Program that helps ease the transition from high school to college recognized by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities 

Pete Eubanks/Asst. News Editor 
 
When college freshmen enter college, they are faced with many exciting opportunities, but the transition from high school to college can be challenging.  Appalachian’s Freshman Seminar program has been recognized by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) for helping to ease this transition. 

Appalachian’s Freshman Seminar program was named one of the top 100 examples of effective programs in public four-year colleges and universities in a list entitled, “Commitment and Success:  A Compendium of Best Practices at AASCU Institutions.” 

According to Dr. Rennie Brantz, Freshman Seminar program director, the Freshman Seminar program was selected for its being innovatory and distictive. 

The program began 11 years ago with 15 instructors and 250 freshmen.  Now, 32 instructors and 800 freshmen participate in the program over the course of a year, said Brantz. 

Freshman Seminar is not required, but more than a third of freshmen choose to take it.  The three-hour elective, available only to first semester freshmen, also carries computer, writing and cross-disciplinary designators. 

A maximum of 22 students are allowed in Freshman Seminar classes, which allows students to have closer relationships with each other, said Brantz.  According to Brantz, today’s generation of freshmen are more stressed than ever.  Many freshmen face the same problems, such as homesickness, drugs, and various transitional issues, said Brantz. 

“Freshmen see they are not alone, and others are facing the same problems,” said Brantz. 

At least once a week, Brantz said he has a period called “sharetime” in his class.  In “sharetime,” students are asked to discuss their experiences at Appalachian and the problems they may be having, said Brantz.  In the course of the semester, students learn strategies for solving problems from each other, said Brantz. 

“Students teaching students, in this situation, with transitional issues can really be very effective,” said Brantz. 

Over 130 different faculty members have taught Freshmen Seminar over the past decade, said Brantz.  Teachers of Freshmen Seminar come from a diverse cross section of faculty, according to Brantz.  In addition to full and part-time instructors, faculty from student development teach the course, said Brantz. 

“It’s one of the few places where people mingle from all across campus and learn from each other,” said Brantz.     

Along with Freshman Seminar classes, the program sponsors a summer preview series and a peer leader group. 

The five-week summer preview program is offered during the second summer semester.  Freshmen take the Freshman Seminar class and another academic course in the summer preview program. 

According to Brantz, the average preview student has an SAT score below Appalachian’s average, but by the end of the freshmen year, summer preview students have higher grade point averages than their freshmen peers. 

“Students who do the summer preview program generally do well academically, but they also feel more confident coming back in the fall,” said Brantz. 

Peer leaders are model students that encourage freshmen to become involved on campus and share their experiences as freshmen, said Brantz.  Many peer leaders are involved in such organizations as student ambassadors and student government, said Brantz. 
According to Brantz, peer leaders develop a more personal relationship with freshmen than instructors do.“They become really valuable bridges between the students and the instructors,” said Brantz. 

Sophomore Alicia Vanhook said that Freshman Seminar helped her meet people, because she is an out-of-state student.  “You became friends with all of them; you knew a lot about everyone,” she said. 

Sophomore Christilyn Majorkiewicz said she learned more about herself in Freshman Seminar than in any other class.  “Over the semester, it became like a group of friends, so it really wasn’t like a class,” said Majorkiewicz.