UC 101 - University Colloquium - Sustainable Communities
this page last updated on 29 August 1999

FYE Information Sheet - NAU Escort Services

What is FYE?

The First Year Experience is a collaborative effort by the university to provide services and programming to first year students in an attempt to ease their transition from their previous environment to the college community. The following programs are designed to enhance the first year of students at NAU.

• Previews: Where your NAU Journey Begins
• Wilderness Initiate Leadership Development (WILD)
• Lumberjack Welcome Week
• FYE 101: The Passport Journey
• UC 101 : University Colloquium
• ENG 105: English Composition
• EPS 101: Academic and Personal Development
• First Year Academic Cohort Courses
• Freshman Connections Residence Halls
• First Year Resource Centers at McConnell and Sechrist Halls
• Supplemental Instruction Courses
• Peer Mentor program
• Individual Academic Advisement

This course will introduce students to the intellectual challenges that characterize the university community through common readings and experiences. It will help students become more cognizant of their own strengths and of the areas that need more work, and to understand the role of a strong liberal education for all students regardless of major.

First year students will have been placed in an academic cohort during registration. These cohorts are comprised of two or three classes put together according to academic major. Therefore, 20-25 students of the same major will take at least 2 classes together. This can create more opportunities for study groups and communication between students of a similar major.

FYE 101 is a one-hour elective course, which is part of an academic cohort. It includes the Passport Journey Program with a peer mentor facilitating the class.

The Passport Journey is the assignments which students will complete during their FYE 101 course. There are 16 passport assignments to complete; most of these assignments will actually be completed in class. A student must complete 15 passports to get an "A", 12-14 to earn a "P", and less than 12 passports completed will earn them an "F".

A peer mentor is an upperclassman student who will be facilitating the FYE101 class. This peer mentor has been through a university training course (EPS 499, EPS 497, or EPS 404) and is available to help students out with any questions regarding FYE101 and the passports. A peer mentor is one of the most important positive influences a new student can have.

There will be a couple of opportunities to make up "missed" passports. They can ask their Peer Mentor in class about these make-up assignments.

Passport #1 could have been completed at Previews by attending the designated sessions. If students came to Previews, but did not attend all the sessions they may attend those sessions at Fall Previews, August 23-24 (the schedule is the same as Summer Previews).

If they do not arrive on campus before Fall Previews or they did not attend Previews, they will need to consult with their Peer Mentor during class to make up that passport.

Students may drop their FYE101 class, however it is not recommended. The format of the class has been changed this year in order to better assist students in their transition to NAU. Most of the passports are completed in class. Our own NAU retention statistics reveal that students who complete the Passport Journey have higher GPAs, higher retention from their freshman to sophomore year, and a higher satisfaction with their NAU experience.

FYE101 is a 1-hour class that counts towards graduation as an elective. FYE101 is not a requirement for graduation.

In order to complete Passport #2, students must attend two "Passport Option" events during Lumberjack Welcome Week. Events that count as "Passport Option" events are clearly marked in the LWW Brochure. Students will need to bring their passports, which they received at Previews to each event in order to get it stamped and signed by the presenter.

This year all new freshman students will be reading "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver as the summer reading. Books may be purchased at Previews on August 24 between 2:00pm and 5:00 pm in the duBois Ballroom or during business hours at the NAU Bookstore.

The summer reading will be discussed during LWW. All first year students need to attend these discussion groups, even if they have not read the book yet. Discussion groups are divided according to section number of UC101, ENG105 and HON 190. You can find meeting times and locations for these groups in your LWW Brochure or on the OTRS website at http://www.nau.edu/otrs.

Apart from the discussion groups, the summer reading will surface again during the semester in the curriculums of UC101, ENG 105 and HON 190.

All new students should purchase the book and read as much of it as possible before classes begin. All new students must participate in a discussion group during LWW regardless of whether they have completed the book.

The study guide for "The Bean Trees" can be found on the OTRS website http://www.nau.edu/otrs

Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 23:56:36 -0700 (MST)
From: Amanda Joy Doudna <ajd7@dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Subject: The Safety Escort Service of Northern Arizona University

To Whom it May Concern,

My name is Amanda Doudna and I am a senior majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management. One of the organizations I am involved with on
campus is the SES, Safety Escort Service. The SES performs a service on campus by walking students and/or faculty from any on-campus location to
any second on-campus location. The goal of the SES is to keep the NAU campus as safe as possible.

One of the challenges that we face is informing the student body of our service. I am writing to ask you to forward this e-mail onto any of the
professors in your college that have night classes. Last spring many of you helped me in having the opportunity to address several night classes. All I am asking is for a few minutes at the beginning or end of class in the first couple weeks to inform students about the service offered by the SES.

Thank you for any help that you can give. It is our hope that we will be able to keep NAU as safe as it was this past academic year.

Sincerely,

Amanda Doudna
Director of Public Relations,
Safety Escort Service of NAU
ajd7@dana.ucc.nau.edu

I can also be reached via phone with any questions or comments: 523-7767, SES business line