Orientation

We continue to implement ways to help support students both in and out of the classroom to be successful and improve retention.

Over the past year, the Office of First and Second Year Experience in collaboration with the First and Second Year Advisory Team, Office of Career and Professional Development, and the Office of Global Engagement redesigned course content for CORE 2000 to move the course to a co-requisite model for Core courses to better focus on elements of Inform, Discern, & Affirm, reflections on academic mindset, challenges to perseverance, and highlight the importance of transitions through college (rather than just into college—i.e., meaningful choices in majors, minors, co-curricular engagements,

The overarching focus for The Eagle Experience is to provide an experience that creates a successful transition for incoming students and tightly integrates key university Divisions working collaboratively and connecting the social, academic, and support elements of the student experience.

The goal is implement messaging, events and workshops to get students thinking about their career from the moment they begin at GHC, and for them to start building towards that career goal through the courses they choose and personal and professional development

Redesign content and format to improve transition experience for students and increase student success and retention

Cougar Scholars:

• Targets commuter students in the murky middle
• ENGL 1101 supported by wrap around services
• Adding in FYE course + Mindset for SU/FA23

Cougar Launch

• Targets residential students in the murky middle
• Early Move In
• Wrap around academic services and social belonging activities
• Mindset Workshop New for Fall 23

Redesign the third stage of the orientation process: Coastal Discovery Workshop (CDW). Inspired by the Momentum Summit V presentation on Mindset activities in FYE from Nashville State Community College, the College of Coastal Georgia will completely redesign the CDW to incorporate elements of the “You’ve Got This!” OER created by NSCC.

Redesign was completed in April 2023 and You’ve Got This launched in May 2023. This course was briefly introduced at each Summer Orientation for new first year students.

The College will create a roadmap to guide students on all the steps they need to take and the information they need to learn after they are admitted to the College, to ensure a successful start of their college career at Coastal.

The Learning Communities (LCs) activity provides first-year learning communities where two or more courses are linked thematically with collaborative instruction. The primary approach of the Learning Communities is to organize and leverage student success activities and campus resources while supporting and aligning to the mission of University College and our strategic plan, The Standard. Courses within a first-year learning community will develop co-curricular activities and focus on core areas as well as areas of academic performance, retention, student mindset, and degree progression.

Academic Support decided to re-envision the AIM (Academic Intervention Management) program, implemented in 2012, to work with first-year students on academic probation after their first semester. The AIM program is considered reactive and doesn’t provide the “just in time” support many of our students need. A pilot of the FLEX program was run during the fall 2022 and the fall 2023 semesters alongside the AIM program.