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Undergraduate Advising Handbook
Advising FreshmenThe College is proud that freshmen at Fisher participate in the following programs: In addition, all freshmen are advised by a dedicated Freshman Advisor who is specially trained to assist students in their transition to college work and life. The Freshman Seminar Class is taught by the Freshman Advisor, so weekly contact between student and advisor is maintained throughout the Fall semester. Upon completion of the freshman year, students whom have declared majors will be advised by a professor in their academic department. Undecided sophomores are advised by the Office of Academic Advising until they have selected a major, which should occur by the end of their sophomore year. Great BeginningsThe Great Beginnings program is the series of course registration days for freshmen who will be entering St. John Fisher in the Fall. Students and their families choose one day of a series of possible dates to attend. Each day-long program offers students the opportunity to meet with current students, faculty, staff, and freshman advisors. Students attend sessions that will familiarize them with the academic program, the first-year program, and other aspects of college life (clubs/activities, living on campus, athletics, scholar programs, etc). Part of the day will be spent meeting with freshman advisors to discuss and confirm course schedules for the fall. There are plenty of opportunities to have questions answered and to meet with other new students entering in the Fall. A full day of activities is planned for parents as well. Sessions are held concerning academic information and procedures, financial information, student life/campus resources, and adjusting to college life. Faculty and staff join the parents for lunch. Lunchtime conversation offers a more casual way of sharing information and answering questions. The day ends with a reception where incoming freshmen and their families have the opportunity to meet and chat with members of the faculty and staff. Freshman OrienationThis three-day program in late August, which includes academic, social, cultural, and religious activities, helps students make a successful transition from high school to college. As an interactive experience, it connects incoming students with other freshmen and returning students, it helps newcomers learn about resources on campus, and it establishes a positive transition to a new place. Each year, the Orientation Program helps educate new students about personal responsibility, presents them with scenarios which are typical of the first-year experience, and stresses healthy decision-making related to the college experience. Learning CommunityAll incoming freshmen will take CORE 101, or what we commonly refer to as Learning Communities, which is the first component of St. John Fisher’s required core curriculum. For Core 101, faculty members from two different academic disciplines teach linked courses sharing a common theme. Because of the connections between different departments, Learning Communities give students the opportunity to learn about complex topics from multiple perspectives. Each Learning Community is designed to improve students’ writing and critical thinking through active participation in class discussion, collaborative learning, and a variety of writing assignments. The courses target writing, discussion, research, and group work skills as the first step in improving students’ ability to succeed in college. In these two paired classes, students will meet with the same group of students, helping them form lasting social bonds that will complement the academic objectives of the first semester for freshmen. St. John Fisher offers a wide variety of LCs from which incoming students can choose. Topics have included “Work in America,” “The Fog of War,” “YRU? Nature and Nurture in Human Development,” “Living with Other Gods,” and “Empowering the Powerless.” These two courses are for the Fall semester only. Research-based WritingIn the Spring semester, all freshmen will take DEPT. 199, “Research-based Writing.” Students will learn the basics of writing an academic research paper through an individualized course organized around a theme. Fourteen different departments offer a version of this course, and students can choose to register for a 199 section in any department, regardless of major. Topics for sections have included “Scientific Writing,” “Literature and Politics,” “Computers, Communication, and Culture,” “Political Tolerance,” and “African American Cinema.” The emphasis in each section of the DEPT. 199 courses will be on the research process, the elements of persuasive argumentation, the proper use and documentation of sources, the integration of more than one perspective on an issue in the student’s paper, and the revision process of writing. Students will also learn how to make an effective oral presentation of their research. Freshman SeminarAll incoming students will take ITDY 101, “Freshman Seminar,” in the Fall semester. The Freshman Seminar is a one-credit course that provides students with an orientation to college life and a support system intended to foster their academic success, personal responsibility and growth, and career exploration. The goals of this program are to help students become responsible campus citizens, develop independent learning skills, and explore their educational and career explorations. Meeting with about eighteen students once a week, a Freshman Advisor will lead each seminar in tandem with a returning student who acts as a Peer Advisor. Together, they will help students with the transition to college life, dealing with issues of wellness; participation and leadership in student clubs; engagement with community and diversity; goal setting, study skills, time management, and stress management; and the ins-and-outs of successfully navigating the academic world of St. John Fisher. Although the seminar is only for the Fall semester, the Freshman Advisors serve as the academic advisor for the students in the class for the entire freshman year.
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