Paul Bieniek
pbb001@marietta.edu
Many students at Marietta College remember their First Year Experience group as the place they met their first collegiate friends and realized that professors aren’t so scary to talk to after all. However, as the college is under review for accreditation and in light of recent retention problems, the FYE program is now in the process of being revamped. On Nov. 10, Associate Dean for Accreditation Dr. Janet Bland attended an SGA meeting to describe her work on this process and to gather feedback from student representatives.
In her initial statement, Bland specified that as part of the accreditation process schools are required to have a campus-wide improvement project that makes “a drastic and sustained change.” She decided to make that project a remaking of the FYE program.
“Our committee has been meeting for a year and a half now,” she said. “We are now in the phase where we are redesigning what the first year experience is and what first year class could be; both what the staff would like to see and what students would like to see.”
She further emphasized that the new FYE would last from a student’s initial contact with the admissions office to the end of their freshman year.
“We are looking big picture at the entire experience,” said Bland, who is also an associate professor of English. “From first contact all the way to when Mom and Dad take you home in the spring.”
Dr. Bland then opened the discussion for feedback.
Student Body President Taylor Myers expressed a wish for freshman to have more prolonged contact with their orientation leader in order to maintain the first connection to an upperclassman they make.
SGA Treasurer Michael Fahy emphasized that he would like to see more in-major connections in FYE, involving interaction with upperclassmen in one’s field.
Sophmore reps Emily Drabeck and Kaila Czigans both noted that leadership students tend to join clubs and organizations early on as result of participation in the EXCEL program, whereas other students are more hesitant to get involved. This led Dr. Bland and several others in attendance to support the idea of having a second Campus Involvement Fair in the spring to make sure more freshmen can connect with all the campus has to offer.
After the discussion, SGA Secretary Kurt Fire gave his thoughts on the proposed changes.
“I am excited to see the FYE Program being looked at so holistically,” Fire, a senior, said. “Hopefully elements from successful first year programs, like the honors floor and EXCEL, can be integrated into FYE’s at large.”
Sophomore Rep. Jimmy Wharton spoke about an area that could use improvement.
“As far as FYE events go, they tend to place emphasis on a lot of mandatory events at night, which I feel really takes away from actual student involvement with organizations and clubs,” he said. “By the time these events are done it’s so far along in the semester that students miss the opportunity to connect with upperclassmen and join organizations they feel passionately about, which are integral parts of the college experience. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.”
Bland did not specify when changes to the FYE program would be finalized and fully implemented, but the college will be under review for accreditation during the 2015-2016 school year. In the meantime, she hopes to hear more insights from students.
“We absolutely need the students in this process,” she said. “We want to know what actually works for students, not what we imagine your lives to be like.”
