The benefits of seeking higher education are well established, including higher wages and lower rates of unemployment. But, did you know that fewer than 50% of first-year students will complete their degree in six years? That’s more than 39 million students leaving college without graduating. How can we encourage them to stick it out?
Infobase can help. We are an educational solutions provider that facilitates the connection between content, people, and the learning experiences that empower students to evolve personally and professionally throughout their lives—including throughout the college experience. On this National Higher Education Day, we invite you to take a look at some of the many resources we have that can give you ideas to inspire and encourage first-years to get that diploma.
College- and Career-Readiness Workshops
Check out our series of five workshops for schools, colleges and universities, and public libraries, led by Adam A. Smith, nationally recognized higher education expert. These informative sessions will provide educators and mentors with the skills and knowledge to effectively coach students to succeed in getting TO and THROUGH their higher education—and INTO their careers.
Check out our College- and Career-Readiness Workshops now!
Reflections on 2021 College Freshmen: What We’ve Learned, How They’re Different, How We Support
As colleges/universities returned to “normal” in the fall of 2021, many were aware that there would be a higher than normal “melt” with incoming freshmen due to the impact of virtual learning, grade inflation, test-optional admissions, and the world-shaking traumas. Freshmen and their families expressed a desire to return to in-person classes, campus events, athletic events and more. Yet nobody, including the students, were prepared for what institutions found as grades were posted at the conclusion of fall 2021.
This conversational webinar featuring higher ed professionals Adam A. Smith and Heather C. Lou brings together higher education leaders and student success experts for an honest conversation around the unique nature of the fall 2021 cohort. The dialogue focuses on what it means for campuses to be “student ready,” which is in opposition to the long-held focus on developing college-ready students.
Check out “Reflections on 2021 College Freshmen” now!
Social-Emotional Learning Starts with Us: Empowering Adults in Higher Education
Developing SEL skills is an ongoing process—and not just for students. In order for administrators and those in higher education to create conditions for teachers and students to effectively engage in SEL, they themselves need to experience and reflect on SEL strategies firsthand. This session, featuring Trisha DiFazio and Allison Roeser of SEL & Beyond, explores SEL through the lens of higher education and examines issues specific to higher education leadership.
Infobase Quick Hits: The Critical Thinker’s Toolbox
In this 30-minute presentation, we explore three Infobase resources that can help new academic researchers build their critical-thinking skills. We cover starting research with fact-based background information, supplementing research with decades of polling data, and forming debates by approaching new points of view on controversial topics. In this webinar, we tour:
- Credo Reference: Academic Core: A research starting point, exploratory search tool and resource portal specializing in providing fact-based background information on any topic.
- Polling the Nations: 750,000+ original poll questions and results from 18,000+ surveys conducted in the U.S. and 100+ other countries from 1986 to the present.
- Issues & Controversies: Teach students to look for alternate points of view as they build early research papers or prepare debates on newsworthy topics.
Credo’s Interactive FYE Guide, Second Edition
First-year students arrive with varying levels of library experience and of information literacy, so assisting them can be a challenge. In Credo’s First Year Experience (FYE) Guide, Second Edition, Raymond Pun, formerly First Year Student Success Librarian at Fresno State, and now Instruction/Research Librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education, offers guidance and case studies related to the crucial first year.
Check out Credo’s Interactive FYE Guide, Second Edition now!
5 Instructional Strategies to Keep Students Engaged in Virtual Classrooms
Although many colleges have returned to in-person education, online classes at the higher ed level have hardly gone away—and with the right strategies, you can create an effective and productive learning environment, even remotely. Our infographic highlights five essential tips to engage, empower, and connect with your students—and make them feel a part of your virtual classroom community.
Check out this infographic now!
No Discovery? No Problem. How One College Library in Quebec Is Building Smart Researchers with Credo Reference
Teaching students how to research effectively is challenging—especially when they have not had much experience doing it—but research instruction creates a foundation that they can use throughout their lives. Champlain College Saint-Lambert in Quebec is a longtime subscriber of Credo Reference and a Cégep (general and vocational college). Nicole Haché, Librarian at Champlain’s George Wallace Library, shares her experience and ideas on basic research instruction for her college’s first-year students. She discusses the specific challenges of working with young students and why starting research with resources like Credo Reference are so effective for this user group.
Check out this case study now!
Valencia College Leverages Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center to Empower Students in Their New Student Experience Course
We had the pleasure to speak with Valencia College staff members about their New Student Experience (NSE) course and how Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center helps their students link their college experience to a career path. Our Q&A profiles their unique and innovative course and how they leverage this award-winning career database for student success.
From Campus to Career: Preparing Students for Life after Graduation with Infobase
Every college student has a future that exists outside of undergraduate life. Whether they continue their education in postgraduate fields or enter the workforce in an entry-level position, students must prepare for and develop skills to meet the challenges that come after graduation. Join us for a demonstration of three Infobase products that support future graduates: Infobase Learning Cloud, Vault Campus, and Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center. Each of them uniquely provide career, company, and education exploration tools—as well as providing content for extensive workplace soft-skill development.
Check out “From Campus to Career” now!
Blogs on the First-Year Experience
Infobase features many blogs for even more resources to help with the first-year experience and student engagement.
- 2021 College Freshmen: How They’re Different & How We Can Support Them
- Creative Assessments for the First-Year Experience
- More Creative Assessments for the First-Year Experience
- Collaborating with Student Affairs for Student Success
- Accreditation and the FYE: Selected Resources for Longitudinal Studies
- Celebrating the FYE: Ideas for Recognizing First-Year Students
- Hosting a Meme Contest for Your Library? Give It a Try!
- Organizing a Virtual Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon Event: An Interview with Stacy R. Williams
- Teaching Remotely? Exploring Creative Ways and Resources to Support Online Learning
- Trauma-Informed Librarianship: Interview with Healing Coach Nisha Mody
Intrigued by the Infobase products you see mentioned here? Why not take a free trial?
