Guidelines for USem Faculty
[Established by the UCC, Fall 2005]
- USEMs continue to facilitate first-year socialization to college and intense intellectual engagement with the instructor and other students.
- a USEM continue to be taught as an interactive small class involving discussion, analysis, critical thinking, and communication about significant issues.
- students will demonstrate their critical thinking and communication skills through appropriate assignments, which may include research, writing, debate, oral presentations, exams, experiments, and the creation of artistic works. Diverse learning and evaluation methods are encouraged.
- USEMs incorporate multiple perspectives (disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary), but should not be an introductory course to a major.
- USEM faculty typically use writing as a means of evaluating student performance, but, unless they want their USEM to be listed as writing-intensive, are not responsible for teaching the mechanics or structure of good writing, or for adhering to previous guidelines regarding the number and type of writing assignments.
- USEM topics may engage big ideas or questions, but no longer fall under the rubric of humanistic inquiry.
- coverage of more than one century is no longer mandatory.
- USEMs may count toward school distribution (Creative Arts, Humanities, Science, or Social Science) or other general education requirements (Writing Intensive, Quantitative Reasoning, Nonwestern and Comparative Studies, or the new Oral Communication), if submitted to and approved by the appropriate School Councils and oversight committees.
I. General Guidelines
The following guidelines seek to establish broad standards and consistency in the USem program. Naturally, each USem reflects the special qualities of the instructors, their disciplines, and specific subjects; instructors employ a wide variety of strategies to awaken intellectual curiosity, develop powers of analysis, and strengthen basic skills of oral and written communica-tion. Nevertheless, as a program with a mandatory participation, it is obviously essential that the University Seminars conform to some basic guidelines and give the students a sense that they are all fulfilling essentially the same requirement —regardless of their particular USem.
Syllabus
The syllabus is an important pedagogical instrument: it not only outlines the schedule, but also sets the agenda for the course — the intellectual objectives, requirements, and expectations. Some USem instructors use the syllabus to reiterate and emphasize the mission and objectives of the course (which may have been eloquently described in the First-Year Student Guide or the Bulletin, but which students tend to forget once the course is underway). By including an intellectual statement about the substance of the course (such as the problems and issues to be addressed), the syllabus can provide a frame of reference as students develop their ideas, prepare for class discussion and write papers. The syllabus is also a contract, stating explicitly the terms and requirements of the course. Copies of the syllabi for other USems are available for examination in the University Studies Office (Rabb 265).
Normally, the syllabus should include the following information:
- Information about the Instructor: office location and phone, office hours, email address. For the USem-Plus you should also include contact information about your Teaching Assistant.
- Requirements: Either in the preface or in the schedule, list the main written assignments (and exams, if any) and the date they are due. Forewarn the students of your expectations with regard to tardiness and absences. List explicitly the requirements for paper preparation (format; penalties incurred for specific deficiencies, such as inadequate proof-reading).
- Grading Principles: It is important to specify the relative weight of individual papers, examinations, and class participation. It is also a good idea to explain the grading system of rewrites and the penalty for late submission.
- Academic Dishonesty: It is important to emphasize the role of evidence and attribution, and to make sure that students clearly understand the University’s policies on plagiarism and academic integrity. If a student does not acknowledge responsibility for an act of academic dishonesty, forward the case to the Office of Student Life via the appropriate form. Do not determine sanctions on your own.
- Statement on Disabilities: In compliance with University policy, each syllabus should include the standard statement on students with certified disabilities.
For programmatic purposes, please submit one copy of your syllabus (plus any other additional instructional handouts) to the University Studies Office (Mail Stop 080).
Seminar Structure
- These are seminars, not lecture courses. One aim of the seminar is to develop the student’s skills in discussion and oral presentation.
- The seminar may not be narrowly disciplinary in its subject, readings, or approach. Although instructors naturally bring their own expertise to the subject, they should try to make the course as interdisciplinary as possible — to vary the kinds of texts and approaches to their analysis.
- Midterm and final examinations are optional and left to the discretion of the instructor. Some instructors find that the discussions and paper suffice to keep the students actually engaged in the course; others have found that the examinations help the students to master the assigned material and to integrate and think through the material at a particular juncture (especially at the conclusion of the seminar).
- Normally, USems should follow a teaching block that meets three times a week or twice-weekly (1 1/2-hour) class schedule.
Reading Assignments
- Normally, a USem should require approximately six to eight texts depending on the density and difficulty of the subject matter and texts, or their equivalent, and should consist of original texts.
- Avoid assigning too much reading. That guideline in part reflects the need to develop the student’s skills of close reading and analysis.
- It also seeks to make due allowances for the heavy writing of the USem. Similarly, try to select texts of appropriate difficulty for first-year students. Keep in mind that you will need to teach students to read your assigned texts — that many will not arrive equipped to ask the kinds of questions you might wish. When possible, call your students’ attention to how they should approach assigned texts (what they should look for, how they should take notes, what kind of assimilation you will expect for class discussions and papers) before they begin reading.
- The term “text” is used in a broad sense; it can be a piece of literature, a historical document, a work of art or architecture, or an account of a problem in the natural sciences. The seminar should include different kinds of “texts” to broaden the course and make it as interdisciplinary as possible.
- To “connect” with the first-year experience, please try to incorporate -- in some fashion -- the convocation reading into your syllabus.
- Your book orders for the seminar should be handled through the University Bookstore (736-4270; www.bkstore.com/brandeis).
- If you plan to place books on reserve at the library, please call (ext. 64630) or visit the library Reserve Desk.
- Request forms for desk copies are also available through your department office.
Changes in Pre-Registration
Each student must enroll in a USem during the summer registration; those students required first to take the Composition course must take their USem in the spring term. In any event, by the time the student arrives for the fall term, the USem enrollment is firmly in place.
It is exceedingly difficult for students to change the choice they made in pre-registration. Given the limitation of 18 students per USem and the number of USems offered in any given year, there are very few unfilled spaces. It is therefore exceedingly difficult to make any changes in the pre-registration. In very exceptional cases (viz., those that involve irreconcilable and critical course conflicts), a student may receive permission to change the USem, but only on a space available basis. That change must be made no later than Friday of the first week of the term, and only with authorization from the USem Administrator, Lisa Mills (Rabb 265; lmills@brandeis.edu). Individual instructors should not become involved in any attempts to modify pre-registration; if students approach you about a change in registration, please refer them to Ms. Frey and warn them that, given the caps on enrollment, only cases of serious scheduling conflict will be considered.
USEM "Event"
The University seeks to reinforce the sense that the USems are special and to cultivate a congenial atmosphere for interaction and learning in the broadest sense. It therefore encourages instructors to organize a special event, preferably at an early point in the semester. That event can take various forms, but it often means a meal (perhaps with a movie relevant to the theme of the course). The Office of Academic Affairs is willing to reimburse for expenses up to one hundred dollars.
Advising
Precisely because the USem is a required course for all first-year students, it provides an excellent vehicle to provide active, informed advising: since the students are in the USem, instructors have direct knowledge of how the student is adjusting to the University -- both in academic and non-academic terms. Therefore faculty members are very strongly encouraged to serve as advisors for students in their USems, to assist them to adjust and to make the fullest possible use of the opportunities at Brandeis. The Office of the Academic Affairs will contact faculty members several months in advance of fall registration to ascertain willingness to serve and to provide essential information on the advising duties.
Attendance, Grades and Students with Problems
- You will receive an updated class roster before the first session. Please keep close track of attendance and report any discrepancies immediately to Lisa Mills. Students who default on fulfilling their USem requirement in the first year (either by failing or dropping) face probation; it is important that we detect problems and address them as soon as possible.
- Your syllabus, in fact, should clearly forewarn students that "class participation" -- which presupposes attendance -- constitutes a specific percentage of the final grade.
- It is also important to impress upon students our expectations of regular attendance. These are interactive, participatory seminars; they will not work if the students fail to attend. As a general rule, a student who has more than three unexcused absences before the mid-term should receive a "U" (unsatisfactory) on the mid-term grade report. If, after the mid-term report, a student has three more unexcused absences, the USem instructor should bring the problem to the attention of Michele Rosenthal, Associate Dean of the First-Year Services in the Office of Academic Affairs (ext. 63470).
- If any of your students appears headed for academic difficulties, you should report to Michele Rosenthal, Associate Dean of the First- Year Services in the Office of Academic Affairs as soon as possible after your attempting to address the student’s problem yourself.
- As for students for whom English is a second language: if their writing reveals difficulties in the area of English language skills, please notify the ESL coordinator (ext. 63991) after you have voiced your concerns to the students.
III. USem Program: Administrative Support
- The program chair is Malcolm Watson, Psychology Department (ext. 63249; watson@brandeis.edu).
- The program coordinator is Lisa Mills (Rabb 265/Mail Stop 080; ext. 63490; lmills@brandeis.edu).
- The director of university writing is Dawn Skorczewski (ext. 62141; dawnskor@brandeis.edu).
- The USem Program offers periodic luncheon seminars to monitor developments, share experiences, and pool ideas on ways to improve the program. You are strongly encouraged to attend to help make the program as effective as possible.
- Reproduction of Class Materials: The University Seminar office does not provide support duplicating individual class materials. For the reproduction of USem course materials please consult your department administrator. When you distribute a packet of additional material, you may ask students to purchase the packet. Please avoid selecting materials that are out-of-print; any photocopying, including excerpts you may use as supplementary readings, must strictly observe copyright laws (which require permission and payment of fees for any duplication that is not for your personal use).
- The lists of films, audio and video tapes are available at the Library. Please consult Media Services (ext. 64429) at the Library, or the Fine Arts Slide Library, Goldman-Schwartz (ext. 62662), if you need information regarding equipment and services. A list of the classrooms with fixed audio-visual installations is available on the Brandeis website and reservations should be made through the Information Technology Services (ext. 67782).
- The J.V. Cunningham Awards for Excellence in Writing: Each year, one prize of $100 may be awarded in each of eight categories including USem. Only faculty may submit work for consideration. The selection committee expects you to nominate only those papers which you judge to be exceptionally well-written. You may submit up to four papers, authored by different students, from Brandeis courses. Guidelines are available in the Office of Student Enrichment Services, Kutz 217 (ext. 63471).