Resources for Faculty

First-year seminars offer a hands-on introduction to academic inquiry with small classes, a diverse array of topics, and close contact with faculty. A wide variety of seminars will be offered each year, drawn from across the University. Each entering student will take an FYS 100 course during the fall of their first year. Readmitted students must complete the first-year seminar requirement within one year of their readmission, but no later than the end of their sophomore year. First year seminars serve as an introduction to academic inquiry and the modes of expression that lie at the heart of a liberal arts education. They foster habits of mind fundamental to students’ intellectual and academic development, including critical reading and thinking; sharing ideas and research through discussion; and the ability to write and think clearly and effectively. Integrating explorations of specific questions and topics with the development of skills, seminars aim to foster intellectual curiosity and students’ ability to act on it.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Written Communication: Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively through a variety of written work that utilizes a process to help them develop the basics of academic writing, an initial understanding of disciplinary conventions, and an analysis of appropriate evidence.
2. Oral Communication: Students will demonstrate effective formal and informal oral communication skills within the classroom setting.
3. Critical Thinking: Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through the ability to evaluate, interpret, and analyze a variety of sources and other forms of expression.
4. Information Literacy: Students will be able to effectively access, evaluate, and make ethical use of appropriate sources of information for different scholarly purposes.

All full-time faculty and staff with faculty status are eligible to teach in the First-Year Seminar (FYS) program.

Yes. All faculty new to FYS will participate in a multi-phased orientation and training prior to teaching in the program for the first time to help in course preparation. This orientation and training introduces faculty to the program, best practices in inclusive syllabus design, and strategies for teaching writing to first-year students. New FYS faculty also consult with colleagues in the Faculty Hub for course-specific support.

There is no strict rule where reading requirements are concerned. Rather, emphasis should be placed on improving students’ skills in evaluation, interpretation, and analysis of texts, including, but not limited to: films, structures, art, performances, essays, journal articles, and books. Readings should not come from disciplinary textbooks except in cases where students need to use this type of material for essential background information.

All first-year seminars should include 5000 words (approximately 20 double-spaced pages) of academic writing over the course of the semester.

By “academic writing” we refer to writing that emphasizes the use of evidence-based arguments. Such assignments can take a number of different forms. A research paper is not required, but may be effective in teaching the research process, with component parts scaffolded throughout the semester. Instructors may assign literature reviews, bibliographic essays, annotated bibliographies and individual reports on fieldwork as just a few examples. Academic writing may also be used in multimedia assignments such as digital stories and videographic essays. We recognize academic writing can be used differently depending on the discipline, however we strongly discourage the assignment of a single, 15-20-page paper as a means of fulfilling the page length requirement for the course.

Prior to teaching an FYS course for the first time, each instructor is required to complete required faculty development. This may take different forms, but usually includes attention to course design, syllabus design, and writing instruction; please check with the Web of Inquiry and FYS faculty development pages for current offerings. Faculty who have not taught in the program in the past three years should consult with the Director of FYS and Writing Across the Curriculum for current faculty development opportunities.

For participation in the above – and teaching FYS for the first time – each instructor will receive a stipend of $2000, split between the faculty development stiped and first-time instructor support.

FYS instructors seeking additional course support may opt to request Writing and/or Speech Consultants for their courses. Instructors should reach out to the Weinstein Learning Center to place their requests.

The FYS program is an opportunity to be creative and investigate a research interest or a topic only partly developed in a regular course. Faculty are given latitude in the topics they can teach for a first-year seminar as long as the course can meet 1) the goals of FYS, 2) the work required of students equivalent to 10-14 hours per week (justifying one unit), and 3) the qualification of a faculty member to teach subject matter in their own field or a related area.

FYS courses provide several opportunities for faculty to teach new and innovative courses on a variety of topics. FYS courses may be characterized by one or more of the following:

1. Topics taught in the faculty member’s discipline, but not part of their department’s current curriculum,
2. Topics that explore a related discipline in a faculty member’s area of expertise,
3. Topics that are team taught with a colleague in another discipline or with an interdisciplinary perspective,
4. Topics that explore a new creative area in, or related to, a faculty member’s field of expertise or scholarly focus, and
5. Topics taught outside a faculty member’s current teaching field, if you have expertise in that area.

Faculty who wish to pursue related areas should contact the FYS Coordinator to discuss their qualifications for teaching those topics.

Maybe. In general, broad surveys intended to introduce students to a field of study will not adapt well into an FYS, which requires focused inquiry into a (perhaps interdisciplinary) topic. That said, if after reading the proposal guidelines and this FAQ you can imagine an FYS that incorporates materials and approaches from an existing course, please feel free to propose it. Some proposals may require further refinement to bring them in line with the guidelines.

No, because FYS is itself a specific requirement within the Web of Inquiry curriculum, it cannot count towards any other elements of the Web of Inquiry.

Maybe. Determination of credit for majors, minors, and certificate programs is the province of the relevant department, program, or school. As noted above, an FYS should not be a broad survey course intended to introduce students to a field of study, nor should it emphasize expertise. It should not, therefore, be identical to either an introduction to a major or an upper-division requirement within a major.

Yes. We encourage you to reach out to the Center for Civic Engagement to support CBL in your FYS.

Yes. Please include information on both instructors in your proposal, and check in with both departments to ensure that their scheduling needs can still be met. Approved team-taught courses "count" as a full unit of teaching for each faculty member.