SEM 100 – First Year Seminar

Fall 2024

Class Time

Instructor Information

• Instructor Name:

• Office Phone Number/Cell Phone Number:

• Instructor Email: instructor.name@wartburg.edu

• Office Location:

• Office Hours/Availability: Include days and times.

Course Information

• Catalog Course Description: This course will introduce students to the academic community and the world of scholarship. Students will learn to read critically, research and synthesize ideas, and communicate their ideas effectively. This course will address THRIVE SLOs 1, 5, 6, and 7.

• Course Meeting Place:

• Course Credit: 1 Course Credit

• Credit Hour Policy: You may expect to spend at least two hours of time outside of class, completing homework and other assignments, for every hour you spend in class.

• Essential Education: Satisfies First Year Seminar Requirement

Course Level Student Learning Outcomes

1. Thinking Critically: Students will engage in logical and ethical exploration of issues, ideas, histories, artifacts, or theories.
2. Information Fluency: Students will critically engage with, create, and use information and technology, regardless of platform, sources type or medium.
3. Vocation: Students will develop a self-understanding rooted in broader communities and identify their responsibilities toward those communities as an expression of their faith and/or values.
4. Effective Communication: Students will be able to effectively, ethically, and logically communicate in oral, written, and visual form for specific purposes and audiences.

Course Materials

Required Textbooks:

• Chosen by individual instructors

Required Resources:

• Rooted and Open

Required Technology:

• Wartburg Canvas

Course Policies/Requirements

Attendance and Participation:

Required Technology:

Absence Policy:

Exams and Quizzes:

Papers:

Late Work:

Assignment/Grade Breakdown

(Explanation of final grade determination)

The course letter grade will be based on the following grading criteria:

The final grade will be determined by the professor. Required elements include:

• Research Project
  • Topic Proposal
  • Information Literacy Exercise
  • Rough Draft
  • Final Deliverable
• Common Experience
  • Problem-Cause-Solution Team Presentation
  • Discussions in the Round
  • Final Relection Activity

Course Grading Scale (example below)

Letter Grade Percent Points A 94-100% 930 – 1000 A- 90-93.99% 900 – 929 B+ 88-89.99% 870 – 899 B 84-87.99% 830 – 869 B- 80-83.99% 800 – 829 C+ 78-79.99% 770 – 799 C 74-77.99% 730 – 769 C- 70-73.99% 700 – 729 D+ 68-69.99% 670 – 699 D 64-66.99% 630 – 669 D- 60-63.99% 600 – 629 F 0-59% 0 – 599

Timely Grades and Feedback

All SEM 100 sections will post some kind of score or feedback to canvas weekly. This is used to track the student’s ability to turn in work.

(Explain your timeframe for grading feedback). Example: You have a right to expect timely feedback on all work you submit. Because the work required of this course is based on deep and integrative learning, it cannot be graded in haste. You should expect feedback within 5-7 days from submission.

Course Schedule

Replace the following instructions to the instructor with your course schedule.

First Year Seminar combines instructor content and common concepts. Instructors are expected to interweave engagement with the following concepts into their individually chosen section topic. The goal is to create a cohesive class experience by building these concepts into the development of the sections topic.

SEM 100 is a part of a larger campus wide First Year Experience that includes Orientation, First Year Mentors, Student Success Center Resources, the Academic Resource Center, Residence Life programs, First Year Advising, and possibly many others. Parts of this are already in place while other parts are still to be developed. Because of this, all SEM 100 sections will have a Student Mentor for your students.

Becoming a learner

• purpose of a liberal arts education
• metacognitive awareness to assist with academic skills
• instruction and practice with:
  • reading and thinking critically
  • engaging in civil discourse
  • developing questions
  • Information literacy
  • appropriate use of resources and technology
  • communicating ideas

Becoming a learner at Wartburg

• Wartburg culture
  • Mission statement
  • vocation
  • rooted and open
• Wartburg resources
  • academic resource center
  • registrar
  • financial aid

Policy on Late Work During and After the Term

Explain whether or not late work will be accepted. Explain whether or not exams can be made up. Explain the effect lateness will have on the final grade.

College Information

Important Links for Students

• 2024-25 Academic Calendar
• 2024-25 Final Exam Schedule
  • The last day of Final Exams for Fall 2024 is Friday, December 13.
  • You should not plan on leaving campus until after your last final has been completed.
• Fall 2024 Academic Deadlines

Wartburg Honor Code

Students, faculty, and staff of Wartburg College are expected to demonstrate integrity in all endeavors. Students are expected to adhere to four essential principles:

1. Submit only original work and properly cite ideas of others, > including fellow students.

2. Refrain from giving or receiving unauthorized aid on examinations > and assignments.

3. Report any act that violates these principles.

4. Ask for clarification if uncertain about the expectations on a > particular assignment.

Students are responsible for abiding by these principles and opposing academic dishonesty in all academic endeavors.

Source: Student Senate, March 12, 2015

Vogel Library

Vogel Library's mission is to educate information-literate lifelong learners. Our information literacy program is the flagship of that effort, but other library operations also contribute toward this goal. The information literacy program is designed to embody leadership and visibility in promoting the library's mission of educating students. As such, our information literacy mission closely reflects that of the Library. We embrace the national Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education and that document's definition of information literacy: a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Website: Vogel Library   (Online Chat for Help)
Phone: 319-352-8500 

FERPA and Privacy

In face-to-face, blended, or distance learning environment, the federal law (FERPA) continues to remain in effect, but students should think about their role in supporting the privacy of fellow students. As this course may include virtual interactions, be cognizant that shared pictures, written assignments, videos, emails, blog posts, discussion boards, etc. remain part of the content of the course, just as it would if it were shared in the face-to-face classroom setting. While the privacy of those posts cannot be guaranteed, the expectation is that each member of the class treats those materials with care and does not reshare or post beyond this course.

Access and Accommodations

It is the policy and practice of Wartburg College to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you anticipate or experience academic barriers due to a disability (including physical, mental health, learning, vision or hearing) you may request accommodations by contacting Nicole Willis, Disability & Access Coordinator,  at (319) 352-8230, or by e-mail nicole.willis@wartburg.edu. The Academic Resource Center (ARC) offers support and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. The ARC is located at 314 Vogel Library.

Presenting documentation of disability early is helpful and often necessary to secure needed materials in a timely way. Accommodations should be requested prior to affected assignment due dates. Accommodations will not be provided retroactively.

Technical Support

If you experience problems or need technical support, use the numbers below. If you are unable to participate in class or unable to turn an assignment in, you must obtain a ticket number from the helpdesk.

Wartburg College Helpdesk

• Phone: 319-352-8767

• Email: helpdesk@wartburg.edu

• Website: www.wartburg.edu/its 

Wartburg College Computing Policy

The Wartburg Technology Policies can be viewed at https://www.wartburg.edu/its/

You will find the purpose, definition, and authorized users. Also listed are the Wartburg College technology policies for appropriate use, personal use, privacy, electronic mail, worldwide web, and disciplinary action.

Sexual Misconduct and Discrimination:

Wartburg College is committed to providing a learning, working, and living environment free from all forms of sexual misconduct including, but not limited to, sex-based harassment, non-consensual sex acts, sexual exploitation, relationship violence, and stalking. Wartburg College considers sex discrimination in all forms to be a serious offense and it will not be tolerated.

The Wartburg College’s Title IX, Sexual Misconduct and Discrimination Policy, following national guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, requires that faculty follow Wartburg’s policy as a “mandatory reporter” of any personal disclosure of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and/or violence related experiences or incidents shared with the faculty member in person, via email, and/or in classroom settings. These disclosures include but are not limited to reports of personal relationship abuse, relational/domestic violence, and stalking. While faculty are often able to help students locate appropriate channels of assistance on campus, disclosure by the student to the faculty member requires that the faculty member inform appropriate Wartburg personnel to help ensure that the student’s safety and welfare is being addressed, even if the student requests that the disclosure not be shared. 

For confidential counseling support and assistance on campus, please contact:

• Wartburg College Counseling Services, 319-352-8596

• Wartburg College Campus Chaplain, 319-352-8388

For private, but not confidential, resources on campus, please contact:

• Campus Security, 319-352-9999

• Title IX Coordinator, 319-504-0468

• Director of Residential Life, 319-352-8577

• Vice President for Student Life, 507-321-0604

• Campus Security officers and residence hall directors