First-year seminar gives IU Southeast students a passport to success

Curtis Peters, a professor of philosophy, talks to his First-Year Seminar students during a tour of the Ronald L. Barr Art Gallery. Peters directs the First-Year Seminar program at IU Southeast.

A new program at IU Southeast is providing first-year students a “passport” to a more enhanced educational experience.

The First-Year Seminar is a comprehensive program required for new students and for individuals transferring with at least 26 credit hours from another institution. A number of objectives are at the heart of the program, which Curtis Peters, director of the program, believes is unique.

Some of the program’s characteristics:

• full-time faculty and professional staff teach the course to create a bond and sense of community to the campus;

• small class sizes, 20 is the maximum;

• students enrolled after 2002 are required to take First-Year Seminar;

• the course is taught in all disciplines and is blended within another academic class;

• those enrolled must attend three campus events of various types; and

• students receive a letter grade, not a pass/fail designation.

“These are features that research shows to be successful,” Peters said.

While IU Southeast has an ultimate objective to boost retention, Peters said he has sought to emphasize student learning in coordinating the program. “My goal is to improve student success, then, I think, retention will be a by-product,” he explained.

Other program highlights include:

• students being issued special passports that must be stamped during visits to various campus offices;

• traditional students learning how to differentiate between what strategies worked well in high school versus what works in college;

• acquainting students with various campus services and resources available to them, as well as activities for involvement outside of the classroom;

• familiarizing students with campus-wide computer programs, which are essential for them to succeed, such as Indiana Student Information Transaction Environment (INSITE), Oncourse and IU’s Computerized Advising Record (IU CARE);

• improving test-taking skills, research, writing, taking useful notes and time management;

• developing critical thinking skills; and

• managing stress and personal health.

Faculty member Rebecca Carlton has witnessed how the First-Year Seminar has benefited traditional and non-traditional students alike. “The seminar teaches and reinforces skills that encourage student success, and it provides an opportunity to create a feeling of community at IUS,” Carlton said.

One thing that Carlton said students have enjoyed is learning how to use INSITE, a Web-based service for IU students, faculty and staff that provides secure access to student information, and how to read an IU CARE sheet.

A non-traditional student in Carlton’s class last semester found the visit to the Writing Center to be beneficial.

“One of the things that Walt (Jackson) teaches is how to attach a file to an E-mail,” Carlton said. “This session made my student feel so much more comfortable just learning those little things. It gave her more confidence.”