Many students new to IU feel overwhelmed by the size of the campus and some of the lecture classes. The Right Start Seminar is a full semester, 2-credit-hour seminar that provides new students with the tools they need to succeed academically and to make the most of their college experience. By introducing students to useful study skills and habits and providing information about campus resources, this class helps to reinforce academic commitment and campus involvement. In this class, students can get to know a small group of peers and receive a lot of personal attention from the instructor. Class discussions focus on questions students often find confusing during their first semester, such as specific campus procedures (i.e. How do I drop a class? Should I apply for financial aid?) and informal information (i.e. What do my professors expect of me? How do I talk to professors?). The class also explores personal adjustment issues that come up for all freshmen (How do I deal with homesickness? How do I make new friends? Should I think about joining a sorority or fraternity?).

Students explore both the academic and cultural opportunities of the campus through field trips and class visits by representatives of various organizations, such as campus libraries, the Career Development Center, SRSC, Academic Support Centers in the halls of residence and Writing Tutorial Services. Students get involved with goings-on on campus and write reports on activities and groups with which they have become involved. Instructors facilitate discussions of college life through the use of a “case study” textbook that presents narratives of different kinds of first year experiences. Throughout the semester, students also learn a number of study and time management skills that they can immediately put into practice in their other classes. Finally, the semester ends with a discussion of a book (usually a work of fiction or a memoir) that highlights themes of self-advocacy and self-discovery.