Why the First-Year Seminar Matters: Helping Students Choose and Stay on a Career Path provides an overview of the Guided Pathways movement and the critical role that the first-year seminar can play in setting the stage for student success. After reviewing the extensive history and research on first-year seminars, Harrington and Orosz suggest that the time is right for colleges and universities to re-imagine the first-year seminar course within the Guided Pathways framework. More specifically, by increasing the focus on career exploration and decision-making and addressing key success skills students need, the first-year seminar can serve as an essential foundational element of Guided Pathways. Readers will find the practical suggestions on how to engage in backward course redesign and the making the case data helpful as they aim to address equity gaps and require this course of all incoming first-year students.

Christine Harrington is a national expert in student success and teaching and learning. She has been teaching the first-year seminar for almost 20 years at Middlesex County College and is the author of a widely-used first-year seminar textbook,Student Success in College: Doing What Works! 3rd editionwhich is aligned to Guided Pathways.Theresa Orosz has 26 years of experience in higher education at Middlesex County College and possesses expertise in the areas of career services, academic advising, and academic and student affairs. She has 10 years of adjunct experience teaching cooperative education courses and the first-year seminar.

ForewordMelinda Karp, Founder, Phase Two AdvisoryPart I: Making the Case: FYE as an Essential Part of Guided PathwaysChapter 1: Guided Pathways: Helping Students Choose and Stay on a PathThe Guided Pathways Movement: Why It MattersDefining Guided PathwaysChapter 2: History and Value of the First-Year Seminar CourseThe First-Year Seminar Course: Past, Present, and FutureData and Evidence for the First-Year Seminar CourseChapter 3: Helping Students Choose a Career Path: The Role of the First-Year Seminar CourseThe Career Exploration and Decision-Making ProcessBenefits of Career Exploration via the First-Year Seminar CourseChapter 4: Helping Students Stay on the Path: The Role of the First-Year Seminar CourseBuilding Self-Efficacy by Utilizing Effective Learning and Study StrategiesBuilding Grit and ResiliencePart II: Practical Guide to Re-Imagining the First-Year Seminar Course within the Guided Pathways FrameworkChapter 5: Re-Imagining and Strengthening the First-Year Seminar Course: The Course Re-Design ProcessAn Introduction to Backwards DesignEstablishing a Course Design TeamLearning Outcomes for the First-Year SeminarCourse ContentAssessing First-Year Seminar Learning OutcomesEnsuring Learning: Teaching MethodsSequencing: The Course OutlineThe SyllabusChapter 6: Being Your Campus Champion: A 3-credit Mandatory First-Year Seminar Course for All StudentsWhy Everyone? An Equity IssueChampioning the Course to ColleaguesIdentifying and Training FacultyCreating Campus ExcitementAppendix A: Making the Case InfographicAppendix B: Sample SyllabusAbout the Authors