Betsy O. Barefoot & John N. Gardner 
Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for the First Year of College 

In 2002, the Policy Center on the First Year of College (supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and Lumina Foundation for Education) sponsored a project to recognize colleges and universities as ‘Institutions of Excellence’ in their design and execution of the first year. Thirteen colleges and universities–representing a broad spectrum of campus types–were selected as exceptional institutions that place a high priority on the first-year experience. Achieving and Sustaining Excellence in the First Year of College includes case studies of each of the thirteen exemplary institutions. These studies illustrate and analyze the colleges’ best practices in teaching, assessing, and retaining first-year college students. The individual case studies offer lessons learned and have broad potential application beyond the particular type of institution represented.

Table of Content

Foreword xiii

Preface xxi

Acknowledgments xxv

About the Authors xxvii

1 On Being Named an Institution of Excellence in the First College Year: The Process and the Places 1

2 Research Methods 19

Part One: Case Studies of Two-Year Institutions 33

3 The Community College of Denver: A Second Family for the First-Year Student 35
Marc Cutright, Randy L. Swing

4 La Guardia Community College: A Window on the World 59
Betsy O. Barefoot, Michael J. Siegel

Part Two: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with Fewer Than 2, 000 Students 85

5 The First Year at Eckerd College: Responsible Innovation 87
Stephen W. Schwartz, Michael J. Siegel

6 Kalamazoo College: No Stone Left Unturned 113
Stephen W. Schwartz, Randy L. Swing

Part Three: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with 2, 000 to 5, 000 Students 143

7 Drury University: Balancing Intellectual Rigor with Intrusive Personal Support in the First Year 145
Charles C. Schroeder, Randy L. Swing

8 Elon University: Transforming Education Through a Community of Inquiry and Engagement 166
Libby V. Morris, Randy L. Swing

9 West Point and the Plebe-Year Experience: The Long Gray Line 191
Michael J. Siegel, John N. Gardner

Part Four: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with 5, 000 to 10, 000 Students 217

10 Lehman College of the City University of New York: Excellence in the Bronx 219
John N. Gardner, Betsy O. Barefoot

11 The First Year at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi: Starting with a Clean Slate 243
Michael J. Siegel, Marc Cutright

Part Five: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with 10, 000 to 20, 000 Students 271

12 Appalachian State University: High Standards for the First Year in North Carolina’s High Country 273
John N. Gardner, Betsy O. Barefoot

13 The Story of Ball State University: ‘Everything Students Need’ 299
Randy L. Swing, Marc Cutright

Part Six: Case Studies of Four-Year Institutions with More Than 20, 000 Students 323

14 Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis: Success and the City 325
Marc Cutright, Michael J. Siegel

15 University of South Carolina: Creator and Standard-Bearer for the First-Year Experience 349
Libby V. Morris, Marc Cutright

Part Seven: Conclusion 377

16 Findings and Recommendations 379

Epilogue: Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year 397

Appendix A: All Participants in the Institutions of Excellence Study (N = 130) 403

Appendix B: Initial Letter of Invitation to Participate in the Institutions of Excellence Project 409

Appendix C: Semifinalists 415

Appendix D: Letter to Semifinalists 419

Appendix E: Announcement Letter to Thirteen Institutions of Excellence 423

Appendix F: Research Subject Information and Consent Form 427

References 431

Index 433

About the author

Betsy Barefoot is co-director of the Policy Center on the
First Year of College, and directed the publications center for the
National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students
in Transition at the University of South Carolina for 11 years.

John Gardner is executive director of the Policy Center
on the First Year of College and was the founder of the National
Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in
Transition at the University of South Carolina. He has co-authored
three other books with Jossey-Bass.

Marc Cutright is assistant professor of higher education
at Ohio University and a research fellow of the Policy Center on
the First Year of College.

Libby Morris is associate professor of higher education
and interim director, Institute of Higher Education at the
University of Georgia. She is editor of the Journal of
Innovative Higher Education.

Charles Schroeder is a senior executive with Noel-Levitz
and cofounder of Jossey-Bass’ About Campus magazine.

Stephen Schwartz is a visiting senior fellow at the
Policy Center on the First Year of College.

Michael Siegel is a research associate for the Policy
Center on the First Year of College.

Randy Swing is codirector of the Policy Center on the
First Year of College.