By: Alexis Podgers, Emily Bontrager, Reilly Gaunt
First Year Experience (FYE) classes at Indiana Wesleyan University are changing for the class of 2029.
In previous years FYE courses were attached to a general education class, but this year the program is a one-credit class dedicated solely to getting new students prepared for college life. Topics include campus resources, community engagement and learning to use software such as Brightspace.
Freshman Jesse Donathan said he did not have his first FYE class meeting until the Wednesday after classes started.
“I’ve been having to do Brightspace on my own,” Donathan said.
New freshmen also participate in activities on campus.
“For me, my favorite thing so far, which is only a freshman thing, was the capture the flag, mostly because my team won,” Donathan said.
Donathan said he is also excited to participate in Wildcat Week.
He said his experience on campus so far has been positive.
“Campus is cool, the food’s actually pretty good,” Donathan said. “The people are great and Dr. Hoffman is the GOAT.”
Abigail Kempf has been a peer educator for new students for the past two years.
She said that with this new FYE style, called Wildcat 101, she can be more helpful for first year students than when the FYE was just a classic gen-ed class.
“Even from the one-on-ones, I find like (them) being required helps me connect with everyone, and I’ve been able to help a little bit more than I was last year, because now it’s a grade and getting points, and no one can ghost me,” Kempf said.
Kempf said she likes the one-on-one meetings with the freshmen because she can better connect with them this way. She said that she and the other peer educators are a built-in support system for the new students.
Wildcat 101 is meant to help freshmen learn about the IWU way of doing college as a preparation course for the coming semesters.
“While some might love (Wildcat 101) and some might not, I find it is a stepping stone for those who have never had any form of organization, like they’re given those resources,” Kempf said.
With the changes to the FYE courses, the peer educators are not the only ones seeing the impact.
Alisha Tiwary, a RA in Reed, said that she can already see how the new changes are benefiting her residents.
“I definitely see freshmen finding more community with other majors, as well as getting to know the faculty better,” Tiwary said. “I already have some girls being like, ‘wow, my prof is so great,’ or ‘my FYE teacher is amazing.”
Tiwary said that she believes the new changes are something that should be continued.
“I think it’s just more cohesive for the freshmen, students in general, and it’s able to offer more of a sense of community and friendship,” Tiwary said.
