Reframing the First Year Experience

How can FYE programs organize their curricula and programming around the “why” of higher education to create learners with strong habits of mind? Join Harrison Kleiner, Heidi Kesler, and Matt as they explain how to reframe your FYE program around three “Big Questions” that take all that we do in FYE and connect it to the meaning and purpose that students need to understand in the first year of college. These big questions clarify FYE objectives for faculty, students, and administrators alike, creating a more intentional and impactful first-year experience.
 
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
 
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
About Harrison Kleiner
Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu.
About Heidi Kesler
Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu.

 Another example of a common reading that addresses students' most pressing concerns is Cultivating Habits of Mind by Harrison Kleiner. Join Matt Sanders and Harrison Kleiner as they explore how this common reading helps students realize that college offers them more than just information and credentials. Higher education helps students cultivate intellectual and behavioral habits of mind that affect how they think about and engage the world for their entire lives. These habits are the lasting outcomes of college and the primary driver of future success.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
Presenter Information
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
About Harrison Kleiner
Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu.

One example of a common reading that addresses students’ most pressing concerns about meaning and purpose is Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education by Matthew Sanders as a common read. Join Heidi Kesler and Matt Sanders as they explore how this common reading sparks critical conversations about learning, challenges students’ assumptions about college, promotes intentional action, fosters accountability, and encourages students to confront the deeper why questions that shape their educational journey and life after college.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
Presenter Information
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
About Heidi Kesler
Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu.

Common reading programs can foster a valuable shared intellectual experience, but only when the topic and content students read is truly common to all students and their most pressing concern as they begin college:  meaning, purpose, and the “why” of higher education. How could FYE change if we had a truly common reading for all students and faculty over time? Join Harrison Kleiner, Heidi Kesler, and Matt Sanders as they discuss how Utah State University transformed its common reading program to have greater impact and meaning for students and faculty. This approach reimagines the common read to directly connect students with the mission and purpose of higher education.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
 
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
About Harrison Kleiner
Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu.
About Heidi Kesler
Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu.

FYE seeks to change students’ mindset and readiness so they will persist to graduation. But what is the model of change we are using in our FYE programs? And is that model of change intervening at the level of meaning or at just the level of “what’s” and “how’s”? Join Matt Sanders and Heidi Kesler as they explore different models of change and how FYE programs can intervene at the level of meaning to help students discover purpose, build confidence, and confront today’s widespread crisis of meaning.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
 
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
 
About Heidi Kesler
Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu.

FYE programs exist at nearly every institution. But as we lead and teach in our programs, do we ever ask ourselves what the organizational function of FYE actually is? We face countless choices and demands on our curriculum and programming, making it difficult for FYE programs to stay focused and aligned for both students and faculty. Join Matt Sanders and Lisa Simmons as they examine FYE’s role as the organizational socialization program and discuss how this understanding helps FYE avoid mission drift so we can deliver meaningful support where it matters most.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
Presenter Information
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
About Lisa Simmons
Lisa Simmons is the Executive Director of Student Orientation and Transition Services, focusing on new student orientation and onboarding, and parent and family programs. In support of the school’s land-grant mission, her office serves a diverse group of learners located at campuses throughout the state of Utah, as well as a large online student population. She is a member of the university’s Student Achievement Collaborative, a group that designs interdepartmental solutions to challenging issues related to student success. She has an Master’s Degree in English from Utah State University. Lisa can be reached at lisa.simmons@usu.edu.

College students face a significant crisis of meaning. They struggle to understand and articulate the “why” of higher education. As public confidence in the value of higher education continues to decline, FYE programs should take a first-principles approach and organize around the meaning and purpose. Doing this will reshape FYE to meet students' growing need for meaning. Join Matt Sanders and Harrison Kleiner as they discuss how this transformative approach can inspire student and teachers and better meet the goals of FYE.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
 
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu.
About Harrison Kleiner
Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu.