GoalQuest, a division of Halyard Education Partners, and the University of South Carolina today announced that they will deploy the company's FYRe™ student success and retention program. The University has been widely considered a leader in the first-year experience movement for more than 30 years.

A highly immersive, Web-based program that helps students transition to college, develop critical troubleshooting skills and build social and academic networks on campus, FYRe (www.goalquest.com/fyre) features custom-written student success content, a library of interactive self-assessment and self-improvement modules, video-based "virtual mentors" as well as survey tools. The program covers topics such as study skills, goal-setting, time management, diversity and multicultural issues, health and wellness strategies, drug and alcohol abuse, career planning and portfolio development. In addition, an extensive reporting dashboard provides school administrators with real-time data, including daily attrition-risk and student satisfaction alerts.

"We are excited about our new partnership with GoalQuest as we strive to enhance students' integration, engagement and success at the University of South Carolina," said Dr. Chrissy Coley, assistant vice provost for student success initiatives. "We anticipate that FYRe will play an important role in our comprehensive first-year experience efforts as it will allow students to explore support services and resources on their own time and in their preferred medium, the Web, beginning prior to arrival on campus and continuing throughout the entire year."

Since its debut in the 1970s, the University's first-year seminar has been replicated at institutions throughout the United States and abroad. In 1986, USC formalized its role as an informational hub with the creation of the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. Among other accolades, the University has been recognized regularly by U.S. News & World Report for its outstanding first-year programs.

"GoalQuest is extremely pleased to see FYRe become part of the University of South Carolina's student success initiative," said Peter Tomassi, vice president for product development and editor-in-chief. "The University has inspired student development educators across the nation and around the world, and it has touched the lives of countless new college students. We believe that FYRe's blend of highly interactive, student-centric content and its action-oriented reporting tools will engage USC students and provide staff with an unprecedented amount of relevant data."