Ithaca College

Due to an unexpected but most welcome surge in Exploratory enrollments this fall, we are adding three sections of Exploring the Options, the one-credit gateway course for incoming first year students coming to IC to discover their major.

We are now soliciting expressions of interest from faculty with assigned academic advisees as part of their work load.

The course:

·         Meets once per week based on your schedule.

·         Is capped at 15

·         Comes with an established syllabus, large selection of readings from which faculty choose (and to which they contribute), guest speakers, common anchor assessments and rubrics, and professional development in advising Exploratory and first year students.

·         Can be taught in load or on overload with chair/dean permission.

·         Is not required; students take it for personal and academic enrichment. Over 80% of incoming Exploratory students enrolled this year. Expected to be 90% this year.

·         Does not require students to find a major, but rather to develop a four year plan after guided exploration of academic interests, the role of "required" courses, the experiences they want in college, their personal philosophy of education, and how to make academic choices align with personal values.

·         Is a hybrid combination of interdisciplinary academics with academic advising, occupational investigation and values clarification.

·         Mission is to help students understand the value of a liberal education and make connections among their courses, so there is a strong emphasis on integrative thinking and learning. We teach the benefits of the ICC as a form of exploration and a foundation for future academic and professional pursuits.

·         Students become the faculty member's assigned advisees until they declare a major. In-class advising is supplemented with a mandatory individual pre-registration meeting. About half the students declare a major and move to a departmental faculty advisor by the end of their first year. Average time in the program is 2.5 semesters.

If you are interested or want to learn more about the course, please email ebleicher@ithaca.edu and indicate why this is opportunity is appealing, and whether you would be teaching in load, or as an overload.