"Building Academic Champions"

How can I take best advantage of the opportunities ahead?

Register for the ACADEMIC FOUNDATION SEMINAR:SLS 1109, a 3-credit hour course that will help you to

• Maximize your potential for college success
• Ease the transition from high school to college
• Learn about campus resources
• Improve study habits and skills
• Refine your ability to design and execute complex problems through a class service project

What is a "class service" project?

Class members learn about creativity, communication, collaboration, and project management skills through joint planning and execution of a class-chosen activity in the course. Projects can take place on or off campus, but no matter where they take place, you can learn a lot about your classmate and what constitutes effective citizenship in the course and in the community. Some examples of AFS service projects include

• She looks like trash fashion show, where students used recycled goods to make clothing and other accenting accessories
• The yellow bike project. Students used broken or old, used bikes as resources to put bikes on campus for the student population to commute from building to building while on campus

Check out the AFS 2011 project on YouTube! Just click the YouTube link below!

What would I study in the AFS course?

We designed the AFS course to anticipate all the questions and challenges that you might face in your first year. The course is dedicated to helping you achieve success with faculty who know a lot about UWF and who want you to succeed. Topics in the course include

• developing research skills
• learning how to talk to professors
• identifying campus officials that can help you with specific problems
• working out inevitable interpersonal challenges, and
• deriving study strategies that work to help you achieve the most learning and the best grades.

I had good grades in high school. If I'm good enough to get admitted to UWF, do I really need a special class on college success strategies?

High school and college ask very different things from you as a learner. In college, your professors will expect that you are mature, independent, and reliable, and most won't be taking attendance, which reduces some external structure to support your learning. Some students find this new freedom from high school structure is difficult to manage. In addition, many students report that their good high school grades came from memorizing the material presented. In college, your professors are going to ask you to do more than memorize; they will ask you to think! That level of challenge, combined with your need to be self-motivated, can be daunting. The course can make all the difference in your ability to persist and thrive in college

What evidence do you have that the course has value?

Our AFS students typically report a higher grade point average after their first year in college than students who didn't have the class. In addition, they tend to show a stronger tendency toward completing their degrees compared to students who didn't get that helpful background. AFS is a good investment that pays great dividends in your college success.

How do I find available Academic Foundations Seminar sections?

You can view the available Academic Foundations Seminar courses by using the Student Course Search.