The First Year College fact Sheet
Since 1995, the First Year College at North Carolina State University has been providing a comprehensive educational experience for first-year students who want to explore all that NC State has to offer, choose the right major, and graduate on time. This fact sheet details the continuing success of the First Year College in helping students explore, engage, and excel at NC State.
Student Learning AND EXPERIENCES
Pursuing Involvement AND LEADERSHIP
88
88% of FYC Students participate in at least one club, organization or activity in their first year. 41% of students participate in a community service project, 28% participate in Intramural Sports, 25% are involved in a campus religious organization, and 27% are involved with the Wolfpack Club. Participation in Greek Life for FYC students is at 20%. 9% of FYC Students serve as a leader in a club or organization in their first year.
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
Time Management
65
65% of FYC Students spend more than 21 hours per week on class-related activities. On average, students spent:
- 6.12 hrs/week on Reading for Class [was 5.60 hrs/week in the fall semester]
- 6.92 hrs/week on Reviewing Notes [was 6.49 hrs/week in the fall semester]
- 7.85 hrs/week on Online Class-Activities (e.g., Moodle, Webassign, Maple, Quia, etc.) [was 7.90 hrs/week in the fall semester]
- 6.22 hrs/week on Completing written homework for class [was 6.07 hrs/week in the fall semester]
- 4.51 hrs/week on Participating in Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, or a Study Group [was 3.95 hrs/week in the fall semester]
- 31.61 hrs/week on all of the above, combined [was 30.03 hrs/week in the fall semester]
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
13
Only 13.2% of FYC Students work more than 7 hrs per week. 85% report spending fewer than 6 hours per week watching TV or movies and 47% report spending fewer than 6 hours per week on non-course-related texting, emailing, social media or other internet sites.
[Source: Spring 2010 Student Experiences Survey, 93% Response Rate]
Goal-Setting and -Monitoring
90
More than 90% of FYC Students agreed with the following statements regarding their abilities in setting goals and monitoring progress toward achieving goals:
- Compared to the start of the semester, my understanding of goal-setting has increased as a result of my experiences with my academic advisor. (95% agree, mean rating: 5.07 on a 6 point scale where 1="Completely Disagree" and 6="Completely Agree")
- During this semester my advisor helped me establish educational goals. (97.2% agree, mean rating: 5.34)
- I monitored my educational goals as the semester progressed. (96.2% agree, mean rating: 5.18)
- [83.9% of all students were able to correctly project their actual GPA within 2/3 of a Grade Point (i.e., the difference between a 3.00 and a 3.67)]
- I had all the resources I needed on campus to help me achieve my educational goals. (98.2% agree, mean rating: 5.36)
At least 75% of FYC Students set the following goals:
- GPA Goal (89.6%)
- Finding the right major for me (83.2%)
- Grade-related goals in particular course(s) (80.2%)
- Personal study habits goal(s) (75.2%)
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
Choosing the right courses
90
More than 90% of FYC Students were confident (somewhat or very) in their abilities to perform each of the following course selection tasks:
- Identify courses that help me explore majors, minors, or career (97.4%)
- Identify courses that satisfy the General Education Program (GEP) (95.6%)
- Identify courses that satisfy major-related requirements(97.2%)
- Identify courses in which I have a high likelihood of success (98.8%)
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
Choosing a Major
71
71% of FYC Students stated they were completely decided on a major at the end of their first year. After attending FYC's February Academic Networking event, 74% of students agreed that the event gave them a better understanding of how majors, minors, and programs relate to future career or graduate school options. In April, all first year FYC students wrote a letter of intent expressing their interest in a chosen major and giving support in terms of their unique skills, interests, and values. These letters were scored by instructors using a holistic critical thinking rubric. 78% of students were found to have given "Careful" or "Thorough" support for their major decision.
[Sources: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate
February 2011 Academic Networking Evaluation Survey,
52% Response Rate
May 2011 Letter of Intent Assessment, 186 Letters in Sample]
Declaring a Major
95
95% of FYC Students stated they had a good understanding of NC State’s intra-campus transfer requirements by the end of the first year. 84.6% of the Fall 2010 cohort planned to matriculate into a major by the end of their third semester. By November of their third semester, 59% had matriculated.
[Sources: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate
November 2011 Review of Enrollment Data
]
Campus Resources Use
75
75% of FYC Students used at least one on-campus resource to be successful in the spring semester of their first year.
- 39.3% of students used the Counseling center or Student Health Center services [31.3% in fall]
- 37.1% of students Discussed personal concerns with an RA/RD/RM, Advisor, or other NCSU staff member [37.3% in fall]
- 21% of students used Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions [18% in fall]
- 19.4% of students used walk-in tutorial services in locations other than FYC Commons [18.2% in fall]
- 15% of students used Packstudy tutorial services available in FYC Commons [13.9% in fall]
- 14.8% of students used a personal or weekly assigned tutor obtained through NCSU Tutorial Center [13% in fall]
- 12.8% of students Attended Academic Workshops through the Counseling Center [10.4% in fall]
- 6.6% of students used a Writing and Speaking tutor in locations other than FYC Commons [3.9% in fall]
- 6.4% of students used Writing and Speaking Tutorial Services tutor available in FYC Commons [4.6% in fall]
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
Community Service
60
60% of FYC Students attended community service activities or events in their first year. 40% participated in a one time community service project. 17% participated in ongoing community service events.
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
Engagement with Peers and Faculty
90
90% of FYC Students report having talked with an instructor or TA about information related to a course they were taking (grades, make-up work, assignments, term paper, class project, etc.). 65.7% of students report having discussed their academic program or course selection with a faculty member other than their FYC Advisor.
35.1% of students report having socialized with a faculty member outside of class (had meal, snack, soft-drink, informal discussion, on field trip, etc.). 40.1% of students report having participated with other students in a discussion with one or more faculty members outside of class. 53.3% of students reported having applied material learned in a class to other areas (other courses, work, relationships with friends, family, etc.).
71.1% of students report having engaged with other students in discussions about diversity. 76% of students report having engaged with other students in discussions about spirituality or religion. 84.6% of students report having engaged with other students in discussions about societal issues/current events.
[Source: Spring 2011 Student Experiences Survey, 82% Response Rate]
Appreciating diversity
79
79% of FYC Students were able to give "proficient" or "exemplary" answers to the question:
What are three specific actions you will take to help create and maintain a campus community where diversity is valued and respected?
77% of FYC Students were able to able to demonstrate a ""proficient" or "exemplary" understanding of the University's statement of diversity and the climate it seeks to promote by giving a specific example of an occurence that either affirmed or contradicted a positive climate for diversity at NC State.
[Source: Fall 2010 USC101 Final Exam Respsones assessed using holistic critical thinking rubric, 279 Student Exams in Sample, i.e., 45% of 2010 FYC Cohort ]
Student Success
Student Profile
| Applied | 2,589 |
|---|---|
| Enrolled | 611 |
| Women | 292 (47.8%) |
| Men | 319 (52.2%) |
| Asian | 43 (7%) |
| Black/African American | 39 (6.4%) |
| Hispanic | 30 (4.9%) |
| Multi-Ethnic | 25 (4.1%) |
| Native American | 14 (2.3%) |
| White | 521 (85.3%) |
| HS GPA | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3.34 | 4.01 | 4.22 | 4.42 | 5.00 | |
| Low | 25% | Median | 75% | High | |
| SAT (2-Part) | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| 900 | 1110 | 1180 | 1247 | 1540 | |
| Low | 25% | Median | 75% | High |
[Source: Fall 2011 Admissions and Enrollment Data]
Retention Rates
89
89.8% of the 2010 FYC Cohort were retained to the 2nd year. 87% of the 2009 FYC Cohort were retained to the 2nd year. 86% of the 2008 cohort were retained to the 3rd year. 77% of the 2007 cohort were retained to the 4th year.
[Sources: Fall 2011 Enrollment Data, November 2011
Data provided by UPA for 15 Year Report Analysis, Summer 2011]
GPAs
The 2009 cohort of FYC students finished their first year with an average GPA of 2.98. The following chart breaks out the cohort's GPAs by college-matriculated-into and compares the GPAs of non-FYC students in those colleges.
| After One Academic Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort | College of Study | Total FYC Transfers | FYC Cohort GPA | Non-FYC GPA |
| 2009 | Ag. and Life Sciences | 56 | 3.33 | 3.04 |
| 2009 | Design | 6 | 3.38 | 3.48 |
| 2009 | Education | 9 | 2.92 | 3.14 |
| 2009 | Engineering | 19 | 3.42 | 3.05 |
| 2009 | Natural Resources | 28 | 3.15 | 2.91 |
| 2009 | Humanities and Social Sciences | 92 | 3.31 | 3.10 |
| 2009 | Physical and Math. Sciences | 3 | 3.57 | 3.08 |
| 2009 | Textiles | 13 | 3.20 | 3.05 |
| 2009 | Management | 75 | 3.40 | 3.15 |
| 2009 | FYC (Not in major after 1st Year) |
390 | 2.72 | N/A |
[Source: Records Data Extracted by UPA, February 2011]
Graduation Rates
72
72% of the 2004 FYC Cohort graduated in 6 years (compared to only 68% of their non-FYC, matched peers). 66% of the 2005 FYC Cohort graduated in 5 years (compared to only 65% of their non-FYC, matched peers). 40% of the 2006 FYC Cohort graduated in 4 years (compared to only 37% of their non-FYC, matched peers).
[Source: Data provided by UPA for 15 Year Report Analysis, Summer 2011]
Impact of FYC Village
Impact of Village on GPAs, Retention, and Graduation still being analyzed by UPA.
[Source: Data still being analyzed by UPA, expected January 2012]
Impact of Linked Courses
92
92%
of the 2004 FYC Cohort who participated in an FYC Village linked course were retained to the second year. Among non-linked students in that same cohort, only 87% were retained.
Linked students in the 2004Cohort consistently maintained higher cumulative GPAs and posted a significantly higher six year graduation rate than did the non-linked students in that same cohort (74% of Linked, FYC students graduated in six years compared to only 63% of non-linked, FYC students).
[Source: 15 Year Report Analysis, June 2011]
Student Satisfaction
Why Students Choose FYC
94
94% of FYC students chose to enroll in FYC for at least one reason related to the five FYC program goals.
- I was looking for the best way to get connected to the entire university and have the best experience at NC State. (40%)
- I wanted help choosing the right major and exploring possible careers so I wouldn't have to switch majors later. (83.7%)
- I wanted to learn more about my personal interests, skills, and values. (49%)
- I wanted to get accurate information on NC State's majors and possible careers before choosing a major. (57.8%)
- I wanted to learn more about NC State's diverse and multicultural community. (8.8%)
Additionally, 22.6% of incoming FYC students heard from a friend or family member that First Year College's advising and coursework would provide the best opportunity to be successful at NC State.
[Source: FYC Pre-orientation survey, Summer 2011, 91% Response Rate]
Academic Advising
98
98% of FYC students reported that the Academic Advising they received met their needs (The national norm was 85%). 46% of FYC students said the FYC Academic Advising system met their needs "Exceptionally Well" (The national norm was 22%).
Students were asked about specific advising needs and reported, for each, whether these items were discussed with their academic advisor and, if so, how satisfied they were with those discussions. Note that FYC students are far more satisfied than the national norms (scale of 1 to 5, "Very Dissatisfied" to "Very Satisfied").
| Advising Need/Topic | FYC % Discussed | FYC Avg. Rating | National % Discussed | Nat'l Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduling/registration procedures |
94.8 |
4.55 |
63.3 |
4.15 |
| Dropping/adding courses |
88.8 | 4.52 | 45.5 | 4.19 |
| Selecting/changing my major area of study | 88.6 | 4.51 | 32.4 | 4.19 |
| Identifying career areas that fit my current skills, abilities, and interests | 87.5 | 4.48 | 31.1 | 4.27 |
| My academic progress |
94.2 | 4.46 | 51.5 | 4.15 |
Impressions of Academic Advisor. Students discussed their impressions of their academic advisor, noting their level of agreement with each advisor trait (scale of 1 to 5, "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree").
| "My Advisor..." | FYC Avg. Rating | Nat'l Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Seems to enjoy advising |
4.81 | 3.94 |
| Is approachable and easy to talk with |
4.78 | 4.07 |
| Is on time for appointments with me | 4.75 | 3.99 |
| Is a helpful, effective advisor whom I would recommend to other students | 4.73 | 3.95 |
| Keeps personal information confidential |
4.73 | 4.10 |
| Knows who I am |
4.72 | 3.73 |
| Respects my right to make my own decisions | 4.71 | 4.12 |
| Has a sense of humor | 4.65 | 4.01 |
| Provides me with accurate information about requirements, prerequisites, etc. | 4.64 | 4.01 |
| Encourages my involvement in extra-curricular activities | 4.48 | 3.46 |
| Encourages my interest in an academic discipline | 4.53 | 3.68 |
| Encourages me to talk about myself and my college experiences | 4.43 | 3.50 |
[Source: ACT National Survey of Academic Advising, Spring 2011,
91% FYC Response Rate]
This page last updated by mmrust- December 19, 2011 2:45 PM