Effective Online Education System for First Year Students at the University

The article presents the results of the research on the effectiveness of the "First Steps at FIM" project (FSAF). The research involved the participation of more than six thousands first-year students in the years of 2012-2014. The aim of the survey was to prove that the FSAF project is useful and students are satisfied with it. The methods of a quantitative questionnaire survey and qualitative SWOT analysis were used here. The results from the questionnaire imply that almost all of university students consider the induction course and introductory lecture to be useful. It has been confirmed that the students who are not familiar with the course have less knowledge than those who have attended the course. Less than three quarters of the assigned questions were answered correctly by the course sympathizers. Those not knowing about the course had only more than two-thirds of the answers correct. Out of the total number, more than four-fifths of students use the course, which proves that the course is useful and popular with most students. The SWOT analysis from 2014 shows that the students are satisfied with the information provided in the course. They appreciate instructive articles complemented by multimedia content, up-to-date video records, pleasant graphic design and the search engine function. The results will be used for the timely provision of information and a quick adaptation of students when entering to our faculty.