UWG 1101: The First Year University Experience

logoMain2 UWG 1101: The First Year University Experience, Fall 2008

MF: 3:30-4:20 p.m., Pafford 106

Instructor: Dr. Muriel Cormican

Associate Professor of German

Office Hours: MWF 9-9:50, MW 1:30-3:20 or by appointment

Office: Cobb Hall 119

E-mail: mcormica@westga.edu

Phone: 678-839-5955

Website: http://www.westga.edu/~mcormica/uwg1101.htm

Course description: UWG 1101 is designed to help students succeed at West Georgia: succeed academically as well as personally and socially. The fundamental focus of the class is to provide an understanding of the basic structure of critical thinking and of academic disciplines in order to increase learning in the university classroom. In addition, the course will provide an overview of resources, which will help to ensure student success in the university classroom. Furthermore, UWG 1101 provides students with essential information about the University as a whole, its rules, procedures, and resources. UWG 1101 classes include subjects that cut across the academic and nonacademic lines of school; these subjects include time management, college student skills, and computer and portal skills. Students are required to attend class and to interact with their instructors and classmates. While students must take responsibility for their own learning, the course attempts to support and enhance that responsibility by making the class a learning community within the University.

Course objectives:

· To promote for first-year students a positive adjustment and assimilation into the University

· To help students learn to balance their freedom with a sense of responsibility as part of the process of enhancing self knowledge and self-confidence

· To develop a network of colleagues

· To involve students in the total life of the University

· To reduce student anxiety about written and oral communication

· To enhance college-level and analytical reading and provide supplemental practice in applying the knowledge students gain in other first-year courses

· To provide students additional training, practice, experience, and knowledge in the following skill areas: decision-making, goal setting, planning, time management, and group/teamwork

Learning Outcomes

· Students will identify and utilize a set of adaptive study, coping, critical thinking, logical problem solving, and other academic/personal/social success skills;
Students will demonstrate an understanding of some of the most typical pedagogical strategies of their professors' teaching and presentation styles;
Students will identify and understand their own personal learning style and how to best adapt to different instructional strategies in the classroom;

· Students will demonstrate their understanding of the function of a mentor and how to go about finding one;

· Students will summarize basic information about UWG: its history, purposes, organization, rules and regulations, people, services, resources, and opportunities for student development;

· Students will utilize the following resources available to them at UWG: the Library, the EXCEL Center, and the Health Center; students will also identify the location and function of other important offices on campus, such as Student Development Center, the Writing Center, the Mathematics Tutoring Center, and the Career Services Office;

· Students will identify some of the major health and wellness issues for students;

· Students will document their personal goals for careers and academic majors and their plans for achieving these goals;

· Students will demonstrate basic skills in computer literacy through activities involving the use of e-mail and the Internet;

· Students will demonstrate personal responsibility and self-direction regarding their education;

· Students will identify the benefits of a college degree;

· Students will identify and demonstrate an appreciation of the value of diversity and of a liberal arts perspective in their education;

· Students will identify elements of democratic structures within which they will be civically engaged on the UWG campus, in the larger community and in the State of Georgia;

· Students will examine and discuss ways in which UWG students, faculty, and staff identify, prioritize and debate issues in ways that allow and support the principles of civic engagement and democracy.

Text, Readings and Instructional Resources

A. University of West Georgia First Year Success

B. Forni, P.M. Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct. New York: Johns Hopkins Press, 2002.

C. Other reading/viewing as assigned

Expectations, Evaluation Procedures, and Grading Policy

Expectations: The student will attend each class meeting having read the assigned portion of the text and will be prepared to actively participate in class activities and discussions. The student will attend each experiential session as an effective scholar and as well prepared as possible.

Grading: Grades will be assigned on a percentage scale.

Assessment — Course assignments will be weighted as follows:

Attendance and Participation: 30% à 1% for each class period: 0.25% for being present; 0.75% for being prepared, participating, being enthusiastic, and staying focused on the activities in class. If your cell phone rings once in class, you will lose 0.25% for that day. The second time it rings, you will lose 0.5% for that day. If it rings a third, fourth, fifth time in the course of the semester, you will lose all 1% for the day in question. Why? Most classes have a policy against cell phone use in class. In most classes, you don’t get a second chance. Here you will have a second chance, but there will also be real consequences if you don’t learn to manage your cell phone.

Journal: 15% à bi-weekly entries. Your journal will be due at the beginning of class on the Wednesday of every second week of class, beginning August 27^th. Each entry should be at least 200 words in length, typed, double-spaced, with margins of 1” all around. Each entry should have your name in the top left hand corner, the date, name of the professor, class, etc.. Each entry should have a centered title. If your journal doesn’t follow these requirements, I will return it to you and ask you to resubmit it with everything done correctly. I am happy to help you learn how to do all the formatting if you are not familiar with it already. You may rewrite your journal entries if you wish to try to improve your grade on any entry by up to 10%. Topics will be assigned a week in advance. Due Dates: every 2^nd Wednesday, beginning August 27^th.

Reading / Book report: (25%) à Groups of 4 will read a book of their choosing (everyone in the group will read the book), present it to the class, discuss its relevance and importance, its strengths and weaknesses, and lead a discussion on its themes/the issues it addresses. Each group will provide the professor with a write up of the presentation and a reaction to it. This element will serve as a “midterm exam.” It should help you prepare for a variety of typical college reading, presentation, and writing assignments. The instructor will provide more details as the semester progresses. Due date: will vary according to presentation date.

Campus Events: (6%) à Students should attend at least 3 out-of-class campus events during the semester, and write a summary of each event. In these summaries, you should very briefly describe the main points of the event, state what features of the presentation were most useful or interesting to you, and explain why. You should attend at least one of each of the three types of events listed below. Due date: Throughout the term, but all 3 summaries must be handed in by 12/12 at 4:00 p.m.

Academic — a program about how to be a better student, a speaker sponsored by an academic department on campus, an academic discussion of current events, etc.
Social, entertainment, or service — an event sponsored by a student organization or the Department of Student Activities, an athletic event, a campus service project, etc.

Cultural — a foreign film, a play, musical performance, art exhibit, etc.

In-Class Writing, Response, Quizzes: (15%) à Students must attend all class meetings. Once a week there will be a short individual assignment. It might be a short quiz on the assigned reading, a mock Regents exam reading passage, a response to the topics being discussed. If you are not in class, you will not get credit for these assignments. Due date: Throughout the term.

Learning to rewrite: (9%) à Students must complete some paper / essay for some class they are taking this semester at least a week in advance and show it to me. They must then take the assignment to the writing center for advice and feedback and change the paper/essay in accordance with the feedback given. Students must then hand in to me both the first and second drafts (which must differ significantly) and evidence of attendance at the writing center. Due Date: will vary according to students’ choice.

Evaluation of assignments — All assignments will be assessed on three criteria:

1) Successful Completion. I will look to see that you have done the work that was assigned and that you answered all aspects of the question.

2) Thoughtful Consideration. I will read your submission to determine whether you took the assignment seriously and applied critical thinking and logical reasoning to the assignment.

3) Professionalism. I will look to see whether you proofread your work, formatted it correctly, and handed it in on time.

Punctuality and Consideration for Others: Like most professors, I expect you to behave professionally in this course, which means considering the effect that your behavior will have on other people involved in the course.

· Please come to class on time, and do not leave early. If you must come to class late, enter as quietly as possible to avoid disrupting class and be aware that points will be deducted.

· Turn off pagers and cellular phones, and do not use them in class.

· Please be sensitive of the perspectives of your classmates. Vigorous discussion of controversial issues is terrific, but do not belittle the opinions of others. We expect you to disagree with us and with one another, but do so in a respectful manner.

· Finally, please hand in assignments on time. The professors’ time is also valuable, and late assignments disrupt our scheduling.

Academic Honesty Policy: At UWG we take academic honesty very seriously. Plagiarism of any sort will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s ideas or words as your own. This definition includes copying another student’s exam or assignment, as well as using material from a book, article or internet site without acknowledging the source. If you plagiarize any part of an assignment for this course, you will receive a zero for the entire assignment, and disciplinary action will be taken.

Course Schedule: Here is a schedule of topics, along with assigned readings from your textbooks. I will update this schedule as needed throughout the term and may make changes if necessary/useful.

Course Schedule

Date	Topics	Reading / Writing	Notes
8/18	Welcome and introduction; goals; why college?
8/20	Academic Survival – Part 1 Expectations, College vs. High School	FYS, Chapter 1
8/25	Campus Resources: The Excel Center	Choosing Civility, Part 1, p. 3-32	UWG 1101 survey; JB: goals & values
8/27	Civility, respect, Self-Expression, Love and Support	Journal 1 due	MM: Why college?
9/1	LABOR DAY – No class		Frevert? MM?
9/3	Civility continued / Writing	FYS, Chapter 13	JB
9/8	Organizers / Time management / Assignments due Campus Resources: The Writing Center	FYS, Chapter 2 and Grading Your Professors, p. 184-191	JB
9/10	Professors, Honor Code, Academic Honesty	Journal 2 due	JB to contact panel members
9/15	Faculty panel: Panel members TBA(Khan, Love, McFarland, Alberg)	FYS, Chapters 5 and 12	MM Note-taking
9/17	Civility: 25 rules	Choosing Civility, Part 2, p.35-157	MM: Financial aid guest?
9/22	Learning Styles, Test Taking	FYS, Chapters 17 and 18	MM: Discovery?
9/24	Campus Resources: The Library	Journal 3 due	JB: Library scavenger hunt
9/29	Study Strategies Last day to apply for Fall semester Regents’ Exam. Strozier 110.	FYS, Chapter 14
10/1	Critical Thinking	FYS, Chapter 10	MM: Guest from HS
10/6	Civility	Choosing Civility, Part 3, p. 161-185
10/8	Choosing a Major. Student Panel: Panel TBA Last day to withdraw with a grade of W.	Journal 4 due	MM; jb out of town
10/13	No class – individual advising in office for presentations
10/15	Class presentations		JB
10/20	Class presentations
10/22	Class presentations	Journal 5 due
10/27	Open: To be determined by students Oct 27-30: Regents’ Test
10/29	College and freedom and sex, drugs, etc.	FYS, My First Week at Mizzou, p. 212-217
11/3	Academic Advising Nov 3-4: Regents’ Test Nov 6-25 Registration for Spring Semester	Handouts
11/5	Open: To be determined by students	Journal 6 due
11/10	Communication and writing
11/12	Depression, mood, anger	Handouts
11/17	Procrastination, Organization	FYS, Chapters 6 and 8	1 in 4
11/19	Open: To be determined by students	Journal 7 due
11/24	Stress management	Handouts
11/26	Thanksgiving Break
12/1	Globalization & Internationalization. Faculty Panel: Panel TBA
12/3	Debriefing & the future	Journal 8 due
12/4	Fee payment deadline for Spring 2009
12/12	2-4: final assignments due

One myth to be dispelled:

Because this is a two-hour course on a seemingly nebulous topic does not mean an automatic A, B, or even passing grade. The quality of your work in the course is easily observed and will be rewarded accordingly. The course credits are added to your total course credits which apply towards graduation, and the grade is a part of your overall G.P.A.

Special Needs:

If you have any special needs associated with a disability, please make the instructor aware of your need so we may make the necessary accommodations.

Disclaimer: This syllabus is intended to give an outline of the course, offering each student a sense of direction as we initiate the task of studying freshman related issues. It is an accurate projection of the course at the time of printing. However, it is sometimes necessary to make some changes in course contents based on student needs, time constraints, or other factors.

Civility: 25 rules

Choosing a Major. Student Panel: Panel TBA

Last day to withdraw with a grade of W.