The First Year Learning Initiative (FYLI) seeks volunteers for an Initiative focusing on courses that have a high proportion of first-year students.  Participating instructors work to maximize rigor and support for struggling students using the framework developed by the FYLI leadership group comprised of innovative and experienced faculty and staff.  These courses feature practices that address the particular needs of first-year students, and that demonstrate to students the amount and kind of effort needed to succeed in college. By participating in this Initiative, instructors will be crucial contributors to the goal of helping students succeed in the first year of college and beyond.  As an outcome of participation in this Initiative, the course will meet the FYLI targets and will be certified as a FYLI course.

This Initiative is grounded in the following three key areas:

• Socializing students for excellence
  FYLI courses establish the attitudes, skills, and behaviors that enable students to succeed in the first year and beyond.  Critical aspects include increased rigor and excellence and providing effective scaffolding for students to succeed.
• Design
  FYLI courses maximize student engagement through critical design features.  These include requiring substantial student engagement beginning in the first week, setting high standards, and effectively using the learning opportunities in both the classroom and in the co-curriculum.
• Alignment
  In FYLI courses, learning outcomes will clearly connect with the course’s learning activities and assessments.  Multi-section courses will also have clear coordination plans in place.

The FYLI also includes the following elements:

• FYLI Toolkit
  The FYLI Toolkit consists of recommended strategies, links to useful resources, and case studies of innovative practices by NAU faculty.
• FYLI Certification Process
  The process identifies standards that FYLI courses must meet to be included in the initiative.

**During the certification process, FYLI development leaders can submit written responses to the questions using the FYLI Survey.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Development of the First Year Learning Initiative

FYLI was developed with input from the following group:

• Michelle Miller, co-chair of FYLI, Psychology
• Blase Scarnati, co-chair of FYLI, First Year Seminar Program and Music

• Bev Amer, The W. A. Franke College of Business
• Liz Brauer, Electrical Engineering
• Rebecca Campbell, Educational Psychology
• John Doherty, e-Learning Center
• Kathy Eastwood, Physics & Astronomy
• Greg Glau, English
• Rosalinda Haddon, Nursing
• John Hagood, Mathematics & Statistics
• Kevin Ketchner, Cline Library
• Chris Lanterman, Educational Specialties
• Ellen Larson, Health Sciences
• Christine Lemley, Teaching & Learning
• David Pierotti, Biological Sciences
• Mikhael Star, Gateway Student Success Center
• Melissa Welker, Student Learning Centers

For more information on FYLI, please contact

• Michelle Miller, Chair, Department of Psychology
• Blase Scarnati, Director, First Year Seminar Program and Global Learning Initiative