J. Steven Reznick, Associate Dean for First Year Seminars and Academic Experiences

1. J. Steven Reznick,Associate Dean for First Year Seminars and Academic Experiences

2. Mission: • To build and sustain a vibrant campus-based educational community committed to the success of first year students. Strategy: • Coordinate a varied offering of seminar-format courses that allow students to work closely with faculty.

3. Each FYS Must Fulfill the Following Five Criteria: • Issue-oriented:  FYS should engage specific issues and topics. FYS might cover a wide range of knowledge, but they are not introductory surveys. • Methodologically self-conscious: FYS focus on how scholars pose problems, discover solutions, resolve controversies, and evaluate knowledge. Most FYS will introduce students to several modes of inquiry and fields of study. • Active learning: FYS encourage self-directed inquiry. This means exhorting students to take responsibility for producing knowledge. Student participation in class and assignments should encourage original research and creative activity, and instructors might assign group as well as individual projects. • Communication: FYS aim to refine students’ communication skills; specifically, their ability to speak clearly and write persuasively. • Multiple modes of assessment: FYS instructors are encouraged to use multiple testing strategies to accommodate students’ diverse learning styles and varied cognitive stages. For example, this might mean more frequent but shorter written assignments, as well as various types of verbal and non-verbal assessment. To encourage flexibility in modes of assessment, final exams are not required in FYS.

4. Typical FYS: AMST 055-001: Birth and Death in the United States -Timothy Marr This course explores birth and death as essential human rites of passage impacted by changing American historical and cultural contexts. Because both remain defining life events beyond experiential recall, studying them in interdisciplinary ways opens powerful insights into how culture mediates the construction of bodies and social identity. Readings and assignments are designed to study changing anthropological rituals, medical procedures, scientific technologies, and ethical quandaries. We will also explore a variety of representations of birth and death in literary expression, film, and material culture as well as in hospitals, funeral homes, and cemeteries. COMP 080-001: Enabling Technology: Computing in the Service of People with Disabilities - Gary Bishop Nearly one in seven Americans has a significant disability; should they be exceptions? Through readings, guest lectures, videos, and projects we will explore the legal, moral, cultural, and technical issues and opportunities raised by this “minority you can join at any time”. We will focus on ways that computer technology can be used to mitigate the effects of disabilities and the sometimes surprising response of those we intended to help. We will work together with teachers, experts and individuals with disabilities to develop ideas and content for new enabling technologies. Previous computer experience is helpful but not required; creativity, ability to think “outside the box”, and the desire to make the world a bit better are more important. This is an Apples Service Learning Course.

5. GEOL 070-001: One Billion Years of Change: The Geologic Story of North Carolina Kevin Stewart The rocks of North Carolina record over a billion years of earth history. During that time our state has been affected by continental collisions, volcanic eruptions, and raging rivers. In this course, we’ll explore topics such as the origin of the Blue Ridge Mountains, how the barrier islands are shifting, and the ways that the geology of North Carolina has affected the lives of people who live in the state. Much of the class will be conducted outdoors, exploring real geologic problems, during class and on two-day trips to the mountains and the coast. AFAM 050-001: Defining Blackness: National and International Approaches to African American Identity - Timothy McMillan We have all heard that America is an increasingly multi-cultural and diverse nation. And yet, the central concept of race is often poorly defined. Blackness and whiteness as racial categories have existed in the United States from the earliest colonial times but their meanings have changed with every generation. What makes a person black in the 21st century is increasingly complex and a subject of much debate. Position papers responding to films and readings, class discussion, and a final project exploring race and society will be used to evaluate your understanding of the concept of blackness in the United States and the larger global community.

6. $$$$$$: Faculty Lines Course Development Grants Hospitality Funds Course Enhancement Funds Approval Process: • Initially: Strict Steering Committee • Now: Normal Course-Approval Process with Additional Guidance and Oversight

7. Communication: • Website - http://www.unc.edu/fys/ • Brochure • Listserv

8. Registration: • During Summer Orientation for Fall • Priority Registration for Spring • Drop-Add Constraints: • No more than 1 FYS per student • First year students only • No prerequisites • Set enrollment cap at ~21, with goal of < 20

9. Evaluation: • Course Evaluation Form • Mid-Semester Feedback • Demand Goals: • Expand range of offerings beyond Arts & Sciences • Encourage more broad-minded registration • Get parents excited about the program • Have enough to go around