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Special Programs
First Year at Manoa
The First Year at Manoa (FYM) initiative unifies new and pre-existing learning communities, programs and services targeted at freshmen and transfer students in a coherent package. From New Student Orientation, which gives students the opportunity to prepare for their first semester to the Freshman Advising Center, which provides ongoing advising services, FYM programs ease the transition of new students into the academic and social communities of the University. FYM programs provide students with the opportunity to develop personal relationships with faculty and fellow students so that they become actively engaged in their education. In addition, FYM programs help students become familiar with the wide array of resources and programs available to them at the University.
Co-Coordinators: C. Brooks-Harris and M. Taniguchi
Freshman Advising Center (FAC)
The Freshman Advising Center (FAC) is an integral part of the First Year at Manoa. The FAC provides a user-friendly place for freshman to access information and get assistance with academic matters such as degree requirements, course selection and registration, and choice of major. The FAC is staffed by professional academic advisers and student peer mentors who are familiar with campus resources available to support first year students.
For more information, please call (808) 956-7273 or visit the FAC Web site at www.cassas.hawaii.edu/FAC. Coordinator: A. Yap.
Learning Communities
Learning communities create a collaborative academic and social learning environment of faculty and students. There are various models for learning communities at the UHM campus, including Access to College Excellence (ACE), Freshman Seminars (FS), Manoa Connections (MACs), and Rainbow Advantage (RAP).
Access to College Excellence (ACE)
The Access to College Excellence (ACE) program provides freshmen with an exciting interactive group learning experience in their first semester. ACE students join a group of 15 other students who take three preselected courses together, often according to their area of academic interest. They meet weekly in a one-credit class, CAS 110, with an upper-division student mentor who provides information on academic and support services and leads discussions relevant to the academic interests of the group. The group also participates in extracurricular activities that enhance the first-year experience. For more information, please call (808) 956-7273 or visit the ACE Web site at <www.cassas.hawaii.edu/ace>. Coordinator: C. Brooks-Harris
Freshman Seminars (FS)
Freshman Seminars offer freshmen a variety of courses that enable them to learn in small class environments. (Classes are limited to 10 students.) The purpose of this program is three-fold:
1. To create an intimate learning community for faculty and students who place a high value on the human dimension of education;
2. To provide students with small classes in which they take an active and responsible part and in which they receive constant peer stimulation, support, and feedback; and
3. To offer advanced advanced students an opportunity to gain experience in leadership and mastery over their major by teaching it.
Although the subject matter taught varies from course to course, several opportunities integrated into all seminars serve to unite them: 1) service learning, 2) opportunities to explore new technologies, and 3) integration of information retrieval.
The three credit seminars are mainly - but not limited to - General Education Core classes led by qualified advanced students under the direction of department faculty. These seminars provide valuable learning experience for both the students in the class and the students leading the class. Courses offered vary each semester but have included: art, peace studies, ethnic studies, geology and geophysics, political science, sociology, and speech. They are listed in the Schedule of Classes under each department.
Freshman Seminars learning communities typically include one or two three credit seminars and a LIS course that teaches students the fundamentals of using information retrieval and technology.
For more information, please call (808) 956-7142 or go to Web site: www.fs.hawaii.edu. Director: M. Watts
Manoa Connections (MACs)
Manoa Connections (MACs) are the newest in learning communities on the UH campus, offering students a unique opportunity to work closely with professors and to look at ideas through a number of viewpoints. Class material is integrated in a way that enables students to see how issues are related in different subjects. Instructors work closely with students to help them understand concepts and develop the critical thinking skills necessary at a university level. For more information, please call (808) 956-9864 or go to Web site: www.lc.hawaii.edu. Co-Coordinators: C. Brooks-Harris and M. Taniguchi
Rainbow Advantage Program (RAP)
The Rainbow Advantage Program (RAP) is a tightly woven learning community that provides a supportive academic environment promoting a sense of community and shared values. Students are actively engaged in their education and participate in a variety of approaches to learning. Students who are admitted to the University as freshmen are invited to apply to participate in this program (enrollment is limited to 100 students). They then take four courses together (15 credits) for the year. Six of these credits are received in a year-long foundation course that fosters the learning of communication and research skills and serves to integrate all of the other courses. RAP also provides a myriad of experiences that help to fuse academics with what is traditionally called the real world. RAP attempts to prepare students for productive careers, fulfilling personal lives, enlightened citizenship, and lifelong learning.
The following is a partial list of the kinds of activities and academic pursuits in which the students will find themselves:
- Service learning is a mandated component of the program. Students do community service work throughout the year.
- Students link with K-12 students in a collaborative effort to produce museum exhibits, which are then put on display at the Bishop Museum.
- Students become members of a virtual community called Walden3 and learn how to be citizens of both their local community and the emerging global village.
- Students have the resources of a librarian who is part of the faculty of the learning community. This person serves to integrate information retrieval into the content and context of the course.
- Students have access to mentors from the wider community. These mentors offer a variety of experiences, from personal conversations about the value of liberal education to allowing students to shadow them at their job.
For more information, please call (808) 956-4040 or go to Web site: www.rap.hawaii.edu. Director: M. Watts
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