First-Year Experience

First-Year Experience

The three-course First-Year Experience (FYE) is required of all first-year students for full implementation beginning with the 2005-2006 academic year. The FYE will consist of:

1. A First-Year Colloquium (FYC) that will
   • be taught by at least two full-time faculty members from different disciplines (departments),
   • take place over two terms beginning with the Fall term,
   • carry 3 or 4 credits each term (based on the instructor's recommendation),
   • focus on engaging issues that in some meaningful way cross disciplinary boundaries,
   • meet Areas of Knowledge requirements in appropriate disciplines,
   • include activities and tasks that strengthen student skills in writing, reading, speaking, listening, and the use of information resources,
   • incorporate a substantive project that engages the students in actively exploring the cross-disciplinary aspects of the colloquium,
   • infuse active learning into its pedagogy, and
   • include co-curricular activities as appropriate to the instructor's topics/issues and discipline.

2. A 4-credit course devoted to the development and reinforcement of writing skills. Ordinarily this course is taken in conjunction with the FYC sometime during the first year.

3. Speech instruction by speech communication professionals and tutoring by peer tutors. Speech instruction and tutoring will occur outside of FYC class time and will be coordinated with the FYC

   instructor. Graded activities and evaluation will occur within the FYC.

4. Community-wide co-curricular activities required of all FYC students. These activities will be primarily thematically based and intended to stimulate on-campus engagement and to provide a potential resource for FYC colloquia.

In addition:

• The students in the Fall term FYC class will become the instructor's advisees.
• Faculty participation in the FYC is voluntary.
• The FYC will have a maximum class size of 15 students.
• The projects produced during the FYC will be showcased by students at a spring college-wide event. The form of the student presentations will be determined by the FYC Faculty Pairs so that each is appropriate to its discipline.