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When I first heard Morehead State planned to axe the infamous MSU 101, it peaked my interest. I sat for a moment and recalled my own 101experience. I had a good time but I can’t honestly say I learned anything.
After asking around, I gathered that there was some skepticism about the new individualized “First Year Seminars” intended to take the place of MSU 101.
I decided to see for myself. I obtained a list of the seminar options and was surprisingly impressed.
Of course there are some question marks on the list. Seminars on interstellar travel, chocolate, Winnie the Pooh, and Hip Hop seem like stretches as options for a mandatory course. However, the majority of the seminars offered appear entertaining, dare I say, educational.
Providing incoming students the opportunity to select from a wide array of seminar topics is a positive step for the university. The variety is good for the students, allowing them to select based on interest or possible relevance to their particular areas of study.
The problem becomes this: It is now up to individual professors in charge of each seminar to make sure the new first-year seminar program lives up to its potential.
All the pieces are in place, leaving complacency as the only obstacle. With the busy schedules professors face, it could be easy to let these seminars slip through the cracks.
If these changes aren’t taken seriously, the end result will be nothing more than another useless course to waste students’ time and money – MSU 101 under a different prefix.
But with some effort, and if professors remain interested and enthused, first-year seminar can provide young minds an excellent introduction to the university experience.
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