First-Year Engagement Plan
The College of Communications offers a first-year experience to incoming freshmen at University Park that meets the goals and objectives as outlined by University and consists of two main components. Those components are:
First-Year Seminars
All students must take a one-credit, first-year seminar. All seminars are taught by full-time faculty and are offered on a variety of topics related to communications and the College's five majors. The seminars offer students the opportunity to interact with faculty in a small class setting while exploring the field of communications. Students are encouraged to take a seminar related to their prospective major if possible.
Supplemental Activities
First-year engagement activities comprise the second component of the first-year experience. All first-year students in the College of Communications are required to attend and/or participate in six of the activities listed below over the course of the year. The activities will introduce them to the College and the University communities. Some activities may be incorporated into first-year seminars and will count toward the student's participation total.
After completing an activity, students must post a blog entry about the event or experience on their personal Penn State blog with the tag “CommFYE09-#” replacing # with a number 1-6, i.e. “CommFYE09-1” for the first entry.
Instructions for building the blog will be distributed in first-year seminars and can be also downloaded. More information about the Penn State blog tool may be found at http://blogs.psu.edu online.
Link: PDF Instructions on creating a FYE blog.
Activities
- Create a blog or e-Portfolio using your personal Web space provided by Penn State.
- College of Communications-sponsored events such as the Foster Conference, the Pockrass Memorial Lecture, Hearst Lecture and the Donald W. Davis Symposiums.
- University Library Open House or library tutorial.
- An on-campus, arts-related event such as:
a musical performance, theatrical performance or film screening or
a tour of the Palmer Art Museum, lecture, gallery talk or workshop. - University-sponsored events such as the Distinguished Speaker Series or a Paul Robeson Cultural Center event.
- An Education Abroad presentation or fair.
- Attend a meeting of a recognized College of Communications club or student-run organization.
- Presentation by the Office of Internships and Career Services in the College of Communications.
- A career fair or workshop conducted by University Career Services.
- Become involved in a service organization on campus.
- Meet with a College of Communications adviser.
- An activity specified by First-Year Seminar instructor.
Students may consult the University's event calendar page for the most up-to-date information about events at Penn State.
