Student Success

A top down image of two students studying at a table together, taken from the vantage point of a staircase which you can see in the image

First-Year Inquiry for Student Success

Program Status: Implementation/Assessment

The purpose of this project is to redesign Portland State University’s three-term course First-Year Inquiry (FRINQ) to embed supportive services and student success measures directly in the curriculum. Our goals are to create a FRINQ curriculum where every student knows what support is available on campus by embedding advising, registration, financial aid, career readiness, wellness, belonging, etc., into the curriculum, to use FRINQ as a site where students can meet and build relationships with academic professionals from across campus who are ready to assist them, and to develop proactive processes for identifying and supporting students who are at risk of not passing or completing FRINQ.

Accomplished

  • Year one assessment was completed.
  • Pilot Year 2 kicked off this fall
    • 19 participating faculty
    • 25 FRINQ sections
  • Participating faculty and mentors attended a two and a half day training prior to the term
  • Portland Scholars were placed in FRINQ Student Success courses (see Cohort Model for more)

In Progress

  • Pilot Year 2 Assessment
  • Year 3 planning
    • All FRINQ sections will be using the Student Success Curriculum.
    • General Education Task Force Recommendations may shape what this looks like.   
      • Recommendations may take multiple years to go into effect
      • We plan to use the recommendations to inform minor changes to structure
  • Transition of process and management from OSS to UNST.

Project Health

  • Scheduling needs year-round support which is more intensive than estimated. Most partners are not able to schedule multiple terms in advance.
    • May need to explore the possibility of a scheduling tool to take manual lift off of staff.
  • Pilot is combining with Portland Scholars to place Scholars in Pilot FRINQ courses for the 2025/26 Academic Year.

Project Team

Sponsor: Andrea Garrity, Lindsey Wilkinson
Project Lead: Sarah Dougher
Project Manager: Beth Harris
Team: Meredith Michaud, Joel Bettridge, Sarah Dougher, Andrea Garrity, Lindsey Wilkinson, Rowanna Carpenter, Misty Hamideh