Like most community colleges across the United States, the Maricopa Community Colleges (MCCCD), a 10-college district in the Phoenix metro area, has been challenged by high attrition and low completion rates. In fact, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (2024) shared that while community colleges are starting to see slight increases in retention and completion, most continue to lose more than 45 percent of students after one year, and even more after the second year.

After decades of retention rates hovering around 50 percent and completion rates in the teens, in 2019, Maricopa leaders and faculty analyzed the points of attrition and opportunities to reverse the trend. Already working on a new guided pathways framework for advising and program selection, five-year data from the MCCCD Office of Institutional Effectiveness indicated that the highest points of attrition for Maricopa’s students happen just before the end of a student’s first semester and prior to the start of their third semester. Additionally, Institutional Effectiveness dashboards showed that nearly 30 percent of Maricopa students left during or after their first term, and another 20 percent never made it to their third semester. The data did not vary much between occupational and transfer programs. However, on a brighter note, one data point observed across the district’s transfer and occupational programs was that students who managed to complete 24 credits at any point in their tenure with Maricopa were twice as likely to complete their credential or transfer to a university. Faculty and leaders across Maricopa recognized that getting students not only to complete their first year but also to increase their credit load in their first two terms would likely improve retention and completion across all 10 colleges.

As a result of these findings, in spring 2020 a team of faculty, staff, administrators, and students across all areas of the colleges came together to reenvision the first-year experience (FYE) for Maricopa students. It was important that stakeholders from every area of the colleges and district participated, as shifting outcomes for first-year students touched every part of the student journey. The newly created task force reviewed research and data from similar institutions across the U.S. and from the Gardner Institute and the Community College Research Center. The district also partnered with the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement to incorporate best practices.

From the research, Maricopa found that institutions experiencing the most dramatic increases in student outcomes required an FYE course or seminar for all new students (Shi et al., 2021; Espiritu, 2024). For decades, Maricopa required a first-year course for students who placed into remedial courses upon entry. However, district retention data indicated that it was not only remedial students who were dropping out during their first and second semesters. The task force, therefore, recommended the development of an FYE course for all degree-seeking students.

Through the work of guided pathways, colleagues and leaders had already agreed upon a common set of learning outcomes for students in their first year at a Maricopa Community College. These learning outcomes provided the foundation for the creation of a new FYE course. The nine learning outcomes are:

1. The development of a growth mindset, including self-efficacy, self-advocacy, and an understanding of the value of completing a credential.
2. The creation of meaningful connections on campus, including with faculty, staff, and peers.
3. An understanding of financial literacy during and after college.
4. How to be a responsible, respectful, and professional colleague and student.
5. The importance of developing good self-care habits.
6. An appreciation for diverse perspectives from peers and college staff or faculty.
7. Knowledge of career possibilities and the educational options that align.
8. How to properly develop goals and success strategies while in college.
9. Awareness of available resources at each Maricopa campus.

In fall 2022, all 10 Maricopa colleges began requiring one of two FYE courses: FYE101, a single-credit course, or FYE103, a three-credit course. Students were allowed to choose which course would best support their needs. FYE101 focuses on the common Maricopa experience, including building meaningful connections on campus; developing strong habits of mind; knowing college and district resources; planning for education and career; and understanding financial planning, budgeting, and scholarship opportunities. In addition to the five competencies in FYE101, FYE103 includes goal setting, self-care, and diversity of perspectives.

Initially met with skepticism, the task force worked with advising teams, college leaders, instructional councils, curriculum teams, and enrollment facilitators to promote the benefits of reenvisioning students’ first-year experiences. With nearly 10,000 new degree-seeking students every fall semester, the task force recognized the need to ensure that faculty were prepared and comfortable with the materials. The summer before the courses launched, the task force invited over 300 faculty to learn the competencies and how to best teach the materials to Maricopa’s new students. Consistency across the district was critical, as many students attend more than one Maricopa college. Members of the task force and subject-matter experts designed course modules to be shared among all faculty teaching the courses.

Over 300 sections of FYE, with common competencies and modules for both courses, were offered in fall 2022. Each week, hundreds of faculty members teaching the course convened to discuss challenges and potential adjustments to assignments and deliverables that were difficult or unengaging for students. Additionally, an FYE leadership team, composed of counseling faculty, emerged to focus on improving course modules and ensuring consistency across colleges.

Recognizing potential concerns, the task force acknowledged that some colleges might struggle to offer enough sections for new students, while others might lack buy-in regarding the efficacy of these efforts. Additionally, some faculty and staff were resistant to adding credits to students’ programs of study. However, having data from a population of students who took an FYE course and those who did not provided an opportunity for comparative analysis.

In spring 2023, the district’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness analyzed retention data for students who took FYE in their first semester versus those who did not. The data showed that by the 45th day of their second semester, students who took FYE were nearly twice as likely to persist into their second term compared to those who did not. Subsequent data collection each semester since fall 2022 has shown consistent results, with more than 80 percent of students who took FYE in their first term being retained. Nearly 75 percent of those students have continued at one or more Maricopa colleges, suggesting that three- and four-year completion rates should improve in 2025 and 2026.

Although the data suggests that FYE courses have significantly improved retention and completion rates at Maricopa Community Colleges, challenges remain regarding what happens after the first semester. According to Friedman (2022), students must continue to have strong peer and faculty connections throughout their programs to maintain momentum toward completion. Additionally, He and Xiao (2022) argue that without experiential learning opportunities and digital knowledge development, students may struggle to remain engaged. Both FYE courses at Maricopa provide opportunities for students to build and sustain connections and engage with their career pathways. However, research suggests that these competencies must be reinforced throughout students’ academic journeys.

In conclusion, although the first three years of offering a FYE courses at the Maricopa Community Colleges have improved the leading indicators of completion and transfer, the district has yet to see increased three and four year outcomes. Therefore, the FYE task force will continue to modify and improve the FYE courses to ensure the improvement of outcomes for all students. The next phase of this work will include finding ways to incorporate the competencies for the first-year students into more courses in which students engage. Additionally, there are still hundreds of students annually who do not have the opportunity to take an FYE course due to late registration and a lack of section availability, and those students will not receive the benefits associated with an FYE course. Finding ways to ensure that all new students take an FYE course in their first semester should improve completion outcomes for all students, and incorporating the competencies into more first-year courses will increase retention even for those who do not have the option to take an FYE course in the first semester.

References

Espiritu, D. J. (2024, June 23-26). A multidimensional approach to providing excellent FYE that increases belonging, retention, and success of engineering students. 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon, United States.

Friedman, D. B. (2022). Key ingredients to a successful first-year seminar. In D. B. Friedman, T. L. Skipper, & C. S. Greene (Eds.), University 101 at the University of South Carolina: From educational experiment to standard bearer (pp. 76-88). University of South Carolina Press.

He, H., & Xiao, B. (2022). Successful classroom techniques to engage first-year college education students. International Journal of Arts, Humanities & Social Science, 3(1), 7-11.

National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2024, June 27). Persistence and retention: Fall 2022 beginning postsecondary student cohort. https://nscresearchcenter.org/persistence-retention

Shi, Q., Crooker, J. R., Drum, C. R., & Drake, B. M. (2021). Investigation of the effect of first-year seminars on student success. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 33(2), 65-95.

Meredith Warner is Interim Associate Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, at Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona.

Opinions expressed in Innovation Showcase are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the League for Innovation in the Community College.