News Article

Edison State creates plan to help college freshmen adjust

Aug 26, 2009

Edison State creates plan to help college freshmen adjust -- From the News Press August 18, 2009

by dave breitenstein
dbreitenstein@news-press.com

The freshman year of college is make or break.

That's when students learn good or bad study habits, develop time management skills, generate impressions of faculty and the campus, and acquire social behaviors that carry on beyond college.

That's also when many colleges fail, according to John Gardner, executive director at the North Carolina-based Policy Center on the First Year of College.

"American higher education was not designed for the students we have today," said Gardner, who spoke Monday at Edison State College's convocation. "It was designed for people like I used to be: formerly of New England, white, male, Protestant, upper middle class, affluent, New Englanders.

"The problem is, that demographic cohort I just described is a very small proportion of American higher education."

Edison attracts students of all ages, races, religions and backgrounds. It used to be a community college; now it's a state college with two- and four-year degrees, and it's branching into charter high schools.

Edison is creating a new program, called First Year Experience, identifying strategies and programs that will ease the transition to college.

Andrew Mallow, 25, of Fort Myers, admits he's a little nervous about starting the fall semester Monday.

"Maybe at first, it will be a little stressful," he said. "I haven't been to school in six years."

Edison's goal is to get freshman to year two, then year three, then year four, and possibly on to graduate school.

"Our destiny - the destiny of our community, the state, our nation - really is tied to the destiny of all these young people in our rapidly changing demographic society," said Edison district President Kenneth Walker. "How will we educate them? Will we keep an educated populace in our communities, our state and our nation?

"If we don't, all we have to do is look around at the world where masses of people are uneducated to see what kind of economies they have."

Last Updated: August 26, 2009