|
We are excited to share information with you about the First Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) at WMU. The purpose of this web page is to eliminate confusion between two programs with similar names; FYEE and FYE and to answer frequently asked questions.
Page contents:
Why two different programs?
Which program is for me?
What makes FYEE better for engineering students?
WHAT IS FYEE?
First Year Engineering Experience is an Engineering program that consists of
- New Student Orientation
- Fall Welcome
- Membership in one of our Learning Communities
- An optional Living Community experience
- For Engineering students only
WHAT IS FYE?
First Year Experience is a university-wide program that consists of
- New Student Orientation
- Fall Welcome
- A 2-credit hour course “FYE Seminar”
- All first-year students are encouraged to join
Unless you are one of a few students who must join FYE due to a specific scholarship requirement, we encourage all Engineering students to participate in First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) instead of joining First-Year Experience (FYE).
LEARNING COMMUNITIES - All FYEE students are placed into small Learning Communities of around 20 other Engineering students. The members of each learning community share the same math level and career interests and attend the same core classes together. As a result students form study groups, friendships, and academically support each other.
Each Learning Community is lead throughout the year by a faculty/advisor and a teaching assistant.
Students in each Learning Community will participate together in learning activities outside the classroom, exploring engineering and technology career fields.
Each Learning Community will typically meet several more times for social events.
OPTIONAL LIVING COMMUNITIES –The academic requirements to succeed as an Engineering student are more rigorous than for many other majors.
To help them meet this challenge, many engineering students choose to live in our Engineering House located in Bigelow Hall. The Engineering House offers on-site tutoring for Engineering students, 6 to 7 evenings per week. A computer lab with the necessary software installed is available for completing assignments right in the Hall.
In the Bigelow Engineering House, plenty of fun goes on, but studying and academic achievements are give a high priority.
 Sign up for New Student Orientation
You will attend one of the 12 orientation sessions in June. It is during summer orientation you will learn to which FYEE Learning Community you have been assigned.
Orientation Coordinator (269) 387-2167
Sign up for Fall Welcome
(August 27 – 31)
Fall Welcome Coordinator (269) 387-3391
 You don’t need to sign up for a Learning Community.
Engineering students are automatically place in Learning Communities based on their ACT test scores.
If you are an Engineering major with an ACT English test score of 18 or above and an ACT Math test score of 16 or above you will be automatically signed up for FYEE and placed in a learning community until all spaces are filled.
Sign up for the Engineering House, located in Bigelow Hall, if desired.
Residence Life (269) 387.4735
Follow the directions on the Residence Life web site. You must complete the online housing contract and request the Engineering House located in Bigelow Hall as your number one choice.
How do I find out which Learning Community I’m in?
You will find out your assignment during the Summer Orientation Session.
Will I get all the great experiences my first year if I don’t enroll in the FYE seminar class?
Yes. As a member of a Learning Community you will have the opportunity to attend several events both academic and social that will expand your understanding of the University and the community. You will form academic and professional relationships with faculty, advisors, teaching assistants and professionals in the community, as well as peer relationships with students interested in pursuing the same academic and career goals.
When do the Learning Communities first meet?
At the Engineering College’s Fall Welcome event. Invitations will be mailed out in early August with further details.
Who can be placed in FYEE Learning Communities?
If you are an Engineering major with an ACT English test score of 18 or above and an ACT Math test score of 16 or above you will be automatically signed up for FYEE and placed in a learning community until all spaces are filled.
What are the other benefits of FYEE?
- Priority to enroll in required courses taught by the excellent instructors.
- Tutoring in mathematics and writing courses.
- Mentoring by Engineering faculty and career counseling
- Learning community with students who have similar career goals.
- Opportunities for summer internships in Engineering fields.
WMU is one of only a few universities in the country that has been awarded a National Science Foundation STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Talent Expansion Program (STEP) grant. The focus of this grant is to improve the success rate for first year STEM students and ultimately increase the number of students that graduate with degrees in these fields. The FYEE program is directly funded by the STEP program.
The first year (2004) of this project was used to design the first-year experience for STEM majors and to initiate faculty development. The second year’s goal was to implement the initial plan, and the third year to revise the implementation based upon assessment of the results of implementation. In years 4 and 5, the revised implementation plans will be executed to encompass a greater percentage of the first-year STEM student population.
If you have any questions about FYEE, your student Learning Community, or the WMU-STEP Program, please feel free to contact:
Dr. Edmund Tsang
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs & Assessment
(269) 276-3249
edmund.tsang@wmich.edu
Kathleen Kallen
STEP Program Director
(269) 276-3316
kathleenkallen@wmich.edu
|
