Ball State is one of 19 four-year institutions invited by the nonprofit Policy Center on the First Year of College to participate in a self-evaluation about the freshman college experience.

As a result, select Ball State faculty and staff members representing a cross section of the university community will be invited to participate in the nine Foundations of Excellence task groups required as part of the yearlong invitation-only initiative, said Don Whitaker, executive director of institutional effectiveness and co-chair of the initiative's steering committee.

Ball State's invitation to participate in the self-study is indicative of the university's commitment to its students, said Terry King, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

"Ball State's strong and effective efforts to create a high-quality program have been recognized and have resulted in the invitation to participate in the Foundations of Excellence project," he said. "Active participation by our faculty members will allow us to achieve even higher levels of success, and I strongly encourage all involved to take this effort seriously."

To ensure a cross section of the Ball State community is involved, the steering committee has identified about 100 faculty and staff members from all areas of campus to participate in the task groups. In addition, all first-year freshmen and all faculty and staff members will be asked to complete surveys, which will be sent within the next several weeks.

Kay Bales, vice president for student affairs, said the makeup of the committees is a crucial component to the Foundations of Excellence initiative as well as other Ball State efforts.

"The individuals asked to serve as committee members and chairs were purposely selected because of their effective work with first-year students," she said.
 
In addition to enhancing the freshman experience, the task groups' work will be invaluable to Ball State's student retention efforts, Bales said.

"Our engagement in this project is quite timely and will further advance and complement the work of the Retention Task Force completed in June," she said. "The data collected through this process will be used to assist us in identifying appropriate retention strategies."

Bales, King and Whitaker stressed the importance of participation by all involved. For example, the staff and student surveys about the freshman experience will play heavily in the task groups' recommendations for improvements at the end of the process.

"It's going to be a very comprehensive, systematic approach to evaluating the first-year college experience," Whitaker said. "Some of the results and the recommendations that come out of this self-study will have long-term benefits for the university."

Don Van Meter, associate dean of the College of Sciences and Humanities, agreed.

"We anticipate there will be suggestions that come out of this that will help improve courses, services for students, recruitment, admission and retention," said Van Meter, who also co-chairs the steering committee.

Whitaker is encouraged by responses he has received from other universities participating in the self-evaluation.

"The initial reports we've gotten from other institutions of higher education indicate this has improved their retention efforts as well," he said. "It's an exciting project. It will be a great deal of work, but we are confident it will be very worthwhile."

In 2002, the Policy Center on the First Year of College named Ball State among the nation's 13 Institutions of Excellence in the First College Year because of its innovative programs to assist students with the transition to college. 

This is the third year the Policy Center has extended invitations to selected higher education institutions to participate in the Foundations of Excellence self-study project, which is underwritten by the Lumina Foundation for Education and Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.