ESCANABA - Bay College has revamped its student success course. Now, the course isn't just about note-taking and study habits, but also focuses on giving students psychological tools, such as motivation, self-esteem, and self-awareness, needed to succeed in college and in life.

The course, called FY (First Year) 101 is a part of the Achieving the Dream grant which Bay College received in 2008. Achieving the Dream is a national initiative designed to help more community college students succeed.

FY 101 is offered to a variety of first-year college students, both traditional and non-traditional, at both the main and west campuses. Other colleges and universities have offered similar classes and have seen increases in student retention and engagement.

Bay College faculty members Denise Dufek and Gregory Cutler helped design the course. Dufek is also one of four faculty members who teaches the class at Bay College's main campus. Dufek said the course focuses on what students need to do in their first year in college i order to be successful.

Past college success courses were structured around study skills and note-taking, which wasn't cutting it, said Dufek.

"I was beating my head against the wall until I realized that students can't be successful if they don't believe in themselves," she said.

Dufek described FY 101 as an empowerment course that helps students ignore past experiences, such as being told they weren't smart, that have caused them to struggle and stifled their potential.

"It helps students take past behaviors and attitudes and turn them around," she said. "They (students) will say, all my life I never had a choice. I always believed I was stupid... This course breaks down all those walls and barriers. It says 'Now you're here, what are your choices?'"

During the course, students learn about the choices successful students make, such as accepting personal responsibility, believing in themselves, mastering self-management, gaining self-awareness, adopting life-long learning and developing emotional intelligence. Students also assess their learning style, which helps them discover how they perceive the world around them.

One of the most powerful aspects of the course, said Dufek, is journaling. Students are encouraged to write several journal entries on each subject, which helps them be creative and spontaneous, but most importantly, it helps them dive deep - a key phrase in FY 101, said Dufek.

"If you're writing a journal entry about self-esteem, or your belief in yourself... If you really dive deep, you may discover the areas where you don't believe in yourself," said Dufek.

Another key concept of the course is being a creator rather than a victim, said Dufek. A victim will allow pre-conceived ideas or past experiences to hinder their success, while a creator takes control of his or her future.

"It's a huge shift when students get it," said Dufek. "So often people are in victim mode and they don't realize they're there."

This past May, faculty and staff members and other local educators attended a workshop to learn about the principles of FY 101 and how to teach the course. Because of the power of the ideas taught in FY 101, Cutler hopes the concepts can be integrated in other Bay College courses and services.

"For instance, getting students to take personal responsibility for their learning and for their choices is such a huge step towards success," said Cutler. "We need to reinforce and encourage that throughout the college."

Dufek said the integration of these concepts has helped transform the campus culture.

"The talk about creator versus victim - many of the faculty have used that in their opening days of the semester," she said. "We're integrating a lot of those concepts into classes and daily campus life which makes it even more powerful."

"We've already seen some remarkable changes in students when they understand how to make wise choices as well as recognizing their potential because of FY 101," added Cutler. "FY 101 may be one of the most important courses they will ever take at Bay."