IWU One of 12 Schools Honored for First-year Programs

Indiana Wesleyan University is one of 12 private colleges chosen nationwide to develop programs to help first-year students adjust to college. IWU has been named a founding institution for the project, "Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year."

Research has long indicated that new students who are successfully integrated into college are much more likely to graduate, according to the Policy Center on the First Year of College.

"The first year is extremely important in the transition to college," says Dr. Bayard Baylis, Vice President for Academic Affairs. "The 'Foundations of Excellence' project will look at how students make the transition to college and what colleges are doing to make that transition work."

Ninety-four private colleges applied in February to participate in the project. Twelve of them were selected through a competitive process to continue working with the Policy Center.

"In addition to this prestigious selection, we are equally excited that the standards by which schools will be measured will include the need to help new students find their life purpose -- a standard that IWU championed," Dr. Baylis says.

The criteria for selection included a strong campus commitment to the first year and, at least in IWU's case, programs that already are in place for first-year students.

"We have developed a remarkable first-year program," says Dr. Jerry Pattengale, Assistant Vice President for Academic Support. "Students are able to rally around common experiences. There's an excitement, not only among our students, but also among our faculty and our student development staff."

Since the IWU programs were introduced, the number of freshmen returning to campus for their sophomore year has increased from 68 percent to 81 percent. The most sweeping initiative is a required first-year course called Becoming World Changers.

"Although we cannot credit our improved retention rates entirely to the World Changers class, it does provide a framework for our students' educations," Dr. Baylis says. "Right up front they know what it means to be a World Changer and an academic Christian. It sets the stage for what they do with the rest of their education."

Other IWU programs include freshmen residence halls, freshmen chapel services, a computer-based advising system and counseling to help students find their life calling.

Sponsors of the project believe the Foundations of Excellence guidelines eventually will become a major tool for parents and students to use in choosing a college.

"Some leading educators believe these foundation standards will likely replace college rankings such as U.S. News & World Report," Dr. Pattengale says. "The new standards provide a qualitative assessment of what matters most for parents -- the first-year experience."

One of these new standards, an exploration of life purpose, also is the cornerstone of IWU's programming, Dr. Pattengale says.

For the next 15 months, the 12 founding institutions will work to develop a model program for first-year students. Specifically, the colleges will measure their effectiveness in recruiting, admitting, housing, orienting, supporting, advising and teaching new students.

"While much is known about how a campus can improve first-year learning and retention, the absence of clear standards has powerful educational and financial consequences for colleges," says Dr. John N. Gardner, executive director of the North Carolina-based Policy Center on the First Year of College.

"This project brings together a number of highly credible researchers, reformers and practitioners who, along with the 12 founding institutions, will create the blueprint that for too long has been missing," Dr. Gardner says.

Foundations of Excellence is jointly sponsored by the Policy Center on the First Year of College and by the Council of Independent Colleges. Funding for the two-year project will be provided by Lumina Foundation for Education, which is based in Indianapolis, and The Atlantic Philanthropies, an international charity.