First Year Experience

What is First Year Experience?

First Year Experience (FYE) is based on a set of purposeful learning experiences that have been shown to:

Deepen student learning and engagement
Raise levels of performance, retention and success for students
Invoke intellectually engaging and effective educational practices

FYE courses are 5-credit, theme-based and focus on research, creative work, or service learning through complex projects. A special FYE portion of the EWU Research and Creative Works Symposium will highlight these student and faculty projects.

FYE courses will help introduce students to EWU success skills. FYE courses will also familiarize students with EWU facilities and focus on integration into the EWU community.

FYE courses can be taught as a single course, or a paired sequence that addresses the course theme from multiple disciplinary perspectives. FYE courses are taught in the Fall, with sequenced courses continuing in Winter. FYE courses are limited to 25 students.

Learning Outcomes

Success Skills

FYE faculty and Center for Academic Advising and Retention (CAAR) advisers will introduce students to EWU success skills. Success skills may include:

Time management
Decision-making
Goal-setting
Academic planning
Study strategies
and more

FYE Faculty will teach a theme-based course or sequence of courses addressing two GE Outcomes and EWU success skills. Faculty will work with advisors to develop weekly lab activities during normal class time. These labs will focus on skills that help students succeed at EWU, and in their personal and professional lives. Advisors are tasked with the assessment of these skills.

Breadth Areas

FYEs may satisfy up to two requirements of the breadth areas, for a total of 5-10 credits. These credits count toward the required 26 credits for breadth areas. FYE classes are optional, but strongly encouraged for all new first time freshmen.

The FYEs must fulfill equivalent GE course requirements in the applicable breadth areas. The breadth areas are:

Humanities & Arts
Social Science
Natural Science

Current FYE Courses

For a complete list of FYE courses, see FYE Courses 2018-2019.

First Year Experience

What is First Year Experience?

Group 1

Group 2

Current FYE Courses