A dozen CIC institutions have formed a consortium to work closely with the Policy Center on the First Year of College to develop “Foundations of Excellence” that can assist colleges and universities in evaluating and improving the first year of college. Representatives of these institutions convened in Asheville (NC) on October 22-23 to share the results of their efforts to assess the effectiveness of first-year programs on their campuses. These assessment efforts were based on standards—Foundations of Excellence established specifically for independent colleges and universities—and included campus task forces, a new analysis of the National Survey of Student Engagement, and faculty surveys. Each of the institutions has developed improvement plans that they are now beginning to implement.

Here are the Foundations of Excellence:

• Approach the first year in ways that are intentional and based on a philosophy/rationale of the first year that informs relevant institutional policies and practices.
• Create organizational structures and policies that provide a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to the first year.
• Begin a process by which students gain an understanding of what it means to be an educated person according to institutional mission and values.
• Facilitate appropriate recruitment, admissions, and student transitions through policies and practices that are intentional and aligned with institutional mission.
• Elevate the first college year to a high priority for the faculty.
• Serve all first-year students according to their varied needs.
• Build commitment of first-year students to the institution through a clear articulation of its identity and ethos.
• Engage students, both in and out of the classroom, in order to develop attitudes, behaviors, and skills consistent with the desired outcomes of higher education and the institution’s philosophy and mission.
• Ensure that all first-year students experience diverse ideas, worldviews, and peoples as a means of enhancing their learning and preparing them to become members of pluralistic communities.
• Involve all students in an exploration of life purpose through instructional content and reflections on life experiences.
• Conduct assessments and maintain associations with other institutions and relevant professional organizations in order to achieve ongoing first-year improvement.
  Participating institutions include Augsburg College (MN), Aurora University (IL), Columbia College (SC), Endicott College (MA), Franklin Pierce College (NH), Indiana Wesleyan University, Madonna University (MI), Maryville College (TN), Marywood University (PA), Nazareth College of Rochester (NY), St. Edward’s University (TX), and University of Charleston (WV).

   More information about the Foundations of Excellence project can be found on the website of the Policy Center on the First Year of College at
www.brevard.edu/fyfoundations/affiliates/cic/index.htm.