The Academic Advising Center manages UNIV 101, a required course for entering freshmen, that assists students with learning about the University's policies and procedures, selecting a major, advising for general education and other forms of support.

Text Materials

2006-2007 University Catalog
Academic Advising Handbook
UNIV 101 Textbook
(Please bring these materials to every class.)

Course Outcomes: By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• Express and practice basic college survival skills, including time management, study skills, test taking skills, basic workplace competencies, wellness issues, and personal financial budgeting.
• Describe the first year academic experience, including student rights and responsibilities, faculty expectations, and classroom etiquette.
• Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate CWU advising resources.
• Identify the University's general education, major, and graduation requirements.
• Prepare a written, personal, year-ahead academic plan. (Note: It is strongly suggested that students who have identified their intended major prepare a full four-year plan.)
• Show the ability to use CWU computing resources.
• Use the CWU library information resources.
• Appreciate the many non-classroom opportunities for growth and leadership present in a residential university setting.

Course Format: In a seminar setting, students are expected to bring information and questions to class to share with others. The instructor may introduce ideas in short lectures, but the lectures should quickly become discussions. In addition, students may be asked to speak in class about such things as a section in the catalog that they have been assigned, an assignment they are working on in another class, or what constitutes a good academic schedule.

In class, students should feel free to ask questions or start conversations about anything that they are experiencing at CWU. The class may not be able to pursue the discussion because of scheduled speakers or other activities, but students can continue after class or make appointments with the instructor.

Requirements: The student is expected to:

• Attend all scheduled class meetings.
• Prepare a year-ahead personal academic plan.
• Meet at least once with a faculty member or a representative of CWUs Career Development Services office to discuss a major program or a career possibility and write a one-page paper about the meeting.
• Attend at least one extra-curricular academic activity (departmental lecture series, concert, art exhibit, play, etc.) that is not required within one of your other courses and write a one-page paper about the experience.
• Complete the library assignment.
• Score 80 percent or higher on the final exam.
• Complete other learning activities as assigned.

Note: All finished papers must be in the format prescribed by the instructor.

Calendar

This tentative calendar provides a general idea of what the class will focus on each week.

• Week 1: Discussion about the course and procedures to sign up for a CWU SAFARI account. To activate your SAFARI account, visit the Wildcat Connection
• Week 2: Introduction of basic college survival skills, including time management, study skills, test taking skills, basic workplace competencies, wellness issues, and personal financial budgeting.
• Week 3: Administrative Procedures and Students Due Process. We will focus on financial aid, student and faculty rights and responsibilities.
• Week 4: Library Tour. Meet in the front lobby of the library. If you are late, ask someone at the Reference Desk about our location.
• Week 5: Graduation and General Education Requirements.
• Week 6: Major Programs, Advising, preparing an Academic Plan, study skills.
• Week 7: Preparation for next quarter pre-registration and preparing an academic plan. You will have time to work on this in class.
• Week 8: Discussion of Central's Academic Progress System (CAPS). Course evaluation.
• Week 9: Final Exam. You must achieve at least 80% on this exam.

Assignments

Information Sheet: This is a questionnaire that you will fill out on the first day of class.

• Library: A hands-on assignment will be completed in conjunction with the library tour.
• Activity: You will attend one extra-curricular activity that is unrelated to your major and not required for one of your courses and write a one-page reflection of your experience. Your paper should be well written, clearly summarizing the activity, describing and defending your opinion of the activity and describing why the activity was important for students to attend. (Some examples include: academic lecture, concert, art exhibit, play, debate, or religious life activity.) You may work on this assignment with a partner and turn in a single summary with both names.
• Interview: Meet at least once with a faculty member or Career Services professional to discuss a major program or career. (For this assignment, a faculty member is a person who has full responsibility for teaching a credit-bearing course. You may not interview a student who is helping a faculty member.) We will develop a brief list of questions in class. You may work on this assignment with a partner.
• Academic Plan: You will create a year-ahead schedule of classes. (Note: It is strongly suggested that students who have identified their intended major prepare a full four-year plan.)
• CAPS report: You will need to sign in to the Wildcat Connection and request a CAPS report before the class in which this is due. If you have trouble, you can also request a report from the first floor of Mitchell Hall. This is needed in advance of the week 7 advising session.