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Abstract
We examine the effects of a first-year seminar course on student academic outcomes in a college of agriculture and life sciences. Seven cohorts of students who had completed the seminar were compared to their peers who had not completed the seminar on several academic variables. Results indicate that students who completed the seminar had higher first-term grade point averages (F = 3.23, p = .037), shorter time to degree (F = 3.713, p = .027), higher retention in the college (X^sup 2^ = 5.856, p = .016), and were put on academic probation less often than their peers who had not completed the seminar (X^sup 2^ = 5.028, p = .025). Implications for teaching are discussed.
Keywords: first-year seminar, retention, time to graduation
Introduction
First-year seminars are widely believed to have positive effects on student success and are becoming common offerings in college and university curricula (Keup and Barefoot, 2005; Porter and Swing, 2006; Schnell et al., 2003). Educators have developed many types of first-year seminar courses to address a variety of student needs (Swing, 2002). First-year seminar courses may be particularly valuable to colleges of agriculture where, in recent years, enrollments have grown substantially as instructional resources have declined (Biemiller, 2012).
For example, in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, undergraduate enrollment rose 30% from 2009 to 2012 (Registrar's Enrollment Report, Fall 2012-2013) while instructional resources declined by more than 5% (Data Digest 2012-2013). Biemiller (2012) notes enrollment in Penn State's college of agriculture grew 48% since 2006 and its budget was cut by more than 18%. Biemiller (2012) indicates many other institutions are experiencing similar circumstances. Colleges of agriculture need new strategies for addressing student academic and career success as they have fewer resources to help greater numbers of students make a successful transition to university life.
Agricultural colleges are also adjusting to a new student population. The large growth in enrollment includes many students who have little direct experience in agriculture (Biemiller, 2012). Students who do not have agricultural backgrounds are interested in issues such as sustainability, local foods, bioenergy and health; they are drawn to majors such as: environmental science, food science, human nutrition, biological systems engineering, agricultural business and communications (Biemiller, 2012;...