IMPACT

The current work of the Institute is based on the solid foundation of a decade long record of impact on American higher education. 

• Creation of Foundational Dimensions^®, Aspirational Standards of Excellence
  • Two sets of standards: originally developed for the first college year and adapted for the transfer student experience
  • Designed to be used for both institutional aspiration and measurement
  • Available in public domain to encourage widespread use    

• Created Foundations of Excellence^® in the First College Year, A Voluntary Improvement Planning Process
  • Designed to improve student learning and retention 
  • Used by over 160 two and four-year institutions as an action-planning process to reengineer the beginning college experience 
  • Improved the learning environments for approximately 1.3 million students at participating institutions 
  • Involved over 8,000 faculty and staff in campuswide assessment and planning processes 
  • Resulted in a number of positive outcomes reported by participating institutions  
  • Independent Research Links Foundations of Excellence Process to Significant Gains in Retention as Tracked Through IPEDS

• Adapted the Foundations of Excellence Self Study for the Transfer Student Experience
  • Provides a much needed structure for improving the educational experience of an historically neglected student population.   

• Integration of Foundations of Excellence with Reaccreditation
  • Formal agreement with the Higher Learning Commission whereby any of 1000 HLC institutions can use the Foundations of Excellence self-study process as part of official reaffirmation of accreditation 
  • Option to integrate Foundations of Excellence into Southern Association of Colleges and Schools “QEP,” Quality Enhancement Plan process 
  • Option for institutions accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to connect FoE self study to the official reaffirmation process   

• Promoted a Major Focus on Institutional Excellence in the First Year by Sponsoring a 2002 National Study and Awards Process, “Institutions of Excellence in the First College Year”
  • 130 institutions nominated 
  • 13 selected for the award 
  • Case studies presented in 2005 Jossey-Bass book, “Achieving and Sustaining Excellence for the First-College Year”   

• Conducted National Surveys on the First Year and Disseminated Results
  • In 2000 conducted Survey of First-Year Curricular Practices
  • In 2000 conducted Survey of First-Year Co-curricular Practices
  • In 2002 conducted the National Survey of First-Year Academic Practices    

• Collaborated with Other Researchers to Create New Instruments for Assessment of the First Year
  • Worked with UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute to develop the end-of-first- year survey instrument, “Your First College Year” (YFCY) 
  • Worked with Educational Benchmarking, Inc. in developing the “First-Year Initiative” (FYI) instrument, the only nationally normed benchmarking tool that enables comparison of student perceptions of learning in first-year seminars   

• Sponsored/supported Statewide Consortia to use “Guidelines for Evaluating the First College Year” in the Following States:
  • Alabama- consortium for community colleges 
  • Georgia- consortia for both private colleges and member institutions of the University System of Georgia 
  • Mississippi- consortium for public and private four-year institutions 
  • North Carolina- consortium for private colleges 
  • Virginia- consortium for public two and four-year institutions