First-Year Seminar: Academic/Career/Personal Exploration Program

Based on the University’s mission statement, the Spartan Ready® Pillars, and best practices in the area of First-Year Experience seminars, all entering first- year students are enrolled in the University’s First- Year Student Seminar I & II (BAC 101/BAC 102. This is a graded (A-F scale), two credit total, and required academic seminar with various topics. Each section of the course has approximately 25 students and fulfills general education requirements. The course meets for 14 weeks in the semester, one hour per week, and the primary focus of the seminar is academic skills development. To accomplish this, the following learning objectives are assessed:

I. College Transition: Students should be able to describe the culture of college, including knowing the difference between high school and college standards, identify and use higher education resources, identify higher education skills that transfer to the workplace and explain factors that affect degree completion.

II. Time Management: Students should be able to identify effective time management strategies, explain the advantages and disadvantages of various time management tools, apply their understanding of time management planning tools to situations and understand the importance of prioritizing activities.

III. Critical Thinking: Students should be able to describe critical thinking, identify and develop skills of critical thinking, develop the ability to consider information from different viewpoints, set goals to improve their critical thinking skills and evaluate information using critical thinking skills, including the ability to analyze assumptions and bias information.

IV. Majors/Careers and Resumes: Students should be able to identify interests and how they relate to coursework and potential careers, conduct research to determine the skills, experience and education needed for a career area, analyze transferable skills from post educational work and life experiences, evaluate what transferable skills relate to a specific job and build an effective resume for their chosen career path.

 Refer to the Two-Year Learning Community section of this catalog for details.