First-Year Experiences program offers students holistic help, right from the start

When a student steps onto a college campus for the first time, the questions they carry are often less about academics and more about identity: “Will I find my place here?” “Do I belong?”

Virginia Tech’s First-Year Experiences (FYE) program was launched during the 2011-12 academic year to answer those questions through a campuswide, student-centered strategy rooted in belonging.

“We designed the first-year experience to build a culture of connection and care,” said Stephen Biscotte, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education. “At Virginia Tech, we view belonging not as a soft, peripheral goal but as a foundational element of student success. The goal isn’t simply to retain students, it’s to help them flourish regardless of the major they choose or profession they pursue.”

During the past academic year, 93 instructors across eight colleges taught First-Year Experiences classes, offering 212 sections to about 8,000 first-year and transfer students.

The program is evaluated each semester with student surveys, and the data shows real impact, said Kendria Mason, assistant director for First-Year Experiences. “We’ve seen students grow in academic success, and we’ve seen belonging redefined,” Mason said. Moreover, in the past several years, instructors have received multiple national FYE teaching awards, showing just how strong the teaching and advising is.

A tailored, discipline-oriented model

“Most universities offer some type of first-year experiences program,” Mason said. “What makes us different here is that Virginia Tech breaks from the standard University 101 FYE mold. Instead of offering one uniform course for all incoming students, the university embeds FYE directly within each academic college and major.

“If you’re studying marketing, your FYE might include mock business projects. If you’re an engineer, you’re engaging with design thinking or team collaboration early on,” she said. “This tailored model helps students feel like they belong – not just to or at Virginia Tech, but to their future profession as well.”

Because each First-Year Experiences course is crafted within a college, instructors design their courses with their majors in mind, Mason said. “The needs of a first-year engineering student are different from someone studying creative writing. But regardless of the discipline, every course is built on the same guiding principles,” she said.

Those five principles – academic integrity, academic success, professional competency, student well-being, and a sense of belonging – are required components of all First-Year Experiences courses. But they’re not boxes to check.

“It’s not, ‘We covered well-being in week three and we’re done,’” said Mason. “When instructors submit their course proposals, they have to show how they’ll weave these principles throughout the entire course. We want students to feel supported in every dimension. And it’s important to note that future careers are centered as part of this. Because the end-all isn’t getting a degree, it’s getting a degree that helps you launch. It’s getting a degree that gets you where you want to be after you graduate.”

The program is supported by a coalition of campus partners who collaborate to ensure that students are introduced to resources before they need them – whether it’s counseling, academic tutoring, or resume-building.

Transfer students, often overlooked in first-year programming, are included too. “Some of our instructors design FYE sections just for transfer students,” said Mason. “They’re not starting from scratch. Rather, they’re here to maximize their time. So we meet them where they are and focus on what they need most, like getting them engaged on campus and preparing for professional opportunities.”

Peer mentors offer support

One of the most effective components of the program is the use of peer educators – students trained and supported to mentor their peers.

“Last year, we had around 500 peer educators, all supported with stipends through grant funding,” Mason said. “They’re the ones helping students navigate day-to-day questions like how to use a Hokie Passport, where to find quiet study spots – but also forming real relationships at the same time.”

Emma Duncan, a senior, is a Hokie Undergraduate Groups (H.U.G.) program peer educator for the School of Communication’s First-Year Experiences program and is in her second year as a peer educator. Her own experience with peer educators as a first-year student motivated her to apply herself.

“My students taught me just as much as I taught them,” she said. “They each joined clubs that engaged their passions, met friends who shared their values, and dove headfirst into all that the School of Communication had to offer. It was inspiring. Whether you're a student in an FYE class or a peer mentor offering guidance, you will be changed for good by the First-Year Experiences program.”

A sense of belonging helps students succeed

The driving philosophy behind the program is that a sense of belonging is a prerequisite for learning.

“We want students to thrive,” Mason said, “so we need to build environments where the first year is not just a beginning, but a springboard to what comes next – including after graduation. Students are able to thrive when they know they have a support system behind them.”