Ava Chuppe
Staff Writer
[email protected]

The success seminar component of the transitions courses are set to be changed beginning fall 2022.

Provost Tim Todd and Don Robertson, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, announced changes for transitions courses on Jan. 10.

Transitions, or 100T, courses will continue to be taught through each academic department and be required for all undergraduates.

The success seminar aims to support retention rates through lessons on fulfilling goals, developing study skills and other related topics. In the past, student success instructors from various offices on campus have coordinated this portion of the transitions curriculum. 

Effective fall 2022, the success seminar content will be delivered differently. 

Peggy Whaley, director of the Center for Student Engagement, will provide the content and resources through Canvas and add instructors to the course.

Whaley said the decision was made because it was time for new and different programs for first-year students.

“I am working with research and instruction librarians to develop online content modules so that the same great content can be delivered easily through the 100T courses,” Whaley said.

Brent Menchinger, transitions professor and chair of the Department of Global Languages and Theatre Arts, said he was made aware of the change during winter break. 

“For me, it means discussing with my co-teacher regarding what he taught and taking over those lectures [sic] materials [for the] fall,” Menchinger said. “I imagine this is different for every 100T team.”

Whaley said some success seminar instructors may wish to continue to guest instruct in transitions courses, but the success seminar instructors will no longer be formally paired with transitions courses. Both Whaley and Special Education Assistant Professor Cindy Clemson will serve as guest speakers  for classes at an instructor’s request.

“If my time permits, I will be more than happy to visit any 100T class that wants me to teach on a certain topic, as I have been a success seminar instructor since we began the seminars in 2014,” Clemson said. “Also, this was my dissertation research, so 

I have lots of information in the area of student success.”

Clemson said the data from her research demonstrated the effectiveness of success seminars.

“The topics taught in the success seminars have made a big impact on student retention in the last nine years,” Clemson said. “However, as with all great ideas, they need to be revisited often to see if there are other more relevant strategies that can be helpful to assist students in being successful in college.”

The development of an online module option is still in its early stages, meaning that specific changes in content have not yet been established.

Because instructors will still have access to the success seminar content through Canvas, the modules will not necessarily be independent virtual assignments. The amount of time spent discussing each module will be up to individual instructors.

Though the format of transitions courses will change, they will maintain the same goal of promoting student success.