Lyon College COR 100 FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE
A Syllabus for FALL 2006

Instructors/Mentors:
#1: Beck; #2: Bordeau; #3: Dyer; #4: Everson; #5: Grafton; #6: Pace; #7: Robbins;
#8: Tebbetts; #9: Thomas; and #10: Valle

Office Location: Office Phone:
Office Hours:
Class Meetings: Tuesdays 11:00-11:50 a.m.

Texts: Handouts for the course will be available on the Freshmen Conference on First Class. Readings and quizzes for the information technology component (LIT) of the course may be found at www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/COR100. Visitors to this site will need a Lyon computer system user name and ID.

Course Description:
COR 100 First-Year Experience……………………………1 credit
This course is designed to introduce students to college life and further develop the personal and academic skills necessary for success in college. (Lyon Catalog 2005-2006, 108.)
Offered in conjunction with programs sponsored by Spragins House, the course is led by faculty, staff, and student mentors and is part of an overall system of advisement and support for first-year students.
Course Mission: In association with programming and other initiatives through Spragins House, COR 100 helps new students adjust to life at Lyon College’s residential liberal arts campus, promoting the development of responsible, reasoned behavior in academic and social life.
Course Objectives: The Program has seven primary objectives. The COR 100 class plays a strategic role in the delivery of these objectives:

1. Each student, as he or she arrives on campus, will join a ready-made community, including a group of peers, upper-class students, and a faculty or staff member who serve as the student’s mentor group, which is also the student’s COR 100 class.

2. Each student will take part in a discussion of the nature and mission of Lyon as a residential liberal arts college.

3. Each student will receive information on academic procedures and policies at Lyon and will use it to register for the fall and spring terms of the freshman year and the fall term of the sophomore year.

4. Each student will receive information and advice in developing academic skills necessary for success at Lyon.

5. Each student will receive information on the Honor and Social Systems and the personal integrity and responsible behavior both expect.

6. Each student will receive information on and contacts with college social, service, and honor organizations and cultural programs of potential interest.

7. Each student will engage in a service project as an introduction to the larger community.

Requirements:
• Readings and events as assigned
• Written work—there are four written assignments for this class. The minimum length for each assignment is 250 words.
• Service Day—As stated in the mission of the college:
“…Lyon develops, in a culture of honor, responsible citizens and leaders committed to continuing personal growth and service.”(5) Service learning opportunities are group activities that introduce students to needs in the broader community.
• Preparation for and participation in class
• Attendance in class—COR 100 meetings are once a week. Students must attend all meetings of the class unless they are excused. Excused absences follow college policy as stated in the catalogue. The instructor must be informed in advance (by voice mail, email, or through an R.A. or student mentor) for the absence to be excused. Unexcused absences will be reported to the Registrar. Because COR 100 meets but once a week, a single unexcused absence constitutes a full week of absence. An unexcused absence may result in the lowering of the term grade by one letter.
• Attendance at three cultural events—In order to benefit from the full range of educational experiences available at Lyon, the student should attend and report on three cultural opportunities on campus. These might include offerings by the Convocations committee, a performance by the Harlequin Theatre, the opening of an exhibition at the Kresge Gallery, a presentation through the Visiting Writers series, a foreign film not required for a class, a concert by the College Chorale or the Arkansas Symphony, or a video offered through Spragins House. Students should choose events that are different in character, i.e. one theatre event, a Convocations lecture, and one concert. Failure to attend/report these three events may result in the lowering of the final grade by one-half letter grade per event missed. Students should e-mail their critiques of attended events as Word attachments. These submissions must be sent to the mentor within 48 hours of the event. The critique should answer three basic questions of criticism:
1. What was the production (writer, lecturer, artist, film director, etc.) attempting to do?
2. How was this done?
3. Was it worth doing?

Evaluation: Grades in the course will be assigned based on the following scales:
A=90-100 B=80-89.9 C=70-79.9 D=60-69.9 F=0-59.9
• Written assignments: 33⅓% of term grade (100 points total.)--Each of the four written assignments is awarded up to twenty-five points based on the merits of the submission, which includes both content and mechanics.
• Attendance and participation: 33⅓% (100 points total.)--Constructive class participation will be taken into account in grading, and roll will be taken at all class meetings. College policy calls for dismissal from courses that students have missed excessively. No make-up assignments will be given except in cases of documented medical necessity, family emergency, or college business.
Participation in Service Day in also considered in this element and is valued at forty points. If a freshman athlete is absent because of an away game, he/she must perform an independent service approved by the mentor at the earliest opportunity during the fall semester.
• Information resources component: 33⅓% (100 points total.)--Students in COR 100 will receive orientation to Lyon’s information resources from library and information services staff. Scheduling and attending a tour of the Mabee-Simpson Library during the month of September is required. Failure to take the tour will result in a penalty deduction of fifteen points from this component.
Students will progress at their own rate through a series of online exercises designed to evaluate and strengthen skills in using information resources. Each of the seven on-line quizzes is worth up to ten points and the final exam for the component is worth thirty points.
Honor System: This course operates in accord with the Honor System of Lyon College. All work submitted for the course must bear the word "Pledged," signifying the student's adherence to Honor System policies. The student should provide citations for any material—direct quotation or paraphrase— that is not his/her own. A student reporting on events she/he did not attend is in violation of the honor code. Please consult with your mentor if in doubt regarding the application of the honor code to a specific assignment.
 

Calendar of Topics/Events/Assignments for COR 100

Underlined readings are those found on the web at: <http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/library/tutorials/index.asp>  for the information technology component of the course.
 

WEEK ONE, 8/22:
• TOPIC—Academic regulations: The Way Things Are At Lyon.
• Reminders:
1. Next week COR 100 students will attend the President’s Convocation in Brown Chapel at the normal class time.
2. All students should sign up for a fifteen minute appointment between August 28 and September 1 with their faculty/staff mentor.
• Assignment: Download the “Week Three Handout”—a time schedule—found on the Freshmen Conference on First Class. Beginning on Wednesday morning, August 23, the student should track how he/she spends the waking and sleeping hours for a period of seven days (Wednesday through Wednesday.) The student should submit the assignment in class on Tuesday, September 5.

WEEK TWO, 8/29:
• EVENT—President’s Convocation
• Reminders:
1. COR Groups will sit together at Brown Chapel. Wear your group t-shirt.
2. You have an appointment scheduled with your mentor. Please arrive on time.
3. Group One-Beck invited to lunch at Spragins House following the convocation.
• Library/Information Technology Component (LIT): Chapter 1 - Introduction to Citrix Network; <http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/Groups/cor100/usingcit/>    Read chapter and do exercises. (Click on link above to access chapter Webpage) Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 5. [You are welcome to work ahead on the LIT component and complete many or all of the assignments well before their due dates.]

WEEK THREE, 9/5:
• TOPIC—Time Management
• Reminder: Group Two-Bordeau is invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.
• LIT: Chapter 2 - Introduction to First Class; <http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/Groups/cor100/usingfc/> Read chapter and do exercises. (Click on link above to access chapter webpage) Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Sunday, Sept. 10.

WEEK FOUR, 9/12 –All mentor groups gather in Nucor Auditorium:
• TOPIC—Green Eggs and Alcohol
• Reminder: Group Three-Dyer is invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.
• Reading: Examine the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey before class. You may find the information at http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dellis/Core%202006%20Page%201.pdf
• Assignment: Every spring the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey is given to over half the students at Lyon. Numbers and percentages increased last year in several categories. Some of these are as follows: Underage students’ drinking is significantly higher than last year (64% v. 50%); students who have used marijuana in the past year is higher (32.7% v. 23.8%); driven a car while under the influence is higher (24.9% v. 16.7%) and also higher is being taken advantage of sexually (13.7% v. 10.6%).

Please interview three students on campus and put together with your own perspective the reasons you think these increases might have occurred. Also, please identify ways in which you think these issues might be addressed in an educational way for students. You may wish to refer to the “Sex Signals” presentation from orientation, as well. Submit the assignment by email to your faculty/staff mentor before noon on Monday, September 25.

• LIT: Chapter 3 - The Home Page and Library Services: <http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/cor100/fall2006/chapter3.htm>  Read chapter and do exercises. Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Sunday, Sept. 17.


WEEK FIVE, 9/19:
• TOPIC—The Students’ Tiptionary: Succeeding in Different Classes
• Reminder: Group Four-Everson invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.
• Reading: Review handout on effective class notes distributed at class session #3.
• LIT: Chapter 4 – Basic Research Techniques: <http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/cor100/fall2006/chapter4.htm>  Read chapter and do exercises. Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Sunday, Sept. 24.

WEEK SIX, 9/26 –All mentor groups gather in Nucor Auditorium:
• TOPIC—Does Service Have a Place in Your Future?
• Reminders:
1. Tomorrow is Service Day: Each COR Group will have a project. Freshmen athletes must work with their mentor group rather than their team.
2. Group Five-Grafton invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.
• LIT: Chapter 5 - Databases:  http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/cor100/fall2006/chapter5.htm>  Read chapter and do exercises. Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Sunday, Oct. 1.

WEEK SEVEN, 10/3—All mentor groups gather in Nucor Auditorium:
• TOPIC—Living Outside of Community: the Charge, Investigation, Trial and Consequences
• Reminders:
1. Go by your mentor’s office on Monday to obtain your copy of the mid-term progress report;
2. Group Six-Pace invited to lunch at Spragins House after class;
3. Tonight Spragins House sponsors its mid-term stress break beginning at 9 p.m. in the Morrow Building.
• LIT: Chapter 6 - The Internet:  http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/cor100/fall2006/chapter6.htm>  Read chapter and do exercises. Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Sunday, Oct. 8.
• Reading: Prior to attending this session, the student should take time to read the Honor and Social Code as found in the printed manual he/she was provided at check-in. As well, the student should read Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism by Dr. Virginia Wray as found on the Freshmen Conference on First Class.

WEEK EIGHT, 10/10:
• TOPIC—Taking the Temperature of the Freshman Class
• Reminders: Group Seven-Robbins invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.
• LIT: Chapter 7 - Avoiding Plagiarism and Learning How to Cite: <http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/cor100/Fall2006/chapter7.htm>  Read chapter and do exercises. Take exam by 12:00 midnight on Monday, Oct 16.

WEEK NINE, 10/17:
• TOPIC—Now That Midterm Grades Are In: Calculating a G.P.A.
• Reminders:
1. In class you should schedule an individual appointment for this week with your mentor to discuss your mid-term progress report;
2. Group Eight -Tebbetts invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.
• LIT: Final Exam. Review Chapters 1-7. Take final exam by 12:00 Midnight, Sunday, Oct. 29.

WEEK TEN, 10/24—All mentor groups gather in Nucor Auditorium:
• TOPIC—Looking to the Future—Educational and Career Opportunities
• Reminders: All COR 100 sections will meet in Nucor Auditorium for a presentation by Mr. Greg Maloney, Director of Career Development; Group Nine-Thomas invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.

WEEK ELEVEN, 10/31:
• TOPIC—Majors, Minors, and Concentrations
• Reminders:
1. During class you will schedule an appointment to meet individually with your advisor next week;
2. Bring your copy of the catalog to class;
3. Group Ten-Valle invited to lunch at Spragins House following class.

WEEK TWELVE, 11/6—11/10:
• Reminders: There is no class meeting on Tuesday. Instead, there are Registration Conferences this week. Please be on time for your appointment at your mentor’s office.

WEEK THIRTEEN, THURSDAY 11/16—All mentor groups gather in Nucor Auditorium:
• TOPIC—Thanksgiving Convocation
• All COR 100 sections will gather in Brown Chapel for this celebration of community. Students should sit with their mentor group. This is the final “class meeting” of COR 100. The course will be evaluated on Educator.

The final day of all classes is Friday, December 1. Spragins House will host a finals stress break on December 5 at 9 p.m. in the Morrow Building.