First Year Experience
Students attending Harrisburg University are exposed to a variety of programs that are designed to enhance their first year experience and assist them in achieving academic success. All incoming freshman students follow a curriculum that places them in a learning community experience. This approach allows students to have virtually the same freshman schedule to encourage the building of community, the formation of study groups and to develop an overall sense of comfort with community life.
The first-year experience encourages students to become active members of the University community, and all first-year students take a course entitled University Seminar 100 (SEMR 100, Exhibit HH), “Cornerstone.” This semester-long, credit-bearing course highlights the importance of study skills, time management, learning styles, stress management, self-motivation and goal setting. It exemplifies the importance the University places on assisting students along an academic and career path that leads to a productive life of learning and exploration.
A distinctive feature of the HU experience is that in each subsequent year of enrollment at the University, students take another University Seminar course (200,300,400)—“Steppingstone,” “Keystone,” “Capstone.” Each builds on the previous work exploring new topics such as e-Portfolio development, career planning, interview techniques, contemporary ethical issues, civic engagement, and the integration of students’ curricular, experiential, and co-curricular activities into an academic and professional identity. All of these help students acclimate to the Harrisburg community and our “city campus.”