First-Year Seminar Course Topics for Spring 2025

Updated: 10/22/2024

First-Year Seminar (FYSM) course topics are approved by the General Education Program and Assessment Committee to be included in the General Education program. Below is a listing of topics that are scheduled to be taught in Spring 2025, with the name of the professor(s) who will be teaching at least one section of the topic.

All FYSM courses have the same course prefix and number: FYSM 100.

  • Complementary Health Strategies: Tools for Successful Student Performance

    This course is designed to promote the student's overall health through the development of personal skills to enhance their well-being. Students will be introduced to the benefits of stress management; the development and practice of stress management tools, activities (meditation, Tai Chi), and personal enrichment activities. Students will be introduced to strategic self-enriching personal skill development and research-based exploration of topics that range from: depression, prescription drugs, illicit drugs, as well as relaxation techniques.

    Professor: Dr. Duane Crider, Sport Management

  • Creative Problem Solving

    From the invention of the wheel to the invention of the internet, innovation is what has helped our society to advance. In order to innovate, we must learn to be creative problem solvers. In this course, students will develop creative problem-solving skills by working in teams to solve problems generated by Creative Competitions Inc. for the Odyssey of the Mind program. There will be script writing, device building, and more!

    Professors: Dr. Shawn Riley, Business Administration

  • Exploring Your World & Others

    This course uses geographical principles to examine maps, both real and fictional, to learn about the world around us.  Gaming strategies are employed to help learn about the university and locations central to the student.  This is done through various means of historical and modern techniques such as orienteering, augmented reality gaming, sandbox environments, and roleplaying.  At the end of the course, students will gain a greater appreciation of the geographical elements that shape their world.

    Professor: Dr. Michael Davis, Geography

  • Tell Me A Story

    What did you imagine your first day and first year in college would be like? What dreams, goals, issues do you bring with you to college? The answers to these questions have no doubt been influenced by the stories you tell about yourself and those that your family and friends tell about you and you all. Stories empower us and define us ... sometimes a bit narrowly. Understanding how personal, cultural, and academic stories operate is useful for school, work, and life.

    Professor: Dr. Carolyn Gardner, Business Administration