CAP 101 - Capital Scholars Seminar

Fall 2004 Tuesdays 12:00-1:40 UHB 2008

Seminar Faculty

The seminar faculty will serve as the academic advisors for the Capital Scholars. Each student will be assigned to one faculty member’s breakout (discussion) section. The sections will meet in the classrooms indicated below:

Dr. Keenan Dungey, Assistant Professor, Chemistry	UHB 2001
Dr. Terry Bodenhorn, Associate Professor, History & Associate Director Capital Scholars	UHB 2006
Dr. Jonathan GoldbergBelle, Director, International Affairs	UHB 2000
Dr. Karen Moranski, Associate Professor, English & Director Capital Scholars	UHB 2003

Course Rationale and Organization

The CAP seminar is designed to help you learn about the university and higher education, which will be the focus of your life for the next four or more years. We have already begun in the summer assignment, by asking you to think about what you hope to accomplish by attending the university. In the first weeks of the class we will ask you to learn something about UIS’s history, the people who make up the campus community, and the culture of the campus community. Our project this semester will be to develop vision and mission statements for Capital Scholars in relationship to the larger UIS vision and mission, and to design a strategic plan by which those statements may be implemented. In other words, we want you to think about what sort of education you would prefer for yourself and future CAP students – majors and program offerings, curriculum, campus life, recruitment and retention strategies, diversity, budget, governance, community activities and fund-raising – and then design a plan to effectively and efficiently implement your vision. For instance, should CAP become an honor’s program? If so, why, how, and when? What sorts of activities might Cap engage in to best develop relationships and funding opportunities with the residents of Springfield and surrounding communities? Educational needs of students and our society change over time. How should the program best deal with change?

This project will entail considerable discussion with your colleagues and with other UIS students, faculty, and administrators. You will begin by researching need to research the history of our campus, and interviewing faculty, administrators, former and present students. You will then need to develop sub-committees within our discussion sections to address the following issues: recruitment and retention; student life and campus governance; curriculum (CAP curriculum, majors and programs at UIS, and funding, etc.); public engagement and means to showcase the CAP program. You may wish to set up discussion forums and surveys to develop and assess relevant information. You will also be able to draw on the assistance of our course teaching assistants. In the final half of semester the thematically related sub-committees from all discussion sections will meet in working groups to hash out a uniform vision and implementation plan. Next, there will be a few grand “summit meetings” to articulate your vision for the future of the Capital Scholars program, and develop a coherent plan to implement your vision. The project will culminate with a carefully written document (vision and mission statements, and strategic plan, completed by November 23) presented in an appropriate campus forum (e.g., open forum or a campus body such as the Student Government or the UIS Campus Senate) on Friday, December 3.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the Capital Scholars Seminar, students should be able to

Discuss the institutional history and ideologies of SSU/UIS and the development of and objectives for the Capital Scholars Program
Appreciate the role a university plays in society and what individuals and society can accomplish in a university and beyond.
Actively monitor and participate in the campus discussion regarding the future of UIS
Develop skills in critical thinking, writing, and collaborative work

Grading

· Summer assignment 20 points

· Workshops 30 points (6 workshops @ 5 points each)

· History of UIS (interviews, presentations, quiz) 40 points

· Sub-committee work 40 points

· Working group and summit participation 40 points

· Peer evaluations 20 points (2 evaluations @ 10 points each)

· Attendance and in-class participation 60 points

· Mid-term self-evaluation 25 points

· Final self-evaluation 25 points

Total 300 points maximum

Much of the work for this course will be done in small group settings. We will ask you for self-evaluations in the grading process. In addition, you will grade and be graded by your peers, as well as your instructors. We will carefully consider self evaluations and peer evaluations when calculating final grades.

Attendance

Please note that attendance is considered in your final grade. If you must be absent because of illness, family emergency or participation in a university sponsored completion, you must contact your professor prior to the absence to thane the absence excused.

Academic honesty

The Capital Scholars Honors Code reads “As faculty and students in the University of Illinois at Springfield Capital Scholars program we pledge to be honest, trustworthy, and responsible for all that we say, write, and do. We pledge to uphold the integrity of the program.” CAP students are bound by the Honor Code in this course, and are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity. The most common kinds off academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism. For CAP students, the living-learning environment sometimes makes it hard to determine breaches of academic integrity. While CAP students may work together on planning assignments and on studying for tests, each student is responsible for preparing his or her own work. Asking another student for help in figuring out a difficult assignment is permitted under the Honor Code; using another student’s work and calling it your own is not. Err on the side of caution, and be cautious about allowing other students to use your work. Always ask faculty for clarification on issues of academic integrity.

Please note that the penalties for violating the Honor Code will be severe, and CAP students who do so will be subject to action by the CAP Academic Honor Council and by the UIS Student Disciplinary Code. Penalties can include, but are not limited to, failure of an assignment, failure of a course, suspension or expulsion from Capital Scholars, or suspension or expulsion from the university.

Students with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the Office of Disability Services, Student Life Building (SLB) room 11 – 206-6666, during the first week of class to arrange for any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable.

Weekly Schedule and Assignments

Meeting times: Tuesdays, 12:00 – 1:40 PM

Note that each meeting’s location follows the date, with “A” meaning “UHB 2008” and “B” meaning “break-out” sections.