Beginning and Capping Undergraduate Education
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Beginning and Capping Undergraduate Education Libby V. Morris
Published online: 30 March 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
In fall semester 2011, the University of Georgia undertook a comprehensive program to introduce all first-year students to college life through a required, one-credit hour seminar. Named the First-Year Odyssey (FYO), the goals include introducing students to the academic culture of the university in the first weeks of college, providing each student with a faculty-led, small seminar (15–18 students) in the first term and introducing students to the multiple missions of the university and the wide range of disciplines and fields open for study (https:// fyo.uga.edu/about.html). Indeed, we believe that we can make a difference in the college experience for incoming students through this deliberate focus on academics and the broad range of curricular and co-curricular opportunities in the first days of college life. More than 300 seminars are offered each fall (and a few in the spring semester) to accomplish these goals and to ensure 100% participation by all beginning students. Multiple meetings across many months were devoted to considering the goals and structure of the program, criteria for instructors, and incentives for faculty participation. Looking back, the decisions on structure and format appear simple and straightforward; but in the planning phase all possibilities were “on the table” so to speak, and active debates were underway. Following University Council approval of the FYO program, faculty members readily developed courses featuring their disciplinary interests; and a small stipend to teach these introductory courses sealed the deal. An abundance of course proposals meant some were not selected for inclusion in the program, much to the chagrin of the proposer. The amazing array of FYO seminars can be seen by three titles, selected at random: Coffee Technology, Current Issues in Bioethics, and How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. See https://fyo.uga.edu/BrowseSearchMain.aspx for spring 2014 courses and descriptions. Regular assessments provide information on student learning and point to areas in need of revisions. I imagine many future adjustments will be made as we continue to reshape and refine program and course goals and intended outcomes. The puzzle that remains, at least in my mind, is how to build on the FYO seminar across the four to five years of undergraduate education. What organizational structure would encourage full student engagement both in and outside of the classroom that is manageable, low in cost, and might yield significant outcomes. What outcomes might be most important? My first thought was to launch capstone courses; and of assistance in this consideration was a recent issue of Peer Review (v. 15 no. 4, 2013), which focused on “Capstones and Integrative Learning.” The issue describes capstone experiences at several colleges. In general, the L. V. Morris (*) Institute of Higher Education, University of Georg
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