INTD 133-08 College Life Syllabus

Fall 2014

Classroom location: Fitzelle 130

Class schedule: MW 4:00-4:50PM

Prerequisites: freshman standing

Instructor: Dr. Don Allison

VIPs: Hayley Rosenfeld and Samantha Zinke

Office location: Fitzelle 231

Phone: 436-3439

Email: allisodl@oneonta.edu

Office hours: M 5-7pm, W 6-7pm, F 4-7pm

Others by appointment (or just drop by)

Catalog description:

Designed to help first-year students start their college careers successfully. Students meet in small sections to discuss academic and social adjustment to college life from the perspective of the faculty member’s discipline. Each section introduces issues of a particular discipline and serves as a forum for discussion of experiences relevant to students in their first semester at college. Open only to first-year students.

Course Description:

The course will introduce and discuss strategies for academic and social success in a college community. It will enhance effective goal setting and decision making while focusing on themes of transition, community and personal growth.  The course also serves as a forum for discussion of experiences relevant to students in their first semester at college.

Course Goals:

Students will begin developing skills in the following areas:

1. Academic Skills needed in college courses, such as note taking skills/study skills/test taking skills; reading comprehension skills; developing thesis based arguments; understanding of liberal arts education; accessing/retrieving accurate literacy/digital information; and development of critical thinking

2. Interpersonal skills, such as conflict resolution and problem solving skills; homesickness; knowledge of campus resources and activities; getting to know your VIP; and defining your social network.

3. Decision making/goal setting skills, such as goal setting skills – short and long term (SMART goals); understanding an advisement document; developing an educational plan; career planning; and exploring majors, minors, and course options.

4. Life skills, such as strategic learning; time management; money management; culture of permanence (consequences of decisions/choices); and moral parameters (cheating, plagiarism, academic integrity).

5. Diversity awareness/awareness of others such as understanding importance of diversity on campus; examine bias and stereotypes; and understand social difference/tolerance/intolerance.

Textbooks:

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Marjane Satrapi, Pantheon, ISBN 037571457X, and selected readings provided by the instructor.

Reading list/Additional resources:

Any readings for the class are available on line through the Blackboard course management software. Readings should be read before we discuss them in class so that you can actively participate in the discussion. A book of possible interest is

Surviving the First Year of College, by Steve Gladis. HRD Press.

VERY Tentative schedule: (order of readings & other assignments, by due dates, course activities, course content by expected order of coverage, test dates and test coverage)

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
August 25-29	Classes begin Add/drop begins Kiss and Make Up Day	National Dog Day Women’s Equality Day	Global Forgiveness Day Just Because Day	Race Your Mouse Day	College closes after last class More Herbs, Less Salt Day
Sept 1-5	Labor day…admin offices closed	Classes resume National Beheading Day Eva Vega 5pm Goodrich Theater presents Escalations	Skyscraper Day Have Read Finding Help on Campus and College Pressures CLUB EXPO 6:30-8pm	Newspaper Carrier Day	Be Late for Something Day Cheese Pizza Day
Sept 8-12	Last day to add a full semester course Pardon Day National Date Nut Bread Day Linda Drake, CSRC	Teddy Bear Day	Sewing MachineDay Swap Ideas Day Angie Eichler, Greek Life	Patriot Day Make Your Bed Day No News Is Good News Day	National Video Games Day Chocolate Milk Shake Day
Sept 15-19	Make a Hat Day Felt Hat Day	Mayflower Day National Play Doh Day Collect Rocks Day Working Parents Day	Constitution Day Citizenship Day National Apple Dumpling Day Rebecca Harrington, Health Educator	National Cheeseburger Day	National POW/MIA Recognition Day International Talk Like a Pirate Day
Sept 22-26	TAP certification begins Business Women’s Day Elephant Appreciation Day Elliot Ruggles, Director GSRC	Fall Equinox Checkers Day Dog in Politics Day	National Cherries Jubilee Day Advisor Interview due Matt Munson, Career Development	National Comic Book Day Persepolis Discussion, FYE residence halls, 7pm	Rosh Hashana Johnny Appleseed Day
Sept 29-Oct 3	Confucius Day Monica Grau, Strengths Quest	National Mud Pack Day	World Vegetarian Day Hayley and Samantha, Safety on Campus and Off	National Custodial Worker Day Name Your Car Day	Techies Day World Smile Day Virus Appreciation Day
Oct 6-10	Child Health Day Mad Hatter Day Physician Assistant day	Bald and Free Day	American Touch Tag Day Emergency Nurses Day Nikki, Emily, Angela on the Common Read Read/Review Persepolis before today!!!	First Day of Sukkot Leif Erikson Day Curious Events Day Fire Prevention Day Moldy Cheese Day	College closes after last class World Egg Day National Angel Food Cake Day
Oct 13-17	Columbus Day International Skeptics Day	National Dessert Day	Classes resume Last Day of Sukkot White Cane Safety Day Last day of class	Interim progress reports due Shmini Atzeret Boss’s Day Dictionary Day	Simchat Torah Wear Something Gaudy Day End of first half semester
Oct 20-24	Brandied Fruit Day	Babbling Day Count Your Buttons Day	National Nut Day	Diwali/Deepavali National Mole Day TV Talk Show Host Day	Last day to drop a full semester class National Bologna Day United Nations Day
Oct 27-31	Navy Day	Plush Animal Lover’s Day	Hermit Day National Frankenstein Day Marjane Satrapi on campus	National Candy Corn Day	Halloween Frankenstein Friday Increase Your Psychic Powers Day
Nov 3-7	Daylight Saving Time ended yesterday—did you set your clocks back???? SandwichDay Housewife’s Day	King Tut Day Election Day	NY Election Day Guy Fawkes Day Gunpowder Day	Saxophone Day	Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
Nov 10-14	Begin spring preenrollment USMC Day Forget-Me-Not Day	Veteran’s Day Young Readers Day	Chicken Soup for the Soul Day	Sadie Hawkins Day World Kindness Day	Operating Room Nurse Day
Nov 17-21	Last day to make up incompletes Electronic Greeting Card Day Homemade Bread Day Take a Hike Day World Peace Day		Have a Bad Day Day	Great American Smokeout Universal Children’s Day Absurdity Day Beautiful Day	False Confession Day World Hello Day
Nov 24-28		College closes after last class Last day to withdraw or take a leave of absence National Parfait Day	BREAK Shopping Reminder Day	BREAK Thanksgiving Day Pins and Needles Day	BREAK Black Friday Buy Nothing Day Make Your Own Head Day Red Planet Day You’re Welcome Day
Dec 1-5	Classes resume Cyber Monday Eat a Red Apple Day	National Fritters Day	National Roof over Your Head Day	Santa’s List Day	Bathtub Party Day Repeal Day
Dec 8-12	Last day to turn in incomplete grades Last day of class Feast of the Immaculate Conception National Brownie Day Take it in the Ear Day	Study day Christmas Card Day National Pastry Day	Final Exams Begin 8-10:30am MWF 10 11am-1:30pm MWF 12 CSCI 100 Section 1 2-4:30pm MWF 1 CSCI 394 Human Rights day	8-10:30am TR 10 11am-1:30pm TR 2:30 2-4:30pm TR 11:30 National Noodle Ring Day	8-10:30am MWF 9 11am-1:30pm MWF 11 CSCI 100 Section 6 2-4:30pm MW 4 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe National Ding-a-Ling Day
Dec 15-19	8-10:30am MWF 8 11am-1:30pm MWF 2 CSCI 203 2-4:30pm MWF 3 CSCI 243 Bill of Rights Day National Lemon Cupcake Day	Final Exams End 8-10:30am TR 8:30 11am-1:30pm TR 1 2-4:30pm TR 4 National Chocolate Covered Anything Day	Chanukah/Hanukkah (first day) Wright Brothers Day National Maple Syrup Day	Bake Cookies Day NationalRoast Suckling Pig Day	Look for an Evergreen Day Oatmeal Muffin Day

http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/

Course requirements:

Students are expected to keep up with the assigned readings for class, in order to be able to participate in class discussions. To satisfactorily complete the course, students need to read the readings, participate in discussions, do the weekly assignments, interview their advisors, write a paper, and attend the required events.

Evaluation procedures:

This class is now a letter grade class. It will be graded on a 90/80/70/60 scale based on the number of points you earn. Points will be broken down as follows:

Class attendance and participation	20%
Event attendance	30%
Assignments	50%
Total	100%

1. Class Participation 20 points

Students must attend class and actively participate. (If you miss more than 2 classes your participation percentage can greatly affect your evaluation for the course). You must look at the calendar and prepare materials or readings ahead.

2. Event Attendance 30 points

Students must be involved in campus activities. Students must attend at least 6 events to meet the requirement. There are three mandatory events that all students must attend.

· Club expo, Wednesday, 10 September, 6:30-8pm.

For the club expo, you are to write a two page, double spaced, 12 point Arial font paper on the event, including what clubs you found interesting and are thinking of joining. How well do the clubs cover topics students are interested in? Is there a bias in the types of clubs we have? (For example, more male than female clubs…) What types of clubs are missing or under-represented?

· Marjane Satrapi lecture, ????????.

For this event you are to write a three page, double spaced, 12 point Arial font reaction paper. Discuss the points she made in her talk, and whether they were supported by facts or not. Do you agree with her position? Why or why not?

· At least four “Freshman 15” events. You are to attend four “Freshman 15” events put on by the first year experience office, and write a one page, double spaced, 12 point Arial font paper on it, describing the event, your reaction to it, and whether or not it was worthwhile.

All papers for events should be turned in within one week of attending the event!!! In any case, no papers will be accepted after the end of class (15 October).

3. Assignments 50 points

§ Weekly reflections: (10%) on readings, discussions and events. Each week after class write down a quick reaction or reflection of the topics that were discussed in class – what did it (they) mean to you; the sense you made of what was discussed or what you read, questions it created for you, what you thought, how it fits with your experience, etc. These will be due on the following Monday.

§ Printing Readings: Readings are available on Blackboard under Lessons. Each student must be prepared to comment on the readings—something you found interesting or had further questions about, disagreed with, etc….

§ Paper: (25%) You are required to write a paper reflecting on the chosen readings, the themes of the course, the common read, and your own college experience. Choose something about your transition to college life – such as a specific transition issues like making new friends or diversity of environment or separation issues or a life change – to write about. Write a reaction or reflection paper integrating ideas from at least 3 of the class topics into your personal experience. You are not limited to the assigned class readings – you may also integrate other articles or information into your paper. Be sure to cite all your references you use in your paper. Your paper should be at least 5 pages, double spaced, not counting any title or reference pages. This is due on October 15.

§ Advisor Interview: (15%) Students are required to interview their advisor within the first 5 weeks of the semester. This should be more than a meeting regarding scheduling. Instead, it should be a full interview of your advisor like you might conduct if you were to write a profile of him or her for Time Magazine. To get you started, here are some sample questions. You should also include questions about your major, and scheduling your coursework for the next four years. Include a copy of your four year general plan with your interview writeup. This interview is due by September 24.

Attendance policy:

Class attendance is necessary in order for you to get the most from the class. Also, studies at SUNY Oneonta have shown that consistent class attendance results in higher final grades. Therefore class attendance is expected, and missing more than 2 classes will affect the participation part of your grade!

Late assignment & makeup policy:

The deadlines for assignments are firm. Late assignments will be accepted only for college approved absences, such as serious illness, death in the family, etc. Since this is a pass-fail course, no one assignment will result in you failing if you miss the deadline. However, a consistent pattern of late or incomplete assignments will result in failure!

Additional unique aspects of course:

This course is intended to be a place where students safely explore issues related to the transition to college life. As such, there are no tests where students regurgitate information to the instructor, and classes consist of dialog among the students, teacher, and VIP.

Emergency Evacuation:

The Evacuation Assembly Area for this course is in the quad, 50 feet from the building.  In case a prolonged building evacuation is required, you will be directed to the building Evacuation Site.  The Evacuation Site for this class is the the hallway of IRC.  In any case, if a building evacuation occurs, stay together as a class so that we can determine that everyone has made it safely from the building.  Evacuation is to occur any time the fire alarm sounds, an evacuation announcement is made, or a university official orders you to evacuate the building.  After the building has been evacuated, it is not to be re-entered until University Police gives permission.