ECC Dean Attends and Presents at Conference to Empower First-year Student Success

Christine Nicodemus, dean of Arts and Sciences at Edgecombe Community College, recently attended and presented at the Capture the Journey First-Year Experience Conference hosted by Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and Western Piedmont Community College.

The purpose of the conference, held on the campus of Rowan-Cabarrus, was to share ideas focused on strengthening the first-year student experience. The revised ACA 122 College, Transfer, & Career Success course was also a focus.

According to a description provided by Rowan-Cabarrus, upon completion of the ACA course, “students will be able to identify the community college program that matches their transfer and career goals, navigate transfer policies and processes, use transfer guides, develop an academic plan for future success, and create professional application materials.”

At ECC, Dr. Tracy Hayes, English/Humanities instructor, will serve as one of the leads for the ACA 122 redesign, working with faculty and staff to ensure proper implementation.

The conference also included collaboration among faculty and staff from NC community colleges on best practices for supporting first year-students. Additionally, the conference underscored the significance of student engagement, retention strategies, and innovative teaching approaches through workshops.

Nicodemus had the opportunity to present her own unique approach at the conference with Chuck Bowling, dean of Arts and Sciences at McDowell Technical Community College. Nicodemus and Bowling’s topic was Using Self-Service for academic planning to promote FYE success.

Nicodemus’ biggest takeaway from the conference was that simply distributing information to students is not enough. “Rather, important information should be shared in ways that invite students to reflect, process and apply it,” she explains. “When faculty and staff do this in a way that fosters a sense of community, that is tailored to each student’s unique needs, and that creates opportunities for active learning and meaningful reflection, it can have an even more powerful effect on our first-year and continuing students.”