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Rensselaer’s First-Year Experience Program Recognized Among the Best in the Country
Starting classes, meeting peers, and exploring a new
geographical area all at once can seem intimidating for many
new college students. But it doesn’t have to be that way — at
least that’s what staffers in Rensselaer’s Office of the
First-Year Experience (FYE) believe. For their annual series of
welcoming events, team-building adventures, and festivities —
called Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond (NRB) — FYE has been
awarded the 2006 NASPA Excellence Gold Award.
The distinction recognizes the first-year experience at
Rensselaer as “among the best in the country,” according to the
National Association of Student Personnel Administration
(NASPA). With more than 11,000 members at 1,200 campuses, and
representing 29 countries, NASPA is the largest professional
association for student affairs administrators, faculty, and
graduate students.
FYE received the award in the category of “Enrollment
Management, Orientation, Parents, First-Year, Other-Year and
related.” The criteria for judging included: positive impact on
student learning, transitions, retention and/or success;
demonstration of success in addressing student needs and/or
critical campus issues; collaboration with academic affairs;
originality and creativity; and effective use of technology,
among others.
“The first-year experience for new students at Rensselaer
begins prior to the students’ arrival on campus and continues
throughout the first year,” said Lisa Trahan, FYE dean and
interim director of residence life. “It introduces students to
the campus, its resources, and beyond — creating the
springboard to help them to excel and succeed.
“Cross-campus collaborations make this a reality, and NASPA
has recognized the value in our teamwork,” Trahan continued.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by NASPA with this
prestigious award that acknowledges us as a national leader in
first-year experience and orientation programming.”
Programs include the Tuesday Night Toolbox student success
series, residence hall programming, and various academic
student support initiatives offered by Rensselaer faculty,
staff, and upperclass students.
“I still hang out with people that I met from my Student
Orientation session, and prior to the start of classes, I
decided to attend the NRB Overnight trip to the Darrin Fresh
Water Institute, because I wanted to try and meet more people,”
said Bianca Zongrone, a member of the Class of 2010 from Utica,
N.Y., who is majoring in mathematics. “We got to cook our own
meals and really get to know one another, more so than if we
were just taking a course together. Some of us are thinking of
having a reunion in the summer to get back together and just
have fun. It was a nice introduction to living away from home
and a great connection between the comfort of home and the
unknowns of college life.”
Now entering its seventh season of programming, the concept
of a “first-year experience” was a top priority in The
Rensselaer Plan. With an ultimate goal of achieving
student success, FYE also aims to have students build healthy
and meaningful bonds with each other that will last not only
through their time at Rensselaer, but also into the alumni
years. Beginning during the admissions process, concepts of
teamwork, leadership, cultural exploration, community service,
and citizenship are instilled throughout the first year as
students learn about each other, the campus, and the
surrounding Capital Region community.
Additional Rensselaer groups involved in the programs
include: Residence Life, the Rensselaer Union, Enrollment
Management, Alumni Relations, the Division of the Chief
Information Officer (campus computing services), the Advising
and Learning Assistance Center, the First Year Studies program,
numerous academic departments, among others.
To learn more about the 2006 “Navigating Rensselaer and
Beyond” program, go to: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=1695.
Navigating
Rensselaer and Beyond Video
Read the
press release.
Published
February 19,
2007
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