The First Year and Foundational Literacy Department provides preparation in reading and writing strategies, critical thinking, and effective study skills, enabling students to successfully engage in college-level work. The Department also houses the college’s First Year Experience course, as part of its commitment to educational opportunity for all students. The curriculum strives to meet the needs of students at their individual levels and encourages them to develop a positive attitude and to identify their academic and career goals.
First Year Experience (COM100) Course
The department has rolled out a new course this academic year: First Year Experience (COM100) is a liberal arts elective designed for all students new to college. The expected outcome of FYE is to develop our students' college readiness skills as they navigate their way through the early years of higher education and consider future career paths. North Shore Community College offers an innovative approach. FYE blends the "Freshman Seminar" course that is increasingly popular in two and four-year colleges with career exploration to meet the practical 21st century workforce development needs of our students.
NSCC As a Leading Institution in Developmental Education
North Shore Community College was one of the first community colleges in the commonwealth to adopt the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP). Based on the model established by the Community College of Baltimore County, ALP was first piloted at NSCC in the Spring of 2014. ALP offers developmental learners a faster and more successful pathway to proficiency than the two-level program offered before. Students who in the past would have placed into level two reading and writing, now can take college level composition alongside their non-developmental peers. At the same time, students in need of support take a co-requisite Composition Seminar, taught by the same instructor they have for Composition I. The small class size of a seminar classroom gives the ALP student the necessary scaffolding to thrive in a college-level English course. The pedagogy in the developmental ALP classroom is based on "backward design" from the composition course and emphasizes active learning, improved reasoning skills, engaged reading, and more effective editing skills. ALP instructors recognize the importance of paying attention to the non-cognitive skills gaps of our students. As of the Spring 2017 semester, the First Year Experience Foundational Literacy Program ran 10 separate sections of ALP.
Questions or Comments
If you have questions or comments about the First Year Foundational Literacy Department, please contact Kathy Yanchus at kyanchus@northshore.edu.