a student will be successful or whose own experience resonates with the student’s situation. A Community College Survey of

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d. Engaged: actively engaging students in meaningful and authentic educational experiences and activities inside and outside the classroom (students listen and participate in class and take part in extra-curricular activities) The literature review indicated that engagement, like connectedness, can be fostered both inside and outside of the classroom by faculty, peers, mentors and support service professionals alike. Programs such as Puente, Umoja and AANAPISI seek to inject into the classroom and college community a cultural context that makes college more welcoming and relevant to Latino, AfricanAmerican, Asian-American, Native-American and Pacific Islander students. This type of support may include changes in pedagogy and curriculum that seek to increase the relevance of the educational experience and invite active participation in the classroom and beyond. The Center for Community College Student Engagement (2012) underscores in A Matter of Degrees that engagement has to be “inescapable” and notes that a variety of interventions such as accelerated developmental education, first-year experiences, student success courses and learning communities can all provide a culture of support that helps students become involved in meaningful learning experiences. e. Nurtured: conveying a sense of “authentic caring” where students’ success is important and expected (students feel somebody wants and helps them succeed) An investment in students’ success and well-being—an “authentic caring” or cariño (Shears, 2010)—is a hallmark of the Puente and Umoja programs. Each program focuses on making students feel valued not only as individuals, but as learners. As one practitioner described it in an interview, instructors are “dedicated to [students] shining” and view students’ f. Valued: providing students with opportunities to contribute to and enrich the college culture and community (students feel what they have to contribute to the college is valued) Programs like Puente and Umoja also incorporate rituals, content, assignments and leadership opportunities that resonate with students’ life experiences and interests and validate them as intellectual and social contributors (Rendón, 2002). These approaches provide a platform for students to begin to view themselves as having a valuable role to play in the life of the classroom, the institution and the larger community. College becomes a place where students can positively affect how the institution does its work in an effort to improve and enhance not only their own lives, but those of their fellow students.

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Suggestions:

4.



Possible goals for the FYE program is to help students feel: directed, focused, connected, engaged, nurtured and valued during their first year at MVC.



These factors can also serve as student learning outcomes for the “nonacademic/invisible curriculum” components of the program.

Review placement procedures in order to effectively target disproportionately impacted groups and place them in the FYE.

Rationale and reference to literature review: Creating New Models of Student Placement: Presentation by: Terrence Willett, Cabrillo College, Barry Gribbons, College of the Canyons, Craig Hayward, Irvine Valley College (October 9, 2014); (See PowerPoint presentation in Placement folder in Dropbox). In addition, our district has had conversations about using the Early Assessment Program (EAP) results as a placement measure. The EAP is a program that allows high school students to voluntarily answer additional questions that, if appropriate, will serve as placement results for English and/or Math. Evaluation of success can be found in the Placement folder in Dropbox.

5.

Create professional development activities to address discipline specific literacies for students enrolled in basic skills math and English courses. a. Convene focus groups to design and implement Reading Apprenticeship activities for both the campus and for the FYE program since the literature shows that teaching strategies for reading and writing taught in English courses do not transfer to many reading and writing tasks needed in other disciplines.

Rationale and reference to literature review: There is an abundance of evidence that supports the implementation of RA in general (Shiorring) and in the context of an FYE in order to improve students’ engagement with academic texts, which in turn improves success rates. Schade, Trish, and Nika Hogan. "Infusing Reading Apprenticeship in First Year Seminars: Talking To Text Is Talking Success." Achieving the Dream: Knowledge Center. Web. 22 Jan. 2015

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Shiorring, E. (2010). First Three Years of Reading Apprenticeship in the Community Colleges: Summary of Evaluation Findings. Berkeley, CA: The Center for Student Success, Research & Planning Group, California Community Colleges. b. Invite math and English discipline experts, including departmental, campus, or college colleagues within the district, to conduct workshops or seminars on using effective classroom strategies to increase classroom engagement, such as Reading Apprenticeship, contextualization, and nonjudgmental awareness, best practices for English learners, for developmental and college learners, literacies needed by students to succeed, reducing/eliminating deficit thinking and stereotype threats, selecting appropriate engaging and effective classroom materials, and creating and maintaining student-centered classrooms. c. Promote collaborative interaction between college faculty and high school faculty in the college’s feeder districts. d. Establish and nurture a relationship between faculty in MVC’s English and math disciplines and English and math faculty in feeder school districts to ease the transition for high school English and math students into the college’s English and math classrooms. e. Use California’s Common Core State Standards in English and math as reference points for MVC’s English and math faculty and feeder school districts’ English and math faculty to discuss the college’s student learning outcomes in the two disciplines. f. Continue to use learning community models and outside of classes’ activities in the Second Semester.

6.

Offer incentives for FYE students to participate in the program. See: “Skills for Success,” College of the Canyons (who were guided in their redesign of their FYE by LEAP) and “PCC Pathways,” Pasadena City College. Recommended incentives: extend early registration to FYE students and “guarantee” enrollment in English and math courses required for graduation. b. create an FYE center for program participants to study, to hold group meetings, and to meet with counselors, and tutors. c. identify a funding sources for the new FYE scholarship program to guarantee participants who pass courses in their first year a scholarship for their second year. a.

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7. Recruit a director or coordinator as well as coaches to work with students for the FYE program. See: “PCC Pathways Staff,” for a model of a successful FYE leadership structure.

References Cramp, Andy (2011) Developing First Year Engagement With Written Feedback. Active Learning in Higher Education 12 (2), 113-124. Cornell, R., & Mosley, M. L. (2006). Intertwining College with Real Life: The Community College First-Year Experience. Peer Review, 8(3), 23-25. Cuseo. Joe. (2003) The Case For a Holistic First Year Seminar: Promoting Student Success By Treating the Student as a Whole Person. Everett, M. C. (2013). Reflective Journal Writing and the First-Year Experience. International Journal Of Teaching And Learning In Higher Education, 25(2), 213-222. Finley, Ashley and Tia McNair (2013). “Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in HighImpact Practices.” General Education Student Learning Outcomes. Riverside Community College District: Moreno Valley College 2014-2015. Print; National Council of Teachers of English. Greene, H. (2011). Freshmen Marketing: A First-Year Experience with Experiential Learning. Marketing Education Review, 21(1), 79-87. Grubb, W. N. (2006). “Like, what do I do now?”: The dilemmas of guidance counseling. In T. Bailey and V. Morest (Eds.), Defending the community college equity agenda (pp. 195–222). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Hesse, Maria, and Marybeth Mason. “The Case for Learning Communities.” Community College Journal. 76.1. (August/Sept. 2005). N. pag. College of Education at Illinois. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. Hommes, J. (2012) Visualizing the Invisible: A Network Approach to Reveal the Informal Side of Student Learning. Advances in Health Science Education: Theory and Practices, 17(5), 743-57. Hunter, Mary Stuart and Carrie W. Linder (2011). “College Seminars for First-Year Students – Types of First-Year Seminars, Course Objectives and Content, Pedagogy and Staffing, Instructor Development.” Jamelske, E. (2009). Measuring the Impact of a University First-Year Experience Program on Student GPA and Retention. Higher Education: The International Journal Of Higher Education And Educational Planning, 57(3), 373-391. Jenkins, G. et al (2012) “Like Our Page” Using Facebook to Support First Year Students in Their Transition to Higher Education. Jong, Jess, and Anna Krenkel. “First Year Experience Program: Components and Resources.” Education Advisory Board: Community College Forum. 2013. Print. Kift, Sally (2008) Organizing FYE Engagement and Learning: Formal and Informal Curriculum Intervention Assessement and Evaluation in Higher Education 33(5)

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Karp, Melinda Mechur (2011). “Toward a New Understanding of Non-Academic Student Support: Four Mechanisms Encouraging Positive Student Outcomes in the Community College.” Kuh, George D. High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2008. Print. “NCTE Position Statement: The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies.” National Council of Teachers of English. Feb. 2013. Web 1 Jan. 2015.) Nelson, Karen and Kift, Sally (2005) Beyond curriculum reform: embedding the transition experience. In Brew, A and Asmar, C, Eds. Proceedings HERDSA 2005 28, 225-235, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Padgett, Ryan. "High-Impact Programs on Student Persistence: Evidence from Institutional Level Data." The National Symposium on Student Retention. South Carolina, Charleston. 2 Nov. 2011. Lecture. Pascarella, Ernest T. and Patrick T. Terenzini (2005). How College Affects Students: Volume Two “PCC Pathways.” Pasadena City College. http://www.pasadena.edu/pathways/ “PCC Pathways Staff.” Pasadena City College. http://www.pasadena.edu/pathways/pathways-staff.html “PCC Pathways: Success Starts Here!” Pasadena City College. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates US (2009). Porter, Stephen R. and Randy L. Swing (2006). “Understanding How First Year Seminars Affect Persistence.” Rendón, L. I. (2002). Community college Puente: A validating model of education. Educational Policy, 16(4), 642-667. Rodriguez, C. (2007). “Examining the networks of program leaders in the community college component of the Puente Project within the context of a social capital framework.” Schade, Trish, and Nika Hogan. "Infusing Reading Apprenticeship in First Year Seminars: Talking To Text Is Talking Success." Achieving the Dream: Knowledge Center. Web. 22 Jan. 2015 Scott-Clayton, Judith (2011). “The Shapeless River: Does a Lack of Structure Inhibit Students’ Progress at Community Colleges?” Shears, S. (2010). Understanding African American community college transfer students’ experience: A qualitative study. Shiorring, E. (2010). First Three Years of Reading Apprenticeship in the Community Colleges: Summary of Evaluation Findings. Berkeley, CA: The Center for Student Success, Research & Planning Group, California Community Colleges. “Skills for Success.” College of the Canyons First Year Experience. http://www.canyons.edu/Offices/AcademicAffairs/collegesuccess/Pages/fye_benefits.aspx Swing, R. L. (2002). “Series of essays on the first-year initiative benchmarking study.” www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Swing-8.28.02.html Tinto, Vincent. Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (1993).

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Wathington, Heather D, et al. (2011) Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs. “What Have We Learned about Learning Communities at Community Colleges?” MDRC: Building Knowledge to Improve Social Policy. July 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. Willett, Terrence, et al. (2014) Creating New Models of Student Placement, Cabrillo College. Zepke, Nick et al (2011) Non-institutional Influences and Student Perceptions of Success.