Grambling State University requires all freshmen to enroll in First Year Experience 101 and 102. This class meets once a week; there, students learn about Grambling’s history, the alma matar, and the student handbook. However, some wonder 'why are these classes are necessary for a student’s first-year attending GSU'?
The school’s website, www.gram.edu, states that the first year experience program is comprised of an orientation for new and transitioning students, academic advisement and counseling, and seminar-based instruction that will guide the student through the first year of college.
It also states that a faculty dedicated to the success of the first year college student staffs the First Year Experience Program. The services provided by the First Year Experience Program are designed to support the retention efforts at Grambling State University.
“First Year Experience helped me to discover my academic, social and personal strengths so that I could build on them and provide concrete and useful tools that would help me make changes that might be necessary for my success,” said Oniesha Stevenson, a senior Criminal Justice major from Atlanta.
“This class is necessary, because it gives students an outlook on college. It gave me comprehension skills and time management skills that I still use to this day.”
The mission of FYE is to help with student learning and intellectual development while attending GSU in their first year of college, also promoting greater interaction between faculty and students.
“I learned that the school was founded in 1901 by Mr. Charles P. Adams and there was 125 students with only three teachers,” said Richard Jackson a sophomore Mass Communications major from Jonesboro. “I also learned where the first students had to walk from to get to school,.”
“It’s necessary to take because some students come into Grambling State knowing none of its history.”
The First Year Experience (FYE) curriculum is designed to assist first year students with their transition to the university community.
This course introduces the entering student to the university’s academic programs, general education requirements, student handbook, university catalog, financial aid and registration, and relevant policies and procedures.
“First Year Experience is important because it’s a parenting foundation that teaches students self-discipline, student responsibilities, how to prepare for major classes, and how to transition from high school to the college life. Losing a student the first year is critical,” said Mrs. Latotsha Britt, First Year Experience teacher.