In the third episode of our special series on first-year seminars, Lauren Feeley shares recent research on how first year seminars can specifically impact first-generation college students.

View a transcript of this episode.

Show Credits

Episode Host

Lauren Feeley is Program Assistant for Student Involvement at Elon University and enrolled in in Elon’s Master of Arts in Higher Education (MHE) program.

Production and Art Credits

Nolan Schultheis edited the episode and created the show art.

Music (“Bali”) by AudioCoffee: www.audiocoffee.net.

The series is produced by Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning.

Scholarship Referenced in this Episode

Bordelon, Deborah E., Colleen M. Sexton, and Ann M. Vendrely. 2019. “Designing for Students: Creating a Robust Interdisciplinary First-Year Course.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 19 (1). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v19i1.26781.

Jaijairam, Prema. 2016. “First-Year Seminar (FYS)—The Advantages That This Course Offers.” Journal of Education and Learning 5 (2): 15–23. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v5n2p15.

McBride, Eileen, Amy Vashlishan Murray, and Michael Duggan. 2021. “Academic Self-Efficacy, Student Performance, and Well-Being in a First-Year Seminar.” Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition 33 (1): 99–119.

Olson, Joann S. 2017. “Helping First-Year Students Get Grit: The Impact of Intentional Assignments on the Development of Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance.” Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition 29 (1): 99–118.

Permzadian, Vahe, and Marcus Credé. 2016. “Do First-Year Seminars Improve College Grades and Retention? A Quantitative Review of Their Overall Effectiveness and an Examination of Moderators of Effectiveness.” Review of Educational Research 86 (1): 277–316. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315584955.

Whitley, Sara E., Grace Benson, and Alexis Wesaw. 2018. “First-Generation Student Success: A Landscape Analysis of Programs and Services at Four-Year Institutions”. Washington, DC: Center for First-Generation Student Success, NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and Entangled Solutions. Retrieved from https://www.luminafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/first-gen-student-success.pdf. 

Yan, Zi, and Patricia. Sendall. 2016. “First Year Experience: How We Can Better Assist First-Year International Students in Higher Education.” Journal of International Students 6 (1): 35–51. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v6i1.395.