What is Univ1010 Like?

UNIV 1010 (University Seminar) covers a wide range of topics that help students find success in their first year of college.

Classes are small; approximately 20-25 students per class, so students quickly connect with other students and their instructor. The course has been designed to provide students individualized instruction and personal advice about techniques essential for college survival and college success.

The curriculum is organized around helping students develop four skills that are critical for success in college:

Active Involvement

College learning requires an individualized commitment to learning. Professors at MTSU are committed to student learning, but student learning requires student participation.

Self Reflection

Students learn to reflect on the process they use in their learning, and the value and substance of what they are learning.

Knowledge and use of campus resources

MTSU offers a tremendous set of exceptional resources for students at no additional charge. Some of these resources are aimed at supporting students in their classroom learning, other vital resources are aimed at helping students maximize their learning outside of class. Knowing about and using these resources is transformational for students in their first year of college.

Social interaction and collaboration

Learning in college requires support, and MTSU faculty, staff, and other students provide key aspects of that important support.

In addition, students will be oriented to key structures that undergird their college experience, including our Learning Management System and other technologies used in many classes, the intricacies of registration and the academic calendar, and the physical and online campus environment.

The course requires two textbooks; the summer reading book, and Dave Dillon’s Blueprint for Success in College and Career, which is an Open Educational Resource (OER) available to students in a variety of electronic formats at no charge.

Individual class sessions are interactive and focused on student learning. Class sessions are not simply about passing on information to students (i.e., lecture), rather sessions involve students collaboratively learning and making meaning of the sometimes-complicated concepts that we cover. Some examples of work students created as they process and make meaning of course information follow.

Students work to establish definitions of the term “success,” from various vantage points, and then operationalize those definition to think about the obstacles they might encounter during the semester.

Students worked in groups to identify differences between learning in high school and college.

Students identify actions included in various college-level assignments, strategize regarding which are most common, and think about strategies for completing these tasks well.

This is a production of the "True Blue Pledge" by a UNIV 1010 class

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