How Institutional Repositories Provide a Digital Complement to the First Year Experience

In Fall 2011, Western Oregon University Archives partnered with Interdisciplinary Studies to digitally capture capstone projects created in the First Year Experience Program (FYE). These seminars provide incoming first-year and transfer students with the necessary skills to succeed in the college classroom and campus life. WOU Archives and FYE instructors collaborated to preserve a digital sample of students’ capstone work, including papers, creative art, posters, presentations, and videos. This presentation will discuss this our shared promotional goals and the library’s role in supporting student retention. We’ll also discuss the nuts and bolts of digitally documenting student work, including permissions, formats, sampling methods, and the overall development of the digital collection