U101: Understanding College and College Life

About this course: College can be confusing and intimidating, but U101 can help. If you were just admitted to college and are nervous about what the next step in life might look like, this course is for you. If you are the parent of a newly admitted college student and curious about what college life is like, this course is also for you. While your specific college will, no doubt, provide additional orientation material, we wanted to give some basic information about what life might be like at a large American University. You might be years away from college or enrolled right now; either way, U101 has some excellent advice from college students, professors, administrators, and staff. At the conclusion of the course, learners should: 1. Understand the basics of how colleges and universities operate. 2. Identify and describe what faculty are looking for in college-level academic work. 3. List some effective study strategies. 4. Identify some strategies for exploring and selecting a major. 5. Identify the various types of grants and scholarships available and describe the steps involved in applying to these. 6. Discuss the college life, with special attention to the benefits/limitations of living on or off campus. 7. Identify some strategies for getting the most out of campus life activities (investigating student clubs, fraternities, sororities, etc.). The course is divided into 4 weeks/8 lessons, which provide an overview of the different aspects of college life. If you were just watching the videos and looking at some of the links, the whole course would take about 4-5 hours. Week 1 Lesson 1. Welcome to U101! Lesson 2. Understanding the Nature of College Week 2 Lesson 3. Succeeding as a Student Lesson 4. Building Your Major Week 3 Lesson 5. Financing Your Education Lesson 6. Living On and Off Campus Week 4 Lesson 7. Getting Involved in Campus Life Lesson 8. Conclusion Please join us for a short exploration of modern American Colleges. Hopefully, this course can help demystify your upcoming college experience.

Created by:  University of Washington

• Taught by:  Dr. Matt McGarrity, Principal Lecturer

  UW Department of Communication

• Taught by:  First Year Programs

Commitment 4 weeks of study, 1 hour/week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from your peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

University of Washington Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the West Coast and is one of the preeminent research universities in the world.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Welcome to U101!



Welcome to University 101. This short course will help you get the most out of your college experience. We want to help incoming undergraduates understand their universities. This opening module lays out what the course is and how you will navigate this online space.


2 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Video: Welcome
2. Video: Course Design
3. Reading: Course Preview
4. Reading: How to Use Discussion Forums
5. Reading: Get to Know Your Classmates

Understanding the Nature of College



Now that we have discussed the basic approach in this course, we can dive into the material. A good place to start would be understanding how the university operates. Modern universities are large, complex organizations employing thousands of different teaching and researching faculty, all of who have slightly different roles. College isn’t simply larger than high school, it is structured differently.


3 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: Key terms
2. Video: What's college life like?
3. Video: What do faculty do?
4. Video: How do colleges work?
5. Reading: Review
6. Reading: Resources

Graded: Understanding the Nature of College
Graded: Reflection: Mapping your interests

WEEK 2


Succeeding as a Student



You’re coming to college to get an education. Classes will take up a significant amount of your time, so we should discuss some strategies for success. As discussed in the last module, high school differs significantly from college. Incoming freshmen are often most worried about the classes. You have much more flexible time, but that time needs to be filled with self-directed study. In this unit, we’ll talk a bit about how understanding these classes and studying effectively for them.


4 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: Preparing for a college education
2. Video: Studying in college
3. Video: Faculty expectations
4. Video: Using the libraries
5. Video: Finding additional resources
6. Reading: Review
7. Reading: Resources

Graded: Succeeding as a Student
Graded: Reflection: Planning for Studying

Building Your Education



One of your big questions at college is, “What should I major in?” This module will tackle this question head on. In all honesty, what you major in matters less than how you prepare yourself to be an expert in an area. This requires you to move beyond simply your major and take ownership of your intellectual and professional development during your college years.


4 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: What do you want to major in?
2. Video: Learning in college
3. Video: Choosing a major
4. Video: Applying to a major
5. Video: Working with faculty members
6. Reading: Review
7. Reading: Resources

Graded: Building Your Education
Graded: Reflection: Finding and Following Your Interests

WEEK 3


Financing Your Education



Paying for college is a challenge. This module will talk about some strategies for budgeting your money while at college and all the options available to you for funding. There are so many different resources out there to help you pay for college. Regrettably, these are so broad that students remain unaware of them. This module should direct you to some of the most fruitful areas for finding funding.


2 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Reading: Finances in College
2. Video: Budgeting in college
3. Video: Finding grants and financial aid
4. Reading: Review
5. Reading: Resources

Graded: Financing Your Education
Graded: Reflection: Money Matters

Living On and Off Campus



Are you going to live on-campus or off? There are strengths and benefits to doing both. This module will talk to some students about their experiences living on and off campus. Wherever you live while at college, odds are that you will experience homesickness at some point. This is entirely natural. We’ll talk a bit about why this happens and identify a few strategies for effectively dealing with homesickness.


3 videos, 2 readings expand

1. Video: Transitioning to a new living environment
2. Video: Living on campus
3. Video: Living off campus
4. Reading: Review
5. Reading: Resources

Graded: Living on and off campus
Graded: Reflection: Where to live?

WEEK 4


Getting Involved in Campus Life



Going to your classes is probably the most important thing you’ll do during your time here. But it won’t be the only thing. Campus clubs and groups offer you a great opportunity to experience new things and ideas during your time here. They can introduce you to lifelong friends and enrich your education in untold ways. This module will talk about some options for getting involved in campus life.


2 videos, 4 readings expand

1. Video: Finding your place
2. Video: Understanding fraternities and sororities
3. Reading: Student clubs and organizations
4. Reading: Health and Wellness
5. Reading: Review
6. Reading: Resources

Graded: Getting involved in campus life
Graded: Reflection: How will you get involved?

Conclusion
Here we are at the end of this online orientation. Thank you for participating. This module will recap the key themes from the course and help you figure out what to do next as you prepare to enroll in college. Good Luck!


1 video expand

1. Video: Review and Thank You