Congratulations to our award-winning First Year Experience program, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next month. FYE has become a vital El Camino program since it opened in 2001, helping thousands of students successfully transition to college life during the past two decades. The program launched with just 40 students and today more than 2,000 students are enrolled.
Designed to help students be successful in their first year of college life, FYE regularly boasts top graduation and retention rates and provides a supportive environment full of academic and career services. Students have access to early registration, orientation, counselors, strategies for success in college, FYE faculty, field trips, and peer mentors. Led by Dr. Cynthia Mosqueda, who was a member of the FYE faculty when it first launched 20 years ago, the program offers an innovative approach to traditional academics through linking courses together by content, helping students develop study skills, and combining instructional methods to meet the specific needs of each student. Signature programs, such as a summer bridge reading and writing academy, have helped countless students improve their skills before even beginning their first semester at El Camino.
Among other honors, FYE has received awards from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges and the California Community College Chancellor's Office for outstanding contributions toward student success, transfer, and retention. Dedicated FYE faculty and staff who care about students are at the heart of this program that offers meaningful learning opportunities to a motivated group of students focused on building a bright future. In 2012, Dr. Mosqueda received the First Year Advocate Award from the National Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition from the University of South Carolina for her work in helping first-year students transition into college life successfully.