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First Year Experience

Timeline

1977 - Present

  • 1977: Personal Awareness (PEAW 1100), entitled Human Potential, was a course created for campus survival.
  • 1986: University College, the first “academic home” to all entering students, was formed. The college integrated Academic Advising, Counseling, Career Planning and Placement Services, Testing and Student Life Research, and later, Cooperative Education.
  • 1991: UALR Undergraduate Council approves the request to add an additional credit hour to the course and a title change: PEAW 1200 – The First-Year Experience. Also, PEAW 1124 approved as a leadership course for first-year students in the Chancellor’s Leadership Class (CLC).
  • 1992: PEAW 1200, The First-Year Experience, and PEAW 1124, Chancellor’s Leadership Corp, is offered.
  • 1997: Arkansas Department of Higher Education awarded UALR a $25,000 competitive promotional grant to provide for professional development activities and support of First-Year initiatives. Training was provided for faculty, staff, and administrators by Dr. Joyce Weinshemer, Dr. John Gardner, and Dr. David Ellis, all of whom were well-known educators who had designed and implemented many such courses.
  • 1997: PEAW 1300 Curriculum Committee reviews and establishes course learning objectives.
  • 1998: A research grant from the Policy Center for the First Year of College, supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the PEW Charitable Trusts, was awarded for $4,000.
  • 1998: One section of PEAW was included in the second year of UALR’s Learning Community initiative UALR’s First Year Experience course was recognized by the prestigious Templeton Foundation and included in The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character.
  • 1998: Arkansas Department of Higher Education increased UALR’s award to $59,000 in support of professional development activities for First-Year initiatives.
  • 1998: UALR Undergraduate Council approves one additional college credit hour to include a service learning component, and a grading system of A, B, C, or NC (no credit) for the First-Year Experience Course.
  • 1998: A Faculty Assessment Coordinator is contracted with to establish assessment protocols. Assessment protocols include the administration of the Freshman Demographic Survey (FDS), Freshman Attitude Survey (FAS), evaluation of the service-learning experience, and evaluation of a course portfolio.
  • 2001 - Present: UALR began its participation in the First Year Initiative (FYI) survey pilot benchmarking study along with other colleges and universities nationwide.
  • 2002 - Present: A research grant from the Policy Center for the First Year of College, supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the PEW Charitable Trusts, was awarded for $4,000. A section of PEAW 1124 was designated for the Engineering and Information Technology East/Scholars.
  • 2005: The First-Year Experience Course received a UALR Assessment Excellence Award.
Updated 1.23.2009