The UH Hilo Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule Initiative

FAQ's:

Target Launch Date: Fall 2011!

What is the Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule, or "Fre(e) GAS," Initiative?

student at microscopeUH Hilo strives to increase the number of students who graduate in four years. The coursework a new freshman takes in the first year of college greatly impacts this goal. Also, the inability to enroll in the courses they need for a particular major can be a barrier to student retention at UH Hilo. Therefore, to help maximize student success, UH Hilo is launching a new initiative beginning with the Fall 2011 entering class.

As early as in April before they matriculate at UH Hilo, all new first-time, full-time freshmen will be assigned 12 credit hours of predetermined academic courses for the Fall semester and again for the Spring semester of their first year at UH Hilo. The courses are determined based on the student's declared major. Each semester's schedule will be designed to help give freshmen the best "running start" they need to receive their baccalaureate degree in four years if they wish. It will also help freshmen complete ENG 100 within the first 24 credit hours of their college career as is recommended by UH Hilo. We like to think of this initiative as putting a "free tank of gas" in a freshman student's "car" so s/he can confidently begin the "roadtrip" towards a college degree.

Why does UH Hilo offer a Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule?

The steady increase of student enrollment at UH Hilo over the past two decades has afforded our campus the opportunity to hire more of the best faculty, expand classroom buildings, increase the quality of our academic programs, and expand the range of support services available to help students be successful in college. However, enrollment increases also generate an increased - and sometimes unpredictable - demand for academic course sections and seats.

Offering Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules helps students by ensuring that they can enroll in the courses they need to maintain timely progress in their chosen degree program, including the necessary introductory-level courses and course prerequisites for students doing outdoor researchtheir academic major. It also gives freshmen students an immediate start on satisfying General Education and integrative requirements needed for graduation. The bottom line is that Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules will help improve students' first-year academic success and pave the way for a productive sophomore year and beyond.

Implementing Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules also helps colleges and academic departments because they give faculty and administrators the ability to plan several months in advance for the courses and number of seats/sections they need to offer in lower-division courses, rather than have to "guesstimate" at the last minute. In these tough budget times, the ability to plan ahead can help keep the costs of instruction manageable without sacrificing academic rigor or excellence in student learning.

Doesn't a Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule take away a student's ability to choose?

In our present system of academic course planning and student registration, entering first-time freshmen actually have little to no chance for assembling a viable first semester schedule because there are so few (and in some cases no) seats left in the classes they actually should be taking. While we recognize that choice is valuable in a student's academic journey, that choice is more illusion than reality right now for our newest students. We don't want students to take just any 12 credits in their first semester at UH Hilo; we want them to take the right courses.

Students in classTraditional-age freshmen coming straight from high school have just left an environment only three months earlier in which they are simply handed a predetermined schedule each term. Academic advisors and orientation staff have observed that registering for class at the start of freshmen year here at UH Hilo can be a major source of anxiety, frustration and stress for new students and their families. They are being asked to quickly understand UH Hilo's not-always-straightforward academic major and graduation requirements and then make wise choices about a class schedule in their first semester as a college student from a limited array of available courses. We would rather see freshmen during their first weeks at UH Hilo focus their energy on meeting their new faculty, becoming familiar with the new academic expectations they will have to fulfill, learning where support resources are located, finding new friends, and becoming comfortable with their new UH Hilo `ohana and home.

The Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule gives students a core, full-time schedule that provides them with a strong academic foundation from the moment they enroll at UH Hilo; yet, freshmen still have the option to delete or take on new courses - after receiving careful mentoring from a faculty advisor - during the add/drop period of registration. After freshmen complete their first year, as rising sophomores they will be given full control over their course selection thereafter.

What role do faculty play in designing the Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule?

After nearly two years of in-depth analysis, inquiry and discussion, members of the Enrollment Management Implementation Team (EMIT) in their December 2, 2009, meeting voted unanimously to implement Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules. EMIT includes representatives from each of the degree-granting colleges as well as from the three divisions of the College of Arts & Sciences, representatives from the Division of Student Affairs and other administrative units, a liaison from Faculty Congress, a liaison from Hanakahi Council, and a liaison from the UH Hilo Student Association.

After this decision was reached, a template for Fall courses and one for Spring courses (each comprised of 12 credit hours) was designed for each academic major. These templates were distributed to academic departments through their respective academic deans, division heads, and department chairs for feedback and consultation in early Fall 2010. Based on feedback received, the Fall 2011and Spring 2012 "pre-built" schedules will be designed, and academic departments can "load" their academic course offerings for those terms accordingly in February 2011.

How will Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules affect the quality of faculty advising for students?

The relationship that a new student develops with his or her faculty advisor is one of the most important ones of their college experience. At the present time, the majority of our new freshmen are registering for classes during Fall Orientation - one week before the Fall semester starts – during a time when they are also trying to buy their books, set up a checking account, find a place to live, and furnish their new “home.” Fall Orientation also coincides with the first week of duty period for faculty. Due to timing, many academic departments are not able to assign freshmen their faculty advisors until after the Fall semester has begun. It is not hard to imagine that this situation could create impediments for a quality advising experience for many students and faculty.

In addition, the first-year requirements for many majors are rather proscriptive and the selection of lower-division courses certified under the new General Education program, effective Fall 2011, is not as plentiful as in prior years. By providing a viable academic schedule for the first year, faculty and their student advisees can redirect the focus of their conversations to more substantive matters related to academic goals, major selection, experiential learning opportunities, and career exploration. It also allows time for faculty to use the outcomes of their mentoring conversations to advise students on selection of coursework for the sophomore year, when the guaranteed academic schedules end.

What is the impact of Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules on placement exams?

Faculty are the ultimate experts and "owners" of the curriculum. As such, faculty are encouraged to recommend to their respective college deans and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs how they will determine placement for students in those courses which depend on a certain level of preparation on the part of the student. The only stipulation is that placement results will need to be available in a timely-enough manner so that new entering freshmen can receive their course schedules as early as April prior to their arrival on campus in August. Administrators are committed to working in a collaborative, collegial and consultative fashion with faculty to ensure the best educational outcomes for our students.

Which other universities offer a version of Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedules to their new students?

The Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule is the first step toward implementing formal Freshmen Interest Groups (FIG's) and other kinds of learning communities for freshmen. These kinds of curricular initiatives have played a major role in improving the success, learning and retention of first-year students and form the core of a comprehensive freshmen year experience (FYE) at many campuses. Some examples of other universities that implement these kinds of FYE initiatives include:

Who do I contact if I need more information about the Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule, or "Fre(e) GAS," Initiative?

James Cromwell, Director of Admissions, leads a team of academic affairs and student affairs colleagues, to ensure a smooth implementation of the Freshmen Guaranteed Academic Schedule by the Fall 2011 target launch date. He can be reached via e-mail at cromwell@hawaii.edu.

This site was updated September 2, 2010 at 9:30 PM HST.