Want to study The Sociology of Peace, or The Importance of Financial Literacy? Or maybe you’d rather learn about Witchcraft and Witch Hunting in Europe and America. This fall, the College of Charleston is offering freshmen 54 different courses that range from Mathematics in Fiction to Shakespeare on Screen.
Each of these courses is offered through the First Year Experience (FYE) program, which has been designed expressly to integrate freshmen into the academic and cultural community of the College. Now in its seventh year, this program is mandatory for all freshmen.
The First Year Experience includes peer mentors who help freshmen transition to college life.
“The FYE program gives new students the opportunity to work closely with top-level faculty,” explains FYE director Chris Korey. “That’s unusual at most universities. It’s also designed to help them garner the skills they’ll need to succeed throughout their academic careers.”
You don’t have to be a developmental specialist to understand that freshman year of college is a pivotal time for young students. For most, it’s their first time not living at home. For many, it demands a big shift in time management and academic diligence. And the College is not alone in this endeavor. In fact, most universities and colleges across the country have similar programs.
One of the elements that distinguishes the College’s FYE program from those at other institutions is the use of peer facilitators. Korey says that every FYE course has a one-hour-per-week Synthesis Seminar which is led by a peer facilitator.
“Peer facilitators are fellow students, usually upperclassmen, who not only have taken that particular FYE course, but have been trained to assist freshmen in coping with transition issues,” Korey says. “At the College, we have the Center for Excellence in Peer Education, which prepares the peer facilitators for their work. No other university in the U.S. has such a center. What’s also unusual is that our peer facilitators serve as both a mentor and as co-instructors.”
FYE students have two options for course formats — Learning Communities and Freshmen Seminars. Learning Communities consist of two courses combined – taught by two professors. Some of these couple seemingly disparate subjects such as biology and art or math and tourism. And Freshmen Seminars consist of a single course taught by one professor. (The video here offers insight into one Learning Community.)
Watch a video below about a past FYE course that blended art and science.
Here’s a sample of some other popular FYE courses being offered this fall:
- Beyond Bratwurst and BMWs is actually two courses combined (Elementary German and Introduction to Business). This course examines German business as a global phenomenon. With over 270 German businesses that have bases in South Carolina, students don’t have to look far for case studies.
- Viruses and the Coming Apocalypse combines Biology 111 (Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology) with English 110 (Introduction to Academic Writing). Students in this course are introduced to academic writing through an exploration of how the science of viruses is translated for public consumption through popular science writing, TV shows and movies.
- Borrowed, Sampled, Stolen, Remixed? Cultural Perspectives on Musical Ownership provides a variety of perspectives on the question of what does it mean to “own” music? Students in this course will tackle case studies involving appropriation, inspiration, (re)creation and outright theft of music.
- The Wonderful World of Real Estate According to King Street is a finance course that introduces students to the multifaceted nature of the real estate industry. Students in this course use Charleston’s renowned King Street (adjacent to campus) as a case study. They experience the real estate market in the field and by way of professionals who visit the classroom. Those individuals expose the students to the many career paths that are involved in this discipline, including business law, historic preservation, public policy, urban studies, environmental sciences and arts management.
