A Course On Freshman Survival Skills

The University of Arizona has created a year-long, one credit seminar course for freshmen and transfer honors students who are beginning their educational careers in engineering. This course is designed to make students aware of the opportunities that lie ahead of them and to give them some skills to help them deal with adversity. The topics covered in this course, along with some representative assignments will be discussed. Because our University's job fair comes early in fall semester, our first few lectures are centered on resume development. The next round of topics covers learning styles and teaching styles to help students find methodologies that may help them learn material more effectively. Following sessions highlight student leadership opportunities, how to take college exams, how to work in teams, time management skills, dealing with personal conflicts, and resources on campus for finding information. The second semester covers topics that include algorithms and their use in engineering education, consensus building, presentation skills, interviewing tips, graduate school and how to prepare for admission, research positions on campus, mentoring and being mentored, and lifelong learning. Course topics were selected with an eye towards when students would make the best use of the materials. Also, short assignments were selected to encourage the students to reflect upon our discussions and take positive actions in their daily activities. Students are encouraged to contribute to all discussions and to provide input on other topics they would like to see in the course. Approximately 90 students begin the first semester course, with most continuing on through the second semester. Students have consistently selected this course as the most useful course from their first year and strongly urge other students to participate in future offerings.