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Unlike any other program offered by public universities in America, the minds behind BGeXperience hope to help students foster a social and emotional investment in BGSU that will dwarf any growing money commitment.
Having been run through the developmental rigors in classrooms since 2000 on a limited basis, BGeX will be implemented across the board for all freshman this year.
After moving in yesterday, freshman will embark on six sessions over three days of orientation and ‘getting-to-know-you’ activities in a group of 25 students and a professor, according to Don Nieman, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of BGeX.
The benefits of connecting right away with other college first-timers will go a long way in making the University a comfortable home for freshmen, Nieman said.
He believes that students who are more engaged in the BGSU community during their freshman year usually do better in class, and are more likely to continue their education here.
‘We think this will help more first-year students be successful, which translates into more returning sophomores,’ Nieman said. ‘So this does have good financial implications.’
The intimate size of BGeX courses is also meant to foster an open forum for discussion about issues that students will face throughout their lives.
But using the ‘values’ label to set apart BGeX classes has led some to question whether the University is pushing a set of morals on students.
This is ludicrous, said Nieman, who explained that the goal of ‘values’ classes is only to encourage students to evaluate and strengthen their own morals and beliefs.
‘Some thought this [BGeX] would be a program to tell students what their values should be,’ Nieman said. ‘It wasn’t, and it isn’t.’
Students will also discuss the personal values that come into play when faced with choices like plagiarism, turning in a fellow classmate for plagiarizing, or other academic honesty policies.
When freshmen registered for classes in the summer, they chose one ‘values’ course that fulfills both a general education requirement, and is part of the BGeX program.
The gen-ed ‘values’ courses are limited to 25 students, and are taught by faculty members chosen by Nieman and other administrators.
Only full-time professors or instructors will be teaching BGeX courses.
For Nieman, putting freshmen in the hands of BGSU’s best educators instead of graduate students exemplifies the commitment of this program.
‘I think we need to offer our first-year students the best we have to offer,’ Nieman said, ‘which is something not all colleges strive to do.’
Each professor will be assisted by a BGSU upperclassman, who’ll serve as a peer facilitator that eases the transition and help students relate to issues, Nieman said.
‘We think they [facilitators] can tell these students what the college experience is all about,’ Nieman said. ‘Having this younger person there makes the situation much more credible.’
Freshmen taking ASTR 212 The Solar System are normally in a class of 118 students.
But this year the class has been divided up for BGeX into five classes of 25 students, creating a better environment for discussion, according to Andy Laden, professor of physics and astronomy.
Students in Laden’s ASTR 212 BGeX class will discuss a variety of topics related to science and the sky, all of whose answers are open to interpretation.
Exploring the Sun’s fusion energy will open up discussion about the pros and cons of fission energy on Earth better known as nuclear power, Laden said.
And delving into greenhouse gas effects on both Venus and Mars will allow the class to discuss the continuous debate over humans role in greenhouse effects on Earth.
Going one step further with a class curriculum by tieing it to current events and students’ values is a challenge Kelly Gawinek, sophomore, welcomed last year.
Gawinek enrolled in a BGeX honors critical-thinking course in fall 2004.
‘I thought class was really rewarding,’ Gawinek said. ‘It makes you kind of think more about what your beliefs are, what you think of things, and what you think about the world.’
Moving into residence halls early is another plus to BGeX that freshmen will certainly benefit from, according to Emily Granata, sophomore.
Her BGeX course in fall 2004 required early move-in, and those extra days before the start of class allowed Granata to build friendships with her roommate and neighbors.
‘I definitely think it makes you better friends with your roommate,’ Granata said. ‘If you moved in a day before classes, you’re busy unpacking and then you’re off to class, and you barely get to know them.’
For Nieman, if University students can better know their own beliefs and those of their peers through BGeX courses, then the goal of this mass-project will have been achieved.
‘One of the things we hope to accomplish is that students understand their own values,’ Nieman said, ‘but that they also understand that those on the other side have values that underlie their arguments too.’