The first year curriculum should itself be evaluated and should monitor for student engagement.

Good first year curriculum design is itself evidence-based and evaluated, and desirably includes mechanisms to monitor for student engagement and performance, the latter allowing then for timely intervention in aid of students who are at risk of not being successful.

For example:

• monitoring for (dis)engagement in a systematic way, so that timely interventions might be made, could entail:
  • taking attendance rolls;
  • knowing students by name;
  • involving peer mentors;
  • monitoring online interactions (LMS, email activation);
  • monitoring library activity;
  • noting non-submission of assessment;
  • noting poor performance on early assessment;
• QUT has a systematic approach entitled the “Student Success Project” (Duncan & Nelson, 2008); Auckland University of Technology, NZ has a systematic approach entitled “First Year Experience Intervention and Support Programme” (http://www.auqa.edu.au/gp/search/detail.php?gp_id=2907);

See: S. Kift. (2008). The next, great first year challenge: Sustaining, coordinating and embedding coherent institution–wide approaches to enact the FYE as “everybody’s business”. In 11th International Pacific Rim First Year in Higher Education Conference, An Apple for the Learner: Celebrating the First Year Experience, 2008, Hobart, 17-18. Retrieved August 14, 2008 from http://www.fyhe.com.au/past_papers/papers08/FYHE2008/content/pdfs/Keynote%20-%20Kift.pdf (pdf 280KB)