This seminar course is designed to help you make a successful transition from your previous institution by becoming better acquainted with the academic and social environments here at Georgia Tech. Through the course, you will acquire strategies that promote academic, social, and professional success. This is a highly interactive course that requires active student participation and working collaboratively in small groups.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
1. Develop self-awareness and self-knowledge, particularly as it relates to academic interests and professional goals.
2. Describe their path to graduation and to identify opportunities for academic and professional enrichment with the assistance of a faculty member or advisor.
3. Demonstrate the ability to lead and productively participate in collaborative projects.
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Course Requirements and Grading
Assignment Weights
Attendance, Participation, & Short Assignments: 25%
Career Exploration Project: 25%
Academic Planning Project: 25%
Team Project: 25%
Description of Graded Components
Attendance, Participation, and Short Assignments (25%) This class is designed for students to become active participants, so it’s vital that all students attend each class session and are fully engaged in all class activities. The success of our class depends on your involvement, so you’ll earn points for your class participation. This means that you’ll need to do more than just show up at the appointed time and place—you’ll also need to come to class prepared to participate and ready to engage with your peers. Each class meeting is worth 2 points. One point will be deducted for days where there is lateness of more than 10 minutes or an early departure without prior coordination. In addition, you'll be asked to complete some short discussion posts and in-class and homework assignments. Your earned points for those will contribute to this grading category.
Career Exploration Project (25%): This project is designed to help you think critically about your goals, values, and sense of purpose as you continue—or in some cases, begin—to consider your plans after Tech. This assignment will ask you to reflect on your goals, ideate your future, prototype your plans, and take an active step forward in your career development plan. This assignment has two parts: a resume and a short reflection essay.
Academic Planning Project (25%): This assignment will help you to map out your path to graduation and to think about how your current major aligns with your interests, strengths, and goals. For this assignment, you will delve deeper into your academic plan. This assignment will include multiple elements, all designed to help you on your path to graduation. This assignment has two parts: a degree map and a reflection worksheet.
Team Project (25%): One of the most important skills any person can learn is the ability to collaborate productively with a team and to demonstrate the ability to lead. This project is designed to help you develop the skills you’ll need to effectively work with your peers in a collaborative environment—whether that’s in a class group project, your senior design or capstone experience, or in the professional world. The members of your team will present the project to the class and be asked to answer questions.
Grading Scale
Your final grade will be assigned as a letter grade according to the following scale:
A - 90-100%
B - 80-89%
C - 70-79%
D - 60-69%
F - 0-59%
This class is designed for students to become active participants; therefore, all students are expected to attend each class session and be fully engaged in all class activities. The success of this class depends on student involvement, so you’ll earn points for your class participation (see grading section above). To gain full credit for your attendance and participation, you must attend all classes and actively engage in class discussions and activities. Excessive lateness and absences (3 or more per semester) will negatively impact your final grade outcome. Communication is key, so if you are experiencing difficulties that prevent you from attending class or anticipate being absent in advance for any reason, let's talk.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.