Reimagining the First Year (RFY)
RFY is a national project coordinated by AASCU (American Association of State Colleges and Universities). Humboldt is one of 44 institutions selested to join the RFY effort. Last Fall, Humboldt participated in a competitive process that was open to all of the 500+ AASCU member institutions - we were selected because of the numerous high-impact first year activities that we already have in place.
Our Goal
To dramtically improve the quality of learning and student experience in the first year, increase retention rates and improve student success for all students, practically those who have historically been undeserved by higher education: low income, first generation, and students of color. RFY institution members work together for three calendar years (2016-2018) to develop comprehensive, institutional transformation that redesigns the first year of college and creates sustainable change for student success.
The first year of college for students has emerged as the critical barrier to college success.
It has come to a point at which colleges experience the greatest loss of students. The RFY project recognizes that no single intervention will solve student performance, and that solutions that fail to reflect the differing needs of a changing student body will not be successful. RFY seeks to inspire redesigned approaches that work effectively for all members of an increasingly diverese, multicultural, undergraduate student body, eliminating the achievement disparities that have plagues American higher education for generations, Ultimately, re-designing this critical first year will allow for broader reform of the undergraduate experience in the future.