Hello, my name is Professor Heather Hoag, I’m a professor in the History Department and one of the co-directors of USF’s Honors College. I’m very happy and pleased to welcome you to USF. We’re very happy you have joined our Honors College. In this video, I’m going to spend a little bit of time going over how you should select classes in the Honors College for your first semester at USF. So let's begin. The first thing I’d like to do is go over quickly the USF curriculum. You’ve done this through other web track videos and through your major video as well. So you need 128 units to graduate from USF. In a normal semester, a student will take a course load of 16 to 18 units per semester. So 16 units times 8 semesters will be 128 units. Now this will differ depending on how many units you may come in with for AP and IB credits. So everyone's schedule and everyone's transcript will look a little different. The normal load is four 4-unit courses a semester and, especially if you’re doing the HONC, one 1-2 unit course per semester. Students can take up to 18 units a semester with the same tuition. And this works really well with the Honors College as you’ll see, a number of our courses are 2-units. The curriculum is set up to work with all majors and so we do want you to both meet with your major advisor, but also find time to slot in Honors College classes. Now all USF students must complete a core curriculum. This is the foundation of a Liberal Arts education. So these 11 core classes cover different areas, you can see on the side of the slide: Public Speaking, Composition, Math, Science, Literature. History, Philosophy, Theology, Ethics, Social Sciences, Fine Arts, and you’ll also do a course that's designated as Cultural Diversity and one that is designated as Community Engaged Learning. Now what you’ll find is that in the Honors College curriculum a number of our courses are Core classes. And so in order to fulfill this USF core requirement, you will be able to take special designated Honors College classes. Now for your major, all majors have different numbers of units, required so that will vary depending on the major you have selected. But by the time you complete your USF degree you will have reached at least 128 units completed each of these core requirements, the requirements for your major, and as I'll talk about in the next slide, the requirements for the Honors College. All students in the Honors College will pursue our Honors College curriculum. So what I'd like to do now is take a couple of minutes to go over what that curriculum is, and talk a little bit about the classes that we offer. The Honors College is comprised of small, seminar classes. None of our classes are over 20 students. And so, this is a unique feature of the Honors College. You’ll be able to complete some of your core requirements and do various exploration courses, 2 unit forum courses, with a small group of students. The current HONC curriculum is 24 units and this is spread over your 4 years at USF. To be in good standing in the Honors College, you will take at least one Honors College course each year as well as maintain a GPA of 3.5. Now our Honors College curriculum is particularly set up to work for all majors, from history to the sciences, to business and nursing. We have advisors in the different various fields to help you make sure that our Honors College classes will work with your major. At orientation, we will go over the curriculum in more detail but at this point, I just want to give you an idea of the overall structure. So all incoming students to the Honors College will take a 2-unit Honors CollegeGateway. This will be completed your first year at USF. This will introduce you to the HONC, our philosophy, our pillars, our approach, as well as what we expect of our Honors College students. You will also take at least one 4-unit class in each of the following categories: Liberal Arts Foundations, Global Perspectives, and Experiential Inquiry. One of the exciting elements of the Honors College is that we offer a suite of courses that really encourage you to get outside of the classroom and learn through experiences. You will also take 8 units of Honors College exploration classes. These include our 2-unit forum classes, which vary each semester, as well as our global jumpstarts. Our global jumpstart program are a variety of immersion programs over a two-week period in May and June in order to get you out into the world. All students will also complete a Capstone class. We have an Honors College Capstone which is a 2-unit course that you take your senior year. You can also take your Honors Thesis or Capstone class in your major. More information about this will be given to you in your orientation when you arrive at USF as well as through yearly advising. Okay, so let's go a little bit more in-depth about what you should take your first semester at USF. All HONC students are required to take the 2-unit Honors 100 Honors College Gateway during their first year at USF. This can be taken during your Fall semester or your Spring semester. It is a requirement to remain in the Honors College. So if you're not able to put it into your schedule in the Fall, be sure to be able to do so in the Spring. There are a number of sections offered each semester so please look through the class schedule to find one that works with your major and other core classes. You're also able to take your Core A1 and Core A2 requirements through the Honors College if you so desire. We offer an Honors College 130, 131, and 132 sequence. These together will fulfill your rhetoric and your public speaking requirements. If you choose to do this sequence, you’ll take Honors 130 for 4 units in the Fall of your first or second year. This will be followed by Honors 131 in the SPing of your first or second year, whichever year you have begun the sequence. Honors 31 and Honors 32 are each worth 2 units. Honors 132 will then be taken during your third year at USF. So, it is a sequence that combined will provide both credit towards your Honors College curriculum as well as fulfilling your A1 and A2 core requirements. Now you do not have to take this sequence through the Honors College. You may take the placement exam through the rhetoric department and complete your A1 and A2 requirements with rhetoric courses. To find out how to do this please watch the web track video on the directed self-placement. This placement exam, or the process, will tell you which rhetoric course you should begin with. You may register for another HONC course if it has open seats. This could be a 4-unit course that counts for your core requirements or one of our 2-unit forum courses. Now forum courses are courses that attempt to get you out of the classroom and exploring interdisciplinary topics. Many of them will have field trips and experiences within the greater San Francisco area, so please consider them. They are listed in the class schedule as Honors 390 and you will find that the instructors and the topics vary each semester. Now everyone's schedule will look different depending on your major, depending on your transfer units, and depending on your particular interests and preferences. This is fine, this is what we want in the HONC. But if at any time you have questions at the end of this web track video there will be contact information and you can ask. You will also have the opportunity at orientation to check your schedule to make sure that you're in the right classes. The first thing you should do is register for your major classes. We want to make sure you are on track to do your introductory and your requirements for your major, and then look at what HONC classes may complement those classes. Now here are a few samples of what your schedule may look like for different colleges and majors. The schedule for Sample 1 and Sample 2 on this slide tends to work for students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management. As you'll see, they start with a major class, a rhetoric class, either our Honors 130 or the rhetoric class you have tested into through the self-directed placement process. We also highly encourage you to take a first-year seminar. These are courses that count for Core tha tare only offered to you your first semester at USF. They are usually designated with the code 195. We can also substitute a first-year seminar into our Honors curriculum, so please consider them as an option to fulfill a requirement for your core as well as a requirement for the Honors College. Now incoming students we highly suggest if you have time in your schedule to take Honors 100. This is the required gateway course that you need to take either your first semester or your second semester at USF. And then we encourage you if there is space in your schedule to take USF 101. This is a course that introduces you to the college experience at USF and allows you to learn more about the resources here at USF. It really is a course that helps set you up to succeed. It is a 1-unit course so it should be able to fit in most schedules. Now the sample schedule that is third on the slide is for Nursing students. If you are an Honors College student that's pursuing the Nursing program this is what your schedule will most likely look like. If you are an Engineering student we have a sample schedule for you as well. When you look across these schedules what you will see is that there are some similarities. At least one Honors class, preferably Honors 100. We also encourage you to take a first-year seminar, but each program will be different in terms of the requirements and so as I said before, please meet with your major advisor, watch the web track video that is appropriate for your major, and then review this slide to see if your schedule aligns with one of these samples.  But everyone's schedule will look a little different. You can find all the Honors College classes that are being offered in the semester that you are registering for on the student tab of MyUSF. Click on the Class Schedule tab and you will see that the first box, under the subjects, if you scroll down, that you’ll find the Honors College. Please click on that, highlight that, and it will take you to the page with all of the HONC courses being offered. Please take some time to review the schedule and the courses so that you can find the schedule that works for you. We suggest you both take note of the classes you would like to register for as your first choice and also as your second choice. For your incoming semester at USF, some of the courses that you are interested in might already be full. This is common because continuing students have already registered. Please don't worry, you will be able to register earlier if you remain in the Honors College for next semester and beyond. So we do suggest you find the courses that work for you, have a list of courses that you would like to try and get into first, and a list of courses that you might like to keep as a backup. To find out more information about a course you may be interested in, please click on that course when you pull up the Honors College list of courses, and it will take you to a page that looks like this. This will have the information on the course, the units, when it's being offered, where it's being offered, and who the instructor is. Now for Fall, all courses will be in-person. You can also here, you see, you can click on the blue View Catalog entry and that will give you more information on the course. You will also be sent information from the Honors College with a description of the courses that we are offering. Occasionally, you will find that a course you are interested in taking is already full. You have the option of putting yourself on the waitlist. To do this you go to your Student Tab in MyUSF and click on Add/Drop. You will enter the CRN, which is the five-digit code associated with that class. The class on your screen is 42559. Now if you put yourself on a waitlist there is absolutely no guarantee that you will be able to join the class. This all depends on whether students who registered before you, or put themselves on the waitlist before you, choose to either drop or add the course. For your first semester at USF, you shouldn't really need to waitlist yourself for any courses because you should be able to take Honors 100 which is the Gateway course. But this is an option. If you do put yourself on a waitlist for a course, make sure you register for another course so that you have a full schedule. When you arrive on campus we will have an orientation session that will go over the requirements of the Honors College in more details and answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, feel free to contact me at hjhoag@usfca.edu or my co-director Professor Dana Zartner or the Program Manager of the Honors College, Monica Doblado. We are very happy that you have chosen USF and to join us in the Honors College and very much look forward to meeting you when you arrive at USF.