09/30/13 aja
Freshman Seminar IDS 101 has been added to Fort Hays State's curriculum as a required course for all freshmen. With the hope of helping freshmen adjust more easily, the class is designed to make stepping into college a set of small steps and not a large jump.

That is one purpose, but there are many others as well. Freshman Seminar strives to provide habits, positive skills and opportunities to explore the various services and resources FHSU has to offer.

"The purpose of the class is to give the students an introduction and a faculty member who they can connect to," said Dr. Jeff Burnett, associate professor of health and human performance.

Burnett spends the first 10 minutes talking to his students. Allowing them to share their frustrations and success in both classes and every day life, Burnett's goal is to make his students more comfortable talking to him and their peers.

Burnett chaired the Freshman Seminar Task Force, which was compromised of teachers who won the Pilot Award from the last five years. The Pilot Award is given on the basis of classroom excellence, ongoing research and service activities. Candidates are nominated and selected by graduating seniors.

Along with being able to survive in college, IDS 101 also hopes to help freshmen maintain a healthy lifestyle, be responsible with their money, get involved in campus activities, and engage in diverse and international experiences.

"At first, I thought it was going to be a waste, but the class has helped me adjust to college life," said Matt Vajgrt, Grand Island, Neb., freshman and a student in Burnett's seminar class.

The course takes a largely hands-on approach in helping freshmen in their new lives. Instead of just reading from a book and looking at a campus map, the course encourages hands-on teaching types.

"We had a scavenger hunt, and we all had to talk to each other to figure it out. We didn't just sit and talk about the campus, we got up and had to go find things," said Hailey Fryback, a Colby freshman in Burnett's class.

Students have expressed that one of the many advantages of the class is the help of both peers and a faculty member.

"I'm comfortable in my class because I know if I have an academic or personal issue, I can tell my professor and seek advice from my peers" said Anne Marie Laville, Leawood freshman.

Freshman Seminar is a course supported through the First Year Experience program. Designed to encourage students to be more involved and active in their college lives, the First Year Experience helped provide many of the activities that freshmen participated in such as Augustfest, Tiger Impact and Tiger Enrollment day. One of the many goals of FYE is to create a Thriving Tiger that will build connections, engage in student organizations and commit to academic success.

"The university hopes that the freshman seminar class will serve as one strategy to help student retention by helping freshmen navigate their first year and help with such things as time and money management," said Brett Bruner, director of persistence and retention in the Office of Student Affairs.

The seminar helps freshmen to stop and reflect on their actions and adjust them to fit into college life. With a semester-long course to help all new students adjust to their new life, Fort Hays State hopes to see many Tigers succeeding in their first year of college.