Office of First-Year Experience to host First-Year Seminar proposal workshops


LAWRENCE — The Office of First-Year Experience will host two upcoming workshops on preparing a First-Year Seminar proposal. These workshops are for faculty interested in proposing a seminar for fall 2014. Workshops will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, International Room, Kansas Union, and 1 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, 455 Watson Library. Participants should RSVP by email.

“We have been pleased by the reception that First-Year Seminars have received from incoming students and their families and the results that we have from early assessment efforts,” said Sarah Crawford-Parker, assistant vice provost. “These courses play an important role in challenging and supporting our first-year students as they enter the university and become part of our intellectual community.”

First-Year Seminar proposals are due to the Office of First-Year Experience on Monday, Sept. 30. The proposal design workshops will focus on topic development and seminar course design. All interested faculty are invited to attend a workshop. The workshop format will accommodate various levels of participation from general interest to specific proposal and process questions.

KU’s First-Year Seminar Program supports goal 1 of Bold Aspirations, which seeks to strengthen recruitment, training and mentoring to prepare undergraduate students for lifelong learning, leadership and success. The program began in fall 2012 with 12 pilot First-Year Seminars designed and taught by faculty members who served on the steering committee charged with developing the program. In fall 2014, the program will expand to approximately 30 seminars.

First-Year Seminars are three-credit-hour, faculty-taught courses that introduce KU freshmen to intellectual discovery and scholarly inquiry at the university, develop and inspire students’ own intellectual curiosity, and foster critical thinking and communication skills. Topics are organized around deep questions in academic content areas. First-Year Seminars meet KU Core goal 1, learning outcome 1.

Information about the First-Year Seminar Program is online.

Thu, 09/12/2013

author

Gavin Young

Media Contacts

Gavin Young

KU Office of Public Affairs

785-864-7100