The First-Year Experience (FYE) (also known as the Freshman-Year Experience or the Freshman Seminar Program) is a program at many American colleges and universities designed to help students prepare for the transition from high school to college. FYE programs often foster the participation of students in co-curricular events such as common reads, concerts, art exhibits, guest lectures, and organic leadership development initiatives.
Depending on the school, the course can last anywhere from two weeks to a full school year. Some larger universities, such as the University at Albany, SUNY, through their Project Renaissance Program,[1] create a "small college" feel by allowing freshmen to do their first-year courses in one section of the university.
While the origins of the program remain unclear, many people attribute the start of the First-Year Seminar to the University of South Carolina, which houses the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and holds a series of workshops for colleges and universities to better their own first-year programs.[citation needed]