For nearly eight years, Diablo Valley College’s First Year Experience (FYE) has supported students entering their first year of college. With eight learning communities available, the FYE program offers a preset schedule and allows students to take advantage of campus resources.
The FYE program presents five major paths, or cohorts, depending on the major a student wishes to pursue — from allied health and psychology to business, communication and STEM.
“We have the cohort model where we offer all twelve units, so students are getting their English requirement, math requirement, [and] they get a counseling class,” said Professor Ramiro Ibarra, program coordinator and student engagement director for FYE.
“[It] is a college success skills class to help our students kind of acclimate to college expectations and life, and they have a class specific to their major that they are pursuing.”
Each cohort has a unique schedule that covers the general education requirements for students of English and math, Ramiro said. FYE also features a counseling class that explores resources like the tutoring offices or the kind of help each department in the Student Services Center (SSC) offers.
Outside the provided schedule for learning, students have the opportunity to attend study group hours in the learning center of the cohort.
“One of the things I’ve been doing is I’ve been trying to layer the different supports DVC offers and try to fold them into the FYE program,” added Ramiro.
“In an effort to introduce the student centers and break the stigma of tutoring and working together, we decided to move study groups into the student centers that most aligned with [their] pathway.”
Events in Fall 2025 run by FYE have included math workshops and presentations, held Aug. 11-14, reviewing DVC resources as a collaboration between FYE and MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement).
Also, on Sept. 9, 16, and 23, English Professor Jay Jackl offered workshops for students from 11:10 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. in the English Learning Center.
Upcoming events include “Friendsgiving,” in November, to help build community and strengthen relationships among this year’s cohorts. That event is being planned by Ramiro and peer advisors — second-year students who graduated from the FYE program and are now working as advisors for new students entering DVC.
“I see more of the benefits that they (FYE) talked about, since as a student you’re trying to get your work done and get out of here, so you don’t reap all the benefits of the program,” said Saba Ahmadi, a STEM cohort peer advisor.
“But being the peer advisor and being the one to set up those programs and events and stuff, I think it kind of shows what FYE is meant to be.”
Students who participate in the FYE program can also join other learning communities like Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), which offers support for disadvantaged students, and MESA, which empowers students pursuing majors in STEM.
These collaborations of programs open students to opportunities for financial aid, attending conferences, and access to resources like tutoring and professional connections. It also allows community building through different learning communities.