COURSE SYLLABUS

ENGR 0081
Fall Term 2181
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Jill Harvey, M.Ed. Christin Schroeder, M.Ed.
Associate Director Academic Advisor
Freshman Engineering Program Freshman Engineering Program
jgh7@pitt.edu ceh58@pitt.edu
152B Benedum Hall 152B Benedum Hall
(412) 624-9825 (412) 624-9825

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND MEETING INFORMATION

Freshman Seminar is designed with the needs of first-year engineering students in mind. The main objectives are to:
1. Help ease the transition from high school to college by helping you to discover new information, plan for future
goals, and act upon those plans to achieve success in your first year and beyond.
2. Help you identify offices and individuals to add to your Pitt network.
3. Familiarize you with the different fields of engineering study and work.

There are two components to Freshman Seminar in the Fall term:

Engineering 0081/0181 Large Group Informational Presentations: Tuesdays at 9 AM or Thursdays at 9 AM in David Lawrence
Hall. Students with CHEM 0710/0760 or MATH 0200 will meet according to guidelines set forth by the instructors.
Students must attend the large group meeting for which they are registered. (That is, if you are enrolled for the Tuesday
class, you must attend on Tuesday. If you are enrolled for Thursday, you must attend on Thursday.) These meetings are
designed to help you gain a better understanding of each engineering field and to gain information about the
academic department options in engineering that are available to you. The large group meetings will also provide
information and resources to help you with certain Engineering 0011/0711 assignments.

ENGR 0081/0181 Recitation: see your schedule for days, times, and locations.
The small group Peer Advisor-led recitation sections will help you connect to others in your engineering class with at
least one interest similar to yours and will also put you in touch with a successful upperclassman (your Peer Advisor) who
has completed the Freshman Engineering Program. The recitations will focus on acquainting you with local and
campus resources and provide you with tips and tools for academic success.

GRADES AND ATTENDANCE

Grades for Freshman Seminar are issued on the S/U policy (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) and are based solely on your
attendance. You may miss no more than 2 seminar lecture meetings and 2 seminar recitation meetings. If you are sick, it
will count as an absence. In order to receive a passing grade in Freshman Seminar, you must receive a passing grade in
BOTH the auditorium presentations and the individual recitation section. Attendance for the auditorium presentations will
be taken at the start of each presentation. If you are late or are not in your seat when attendance is taken, you will be
marked absent.

COURSE GUIDELINES/COURTESY
You are expected to give presenters your courteous attention. As such, please observe the following:
Arrive and be seated in your seat on time.
Refrain from disruptive behavior.
Refrain from personal conversations during presentations. It CAN be heard when you whisper in a large classroom.
Turn off all cell phones. Taking calls, making calls, and texting are not permitted during Seminar.
No laptops. Close your laptops during seminar.
MP3 players and other audio devices are not permitted during Seminar.
Do not use Seminar time to do homework/read for other classes.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND STUDENT CONDUCT

Freshman engineering students are expected to uphold all tenets of the Universitys academic integrity policy. The full
Academic Integrity Policy can be found at: http://www.pitt.edu/HOME/PP/policies/02/02-03-03.html. Buzzing in with an
absent students clicker to make them appear present is a clear violation of the Academic Integrity Policy and will be
counted as such according to the Freshman Engineering Programs three-strike policy.
 ENGR 0081 LECTURE SCHEDULE

August 29 or 31 Guidelines for Working with Faculty and Advisors

September 5 or 7 Academic Integrity

September 12 or 14 Chemical Engineering

September 19 or 21 Civil and Environmental Engineering

September 26 or 28 Bioengineering

October 3 or 5 Spring Registration Essentials

October 10 or 12 No Seminar (Monday classes meet Tuesday because of fall break.)

October 17 or 19 Study Abroad/Plus 3

October 24 or 26 Electrical Engineering

October 31 or November 2 Computer Engineering

November 7 or 9 Industrial Engineering

November 14 or 16 Materials Science and Engineering

November 21 or 23 No Seminar: Thanksgiving Week

November 28 or 30 Mechanical Engineering

December 5 or 7 Engineering Science

December 12 or 14 No Seminar: Final Exams

Good luck on your final exams!

 ENGR 0081 RECITATION SCHEDULE

Week of August 28 Intro to Seminar/Getting to Know You (Bring your laptop next week!)

Week of September 4 Campus and Technology Resources

Week of September 11 Working in Teams

Week of September 18 Time Management

Week of September 25 Study Skills and Exam Prep

Week of October 2 Stress Busters (Schedule your One-on-One meeting!)

Week of October 9 No Seminar Recitations (Fall Break): ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS

Week of October 16 Maintaining Relationships with the Folks at Home

Week of October 23 Registration Technology Review (PeopleSoft/Schedule Planner)

Week of October 30 Managing the Social Side of College

Week of November 6 College: More Than Classes (Panel Discussion)

Week of November 13 Preparing for Finals

Week of November 20 Thanksgiving Week: No Little Seminar

Week of November 27 ENGR 0011 Presentations and Little Seminar Evaluations

Week of December 4 Seminar Wrap-Up

Week of December 11 Finals week