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Article Type

Professional Proficiency

Article Abstract

Related Issue:

The Saint Mary’s University first-year student success program was developed by its strategic enrollment management (SEM) group to enhance support for first-year students. As an integrated program that implements student success modules into the first-year core curriculum, this initiative has proven to be effective in enhancing student engagement through the introduction of topics such as time management and effective study strategies (Tabvuma, et al. 2021). This article aims to raise awareness to both prospective social learning participants and higher education SEM-related leadership on the value that social learning approaches had in supporting the curriculum development and delivery of this unique campus-wide first-year program initiative. As an ontological backdrop, the group utilized Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner’s (2014) “Learning in a Landscape of Practice” framework as a reflective lens to offer unique perspectives on how members navigated three modes of identity (engagement, imagination, and alignment) throughout their shared practice, including strategies and challenges in such areas as student engagement, interdisciplinary meetings, and shared group activities. A discussion on achieving intended outcomes and challenges moving forward is offered as part of an evaluative self-analysis for this learning community and its implications on this first-year student success program initiative.

Author(s)

kay-d-w--smD. William Kay manages academic program development and review at Saint Mary’s
University. He received his B.A. (1994) from the University of Toronto and his
M.A. (2010) from Macquarie University, Sydney Australia, and his Ed.D. (2018)
from the University of Calgary. Kay has more than 20 years of teaching
experience in adult education, and his current research interests are focused
on educational leadership and social learning theories.

Steven Smith is a Professor of Psychology and the former associate
vice-president academic & enrollment management at SMU and former dean of
science. Smith received his B.A. (1995) from Bishop’s University and his M.A.
(1997) and Ph.D. (2000) from Queen’s University. As AVP, Smith led the
strategic enrollment management program at SMU. He has published in journals
such as Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
Law and Human Behavior,
Vaccine, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and
Journal of Applied Psychology.

tabvuma-v--smVurain Tabvuma is the Sobey Professor in Management and an Associate Professor
in the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. Tabvuma’s research
focuses on intrinsic motivation, employee and student onboarding, job
satisfaction, organizational change, adaptation, student success, public
service motivation, and pro-social motivation. His research has been funded by
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the British
Academy, The Research Fund for International Young Scientists under the
National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the David Sobey Centre for
Innovation in Retailing and Services.

carter-rogers-k--smKatelynn Carter-Rogers is an Assistant Professor at St. Francis Xavier
University in the Gerald Schwartz School of Business, in Indigenous Business.
Carter-Rogers is a highly skilled social science researcher and consultant
with a decade of experience in advanced statistics, research design,
transition intervention and success, and attitudes measurement. For a decade,
she has been involved in research focused on barriers to success, criminal
records and hiring decisions, interventions leading to successful transitions,
and creating and evaluating inclusive practices within organizations for
individuals who are from marginalized populations. Carter-Rogers is Red River
Métis and has spent the last several decades reconnecting and learning what it
means for her and her family to be Indigenous. She has multiple publications
on student success, with a particular focus on supporting at-risk populations.
She is actively working on several project topics including Merit in Higher
Education, EDIA interventions within organizations, hiring and selection of
minorities with criminal records, as well as reconnecting and learning
Indigenous Methodologies applicable to social sciences and business education.

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