Transcript FirstYearSeminarCourses

Rich Veit
Judy Nye
Laura Jannone
Why a New First-Year Seminar
 First-year seminars are offered at more than 95% of
American colleges and universities
 They have a significant impact on retention rates
 They led to more meaningful student-faculty
interactions
 They lead to better student performance and higher
grades
 They lead to more student engagement
The First-Year Seminar: Then and Now
 Then
 One-Credit Experience
 Optional Course
 Focus on Transition to
College
 Now
 Three-Credit Experience
 Required Course
 Focus on Academic Content,
Transition to College, and
Ethics
Rationale for the Course
 Address the Ethics Learning Goal
 Address the Transition to College
 Encourage Meaningful Contact with Faculty
 Socialize Students into Academic Culture
 Share Your Passion About Your Discipline
Our Hopes
 Challenging Courses on Interesting Courses
 Courses that are Clearly Different than High School
Courses
 Courses Taught by Engaging and Caring Faculty
FYS Outcomes
 The First Year Seminar’s primary purposes are to stimulate
our students’ academic curiosity and serve as a foundation
for their transition into the intellectual life of the
university. This course will allow professors to engage
students in scholarly inquiry founded within the faculty
member’s interests and expertise but not necessarily
limited by disciplinary boundaries nor content
requirements. Similar to the model currently used for
perspectives courses, faculty will have the opportunity to
teach a variety of academic topics while addressing
important issues for first-year students. Thus, each First
Year Seminar will address a common set of three
components: Academic, Ethics, and Transition.
Outcomes for the Academic
Component of the First Year
Seminar
 Students will demonstrate critical thinking as they
actively engage in course material.
 Students will be able to seek out, evaluate and
integrate information from multiple sources based on
a course topic.
Outcomes for the Ethics
Component of the First Year
Seminar
 Students will demonstrate awareness of ethical
debates pertaining to the course topic.
 Students will demonstrate awareness of ethical
considerations of academic life.
Outcomes for the Transition
Component of the First Year
Seminar

Students will articulate and evaluate their experience with
college resources (such as but not necessarily limited to one
academic and one non academic resource).
 Students will demonstrate strategies for improving academic
skills (such as but not necessarily limited to time management,
stress management, and study skills).
 Students will demonstrate an understanding of academic culture
and its norms, values, and practices, including the differences
between college and high school intellectual activity and work.
General Resources
 Freshman Seminar: Info, Resources, Skills, & Training
(FIRST)
 First Year at Monmouth Resource Library
Resources for Transitions
 Instructor Training in May
 “How is College Different from High School?”
 Guest Speaker Database
Resources for Ethics and Critical
Thinking
 Online Resources
 Print Resources
Web Seminars
 Offered every semester
 Next Month:
 April 2: E-learning Study Skills: Keeping yourself and
your students ahead of the curve!
 April 7: Fired Up or Burned Out? Teaching Strategies to
Help First-Year Seminar Instructors Rekindle Their
Enthusiasm
Peer Advisors
 Assist you with your class and help your students
adjust to campus life
 Sophomores, juniors, seniors who have taken the
course or are active leaders on campus
 Assist a variety of ways; it's up to you and your Peer
Advisor to find how you will best complement one
another
 Recommend a student or select from a pool of
qualified students
Peer Advisors
 Liaison between students and professor
 Role model for students
 Teaching assistant
 Paid hourly
Approval Process
Faculty Activities
 Feb 2009 -Working groups begin to receive syllabi for
their review to see of courses meet the approved
learning outcomes, working group recommendations
to be sent GEOC
 May 2009- New & revised syllabi presented @
Undergraduate Studies Committee by academic
departments following the approval by GEOC
 Nov 2009- course schedule for summer 2010, fall 2010
& spring 2011 completed