Policy Center on the First Year of College - The First-Year Curricular Experience

Home

About the Center

Center Founding and Mission

Center Staff

Advisors to the Policy Center

Funders

Internship/Research
Opportunities

Policy Center Initiatives

Foundations of Excellence

2002 Institutions of Excellence Award

Data Audit and Analysis Toolkit

National First-Year Survey Findings

Your First College Year Survey

First-Year Initiative Benchmarking Survey

Publications

Click here to view publications

The First-Year Co-Curricular Experience

This is one of two parts of the National Survey of First-Year Practices. A random sample of colleges and universities was selected for this national research effort as part of a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts. This Webpage closely resembles the actual survey form used. Only data from invited institutions will be used in the national study.

Policy Center on the First Year of College
National Survey of First-Year Practices
funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts

Name:*

Title:*

Institution:*

Phone:*

E-mail:*

* This information is for internal use only in the event that we need to contact you about any of your responses.

The First-Year Co-Curricular Experience
(For more information about the entire survey project, see "About This Survey" at the end of the instrument.)

1. At your institution, is there a single individual or unit with primary administrative and/or coordinating responsibility for first-year co-curricular programs?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know
	If yes, please provide the title of the individual or unit.

B. Admissions

2. What is the administrative reporting line for the admissions/enrollment management function(s)?

	Directly to the campus CEO (president or chancellor)
	To the vice president for academic affairs or dean of the college
	To the vice president for student affairs or dean of students
	Other

3. Are admissions and financial aid functions linked administratively?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know

4. At your institution, do admissions counselors generally have continued contact with first-year students after the beginning of the term?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know

5. What is your best estimate of the percentage of first-year students who meet one-on-one with a faculty member during the recruitment and admissions process (prior to matriculation)?

	0 to 10%
	11% to 50%
	Over 50%
	Don't Know

C. Orientation

6. Does your institution conduct pre-term orientation for new students?

	Yes
	No
	Don't know
	*(If no, skip to Section D. click here)*

7. What is the administrative reporting line for new student orientation?

	Directly to the campus CEO (president or chancellor)
	To the vice president for academic affairs or dean of the college
	To the vice president for student affairs or dean of students
	Other

8. Does orientation for full-time, first-time students comprise (Select the best answer.)

	Half day or less?
	More than half day to full day?
	1 ½ to 2 days?
	More than two days?
	Other?

9. When is orientation scheduled for first-year students entering in the fall? (Please check all that apply.)

	During the spring before entry
	During the summer before entry
	Immediately prior to the first day of class
	Other

10. Is some form of orientation required for all new degree-seeking first-year students?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know

11. Does your institution offer special orientation sessions for family members (e.g., parents, children, siblings, and partners)?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know

12. Does your institution offer special orientation sessions for any of the following student subpopulations? (Please check all that apply.)

	Transfer students
	Minority students
	First-generation students
	Developmental or provisional students
	Adult students
	Athletes
	Honors students
	International students
	Other (Please identify)
	No special orientation sessions

13. Apart from placement testing and formal academic advising, does orientation include academic activities such as the following? (Please check all that apply.)

	Small-group or one-to-one student/faculty interaction about academic programs/expectations
	Structured groups to discuss common readings (books, articles, etc.)
	Academic convocations
	Lectures
	Cultural events
	No special academic activities
	Other (Please describe.

14. Do new students at your institution pay a separate fee to participate in orientation?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know

15. Is your orientation program regularly evaluated, and if so, by whom? (Please check all that apply.)

	Don't know/not applicable
	No, the program is not regularly evaluated
	Yes, by staff or administration
	Yes, by students
	Yes, by others (please identify below.)

16. In your opinion, what is the overall level of student satisfaction with orientation activities?

	Students are generally pleased with orientation
	Students have mixed reactions to orientation
	Students have largely negative reactions to orientation
	Don't know

17. Please select the following statements that describe faculty involvement in orientation at your institution. (Check all that apply.)

	Faculty have scheduled opportunities to meet students face-to-face
	Faculty have scheduled opportunities to meet face-to-face with family members (e.g., parents, children, siblings, partners).
	Faculty offer presentations or lectures to students
	Faculty meet with small orientation groups
	Faculty attend social events with students and/or parents
	Faculty participate with students in planned service projects
	Other
	No faculty involvement in orientation
	Don't know

D. Student Activities and Athletics

18. Does your campus offer opportunities for first-year students to participate in activities designed for them as a unique population? (Please check all that apply.)

	First-year leadership programs
	Freshman council or other form of student government
	Other "freshman-only" options (Please describe in the text box below.)
	No special "freshman-only" activities
	Don’t know

19. What percentage of your first-year students participates in an intercollegiate sport?

	None
	Less than 10%
	10 to 24%
	25 to 49%
	50% or more
	Don't know/not applicable

20. Does your campus require first-year student athletes to participate in an academic support program?

	Yes
	No
	Don't know/not applicable

21. How does first- to second-year retention for varsity student athletes at your institution compare with other students?

	Better
	Worse
	No difference
	Don’t know/not applicable

E. Comprehensive Questions

22. Does your campus offer any first-year course, program, activity, or structure—either curricular or co-curricular—that you believe to be exemplary, a "benchmark" program of its kind? If so, please describe.

23. What, in your opinion, is the most significant problem or difficulty at your institution that affects first-year students?

24. In comparison to peer institutions, how would you rate your institution's ongoing practice of assessing first-year outcomes?

	Superior
	Above average
	Average
	Below average
	Poor
	Don't know

25. Please check the statement(s) that apply to your institution.
(Please check all that apply.)

	Some first-year students live in residence halls on campus.	Please complete Section F, "Residence Life."
	Some first-year students at this institution join Greek social organizations.	Please complete Section G, "Greek Life."
	This campus does not house first-year students nor allow any of them to join Greek social organizations.	Please scroll to the end of the survey and submit the survey form.

F. Residence Life
(Please respond to this section only if your institution has residence halls.)

26. What is the administrative reporting line for residence life?

	Student Affairs
	Business Affairs
	Other (Please identify.)

27. Are traditional age (17 - 20 year old), unmarried, first-year students required to live on campus?

	Yes
	No
	Don't know

28. What percentage of first-year students lives in campus residence halls?

	None
	1% to 49%
	50% to 74%
	75% to 100%
	Don't know

29. Where do residential first-year students live? (Please check all that apply.)

	All first-year students must live either in first-year residence halls only or on first-year floors or wings of residence halls.
	First-year students may select either first-year halls or halls including upper-class student residents.
	All residence halls house both first-year and upper-class students.
	Some first-year students live in Greek housing.

30. If your campus has first-year residence halls, how do those halls compare to residential accommodations for upper-level students with respect to facilities, support services, furnishings, and overall condition?

	No difference
	First-year halls are more desirable.
	First-year halls are less desirable.
	No special first-year halls
	Don't know/not applicable

31. Does your campus link residence life to academic programs/structures by means of any of the following? (Please check only those structures/activities that involve first-year students.)

	Learning communities (Two or more courses in which a single cohort of students is enrolled)
	First-year seminars
	Honors programs
	Housing segregated by academic major
	Foreign language/international housing
	Tutoring/academic advising available in residence halls
	Other (Please describe.)

32. Describe the level of faculty involvement in residence halls that house first-year students. (Please check all that apply.)

	No faculty involvement in residence life
	Faculty provide special presentations in residence halls
	Some faculty offices located in residence halls
	Some first-year classes taught in residence halls
	Faculty member(s) with defined educational responsibilities for resident students live(s) in one or more residence halls.
	Other (Please describe)

33. What is the ratio of resident assistants (RAs) to undergraduate residential students?

	One RA to no more than 15 students
	One RA to 16 – 30 students
	One RA to 31 – 50 students
	One RA to more than 50 students
	Don’t know/not applicable

34. What is the ratio of resident assistants to first-year students?

	One RA to no more than 15 students
	One RA to 16 – 30 students
	One RA to 31 – 50 students
	One RA to more than 50 students
	Don’t know/not applicable

35. Does your campus offer first-year students the option to live in "substance-free" halls?

	Yes
	No
	Don't know/not applicable

36. Check if your campus has assessed any of the following residential life outcomes. (Please check all that apply.)

	Student satisfaction
	Residential vs. non-residential retention rates
	Residential vs. non-residential academic performance
	Residential vs. non-residential social/personal development
	Residential vs. non-residential student involvement
	Other assessment studies
	No/don't know

G. Greek Life
(Please respond only if first-year students are permitted
to join Greek social fraternities or sororities on your campus.)

37. What percentage of first-year students on your campus joins Greek-letter fraternities or sororities?

	Less than 10%
	11 to 25%
	26 to 50%
	Over 50%
	Don't know

38. When is the earliest time that rush is scheduled for new members of Greek organizations?

	Before students' first-term classes begin
	During the students' first term
	During the students' second term
	Don't know

39. Does your institution conduct formal research investigating the impact of Greek membership on the following first-year outcomes? (Check all that apply.)

	Retention/graduation
	Grade point average
	Other outcomes
	Don't know

40. Within the past two years have there been any instances of hazing on your campus involving first-year students in Greek organizations?

	Yes
	No
	Don't know/not applicable

41. Over the past five years, has membership (headcount) in Greek organizations increased or decreased at your institution?

For males:

	Increased
	Decreased
	Remained stable
	Don’t know

For females:

	Increased
	Decreased
	Remained stable
	Don’t know

Don't Forget to Submit this Form (click only once)

About This Survey.
This survey is one part of a larger national survey initiative designed to investigate the first college year in American higher education. A separate section of the survey investigates curricular programs, policies, and practices and is currently being forwarded to academic administrators for completion. (To view the companion survey on curricular programs, visit the Policy Center Web site: http://www.brevard.edu/fyc/current_surveys.htm.) This research project is funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and is being administered by Betsy O. Barefoot, Randy L. Swing, and John N. Gardner at The Policy Center on the First Year of College, Brevard College, Brevard, NC. Survey results will be reported in aggregate and will not identify any individual respondent or any institution by name or city/state. Results will be reported by institutional type, size, and by accrediting region. A report of findings will be available on the Policy Center Web site by December 15, 2000. For more information about this survey or other activities of the Policy Center, please contact Betsy Barefoot (barefoot@brevard.edu).

To clear your answers and start over:

Thank you for completing the survey
and contributing to this important research!