The First Year Experience
Resources for Students
Do I have to take MSCC 1001 - Macon Connections for College and Beyond?
You must take MSCC 1001 if you meet the following requirements:
- first-time freshman
- never attended any other accredited, post-secondary institution
The good part is, if you take MSCC 1001, you are exempt from taking the 2-hour physical education
requirement and the 1-hour MSCC 1000 requirement.
What will I learn in MSCC 1001?
The First Year Experience Program and MSCC 1001 is all about making connections! Students learn a number
of ways to get connected to the people, places, and strategies that will ensure their success in college and
beyond. Here is a partial list of MSCC 1001 course topics:
- Introduction to higher education
- Navigating the college experience
- Personal development
- Career exploration and development
- Intellectual development
- Social development
- Wellness – Mental and physical
Resources for Faculty/Staff
If you have questions about Freshman Year Experience program, please contact one
of the individuals below. If you are interested in serving on the Advisory Committee or one of its
sub-committees, please contact one of the co-chairs indicated.
FYE Program Director: Tim Vick
Curriculum/Textbook Sub-Committee Co-chairs:
Dr. Young-Zook and Dr. Sherry
Campus Engagement/Orientation/Advising Sub-Committee Co-chairs
Mr. Tucker
Institutional Assessment Sub-Committee Co-chairs
Mr. Brooks and Mr. Tucker
Policies and Procedures Sub-Committee Chair
Mr. Vick
Faculty Development/Training Sub-committee Co-chairs
Mr. Brooks, Dr. Young-Zook, and Mr. Vick
FYE Speakers Bureau
If you would be interested in sharing information with our first-year students on a topic of interest,
please consider joining our FYE Speakers Bureau. Drawing on the wide range of expertise available on
campus, our Speakers Bureau will be another resource for our FYE instructors. Possible topics of interest
could include: personal finance, healthy living, ethics and integrity, note taking, time management,
cultural competence, critical thinking, social responsibility, goal setting, etc. If you would like to
be a Speakers Bureau resource for our FYE instructors, please send Tim Vick an email at
.
The FYE Concept
The First Year Experience concept began approximately 30 years ago at the University of South Carolina.
The concept has now grown into an international movement and is in place at over 84% of post-secondary
institutions. The goal of the First Year initiative is to help students make the transition to
higher education and give them, at the very beginning of their college career, the tools necessary to persist
and succeed in college and beyond.
The FYE seminar has been studied extensively over the past 30 years and there is more than enough empirical
data to indicate that the program is a proven method of ensuring student success and persistence in college.
FYE at Middle Georgia State College
The three, overarching objectives or intended outcomes of the First Year program are:
- To connect students with other students—i.e., to facilitate student formation of peer-support networks
and peer-learning communities;
- To connect students with Middle Georgia State College—i.e., to foster student appreciation of the meaning and
relevance of the college curriculum (liberal arts & sciences), to promote student involvement in the
co-curriculum (out-of-class experiential learning), and to increase student utilization of campus support
services (academic-support and student-development services); and
- To connect students’ present college experience with their future goals/plans—i.e., to enable students
to integrate their current curricular and co-curricular experiences with their decisions about their college
major and their future career path.
While the first-semester seminar course is the centerpiece of any FYE initiative, the entire FYE program is
a comprehensive effort involving the entire campus community. The FYE program coordinates the efforts of
numerous campus entities to ensure beginning students make a successful transition to higher education and are
acculturated to the Middle Georgia State College community.
Mission of the FYE Program
The First Year Experience at Middle Georgia State College is a comprehensive program of academic and
personal development activities and services. The goal of the First Year Experience program is to prepare
students to succeed in a technology-rich, information-driven global economy while developing important life
and citizenship skills through a solid foundation in the liberal arts. The program will facilitate the
students’ transition to college life by seeking to develop skills to meet the challenges of higher education,
self-awareness and understanding of others, the enjoyment of a wide variety of services, and encouraging
students to enter into the community of life-long learners.
Questions?
If you have questions about the First Year Experience program at Middle Georgia State College, please
send an email to: .