A class all your own

“Whoa.”

“What am I looking for here?”

“Do I even need this?”

Sound familiar? Securing the best courses can be a daunting task, even for seniors, so it’s not unusual for freshmen to feel a bit intimidated.

Fortunately, you’re not alone.

“I had no idea what was going on,” freshman and history major Stephen Williams said. “I didn’t have anyone help me with classes, so it was tough.” Having questions about how to manage your course load is not uncommon. When in doubt, you can always turn for help to the executive director of advising at the freshman advising center in MS 2.02.18.

Advisors like Barbara Smith assist hundreds of freshmen with course selection every year.
“Be realistic about picking classes,” Smith said. “If you’re not a morning person, try not to pick an 8:00 a.m. class.

Popular class times range from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so any core curriculum classes within that time frame can fill up rather quickly. However, new sections are added for many of those classes based on enrollment numbers, so freshmen almost never have to worry about not getting into one of these classes.

Tuition pays for numerous services, and it’s a shame not to take advantage of them.
Learning Communities (LC) are designed for groups of freshmen with similar interests and majors. They usually consist of a freshmen seminar linked with one or two other classes. Major universities across the nation use Learning Communities to help freshmen with the transition from high school to college, and UTSA is no exception.

 “Students in Learning Communities generally have higher retention rates and GPA’s than those who don’t,”  Associate Director for Learning Communities  Susan Colorado said.
“The cumulative GPA for LC students was 2.64, and for non-LC students it was 2.43,” Colorado said.

The classes are designed to introduce freshmen to the type of work and knowledge that college can provide. The freshmen seminar itself usually includes a research paper, oral presentation, out-of-class events and group work. Experience in these areas is vital, as any graduate can tell you.

The social element of a Learning Community should not be overlooked either.  Freshmen that take LC classes will have 24 of their classmates with them, allowing friendships to form quickly.

The program is in its ninth year at UTSA, and it’s still growing. Close to 1500 freshman are able to participate. For more information you can visit their office in MS 1.02.04 or call (210) 458-7490.