Developed by Memorial University in 2012, the First Year Success Pilot (FYSP) program targets entering students with a 70-75% high school average, who have been identified as at-risk for academic achievement. The program brings together faculty leaders from a wide-range of disciplines, including Medicine, History, English, Math and Psychology, as well as a team of dedicated instruction librarians. Information literacy (IL) is a foundational concept of the FYSP and has been woven into the four core courses that make up the program. The information literacy piece has been conceptualized, designed, and taught by librarians who have worked closely with teaching faculty to map IL into the FYSP curriculum. This presentation will explain the work and research that led to the development of the pilot program, explore the core IL concepts that we identified as being crucial for at-risk students in their first year, and examine the role that librarians can play in supporting both academic success and lifelong learning. In addition, the session will outline librarian partnerships with other key stakeholders including Academic Advising, The Writing Centre and The Office of the Dean of Arts which oversees the program.
