University Core Curriculum Programs

First-Year Seminar (FYS) teachers attend the large Triad or Tetrad lecture classes with their students, act as teaching assistants/graders for those lecture classes, and help their students to:

• Explore the interconnections among the Triad/Tetrad courses;
• Develop their critical thinking and information literacy skills;
• Clarify their personal values and goals;
• And develop their ability to learn through study, discussion, cooperation, and collaboration.

Enrollment in the FYS (as well as in the First-Year Writing classes) is held to a maximum of 25 students, because small-class environments help students form communities and develop their intellectual skills. First-Year Seminar, therefore, plays a central role in developing the learning communities, and enabling students to be successful at the University level.