Online Orientation Tutorial
Welcome to the online
Orientation tutorial!
We are John and Jenna, your virtual
Orientation Assistants. When you
come to Orientation this summer,
you’ll have a real student to guide you
through the process of registering for
classes. But before that, we’d like to
explain some things that’ll make your
Orientation day go more smoothly.
First, we are going to look
at the “anatomy of a
degree”--- what your
whole degree will look
like. Then we’ll break it
down into smaller pieces
to make it easier to
understand.
Remember, not all degrees are alike. While
you can do some preparation ahead of
time, you’ll have to talk with your adviser
about specific courses required for your
major.
Requirements are designed to fulfill the
Liberal Education goals established for
UW-Eau Claire students:
• Knowledge of human cultures and the
natural world
• Creative and critical thinking
• Effective communication
• Individual and social responsibility
• Respect for diversity among people
• Integrative Learning
Your Degree = 120 Credits
University Requirements:
• English
• Math
• Foreign Language or Foreign
Culture
• Cultural Diversity
• Service Learning
• Wellness
Standard Major
(36 credits) and a
Minor (24 credits)
OR
General Education:
Comprehensive
Major
GE I – Communication
60 credits
GE II – Natural Science
GE III – Social Science
GE IV – Humanities
GE V – University Wide
Electives
All of this can seem a bit overwhelming,
so let’s break it down a bit.
In your first year you’ll be
taking many General
Education courses and other
university wide requirements,
so let’s start there.
University requirements,
including General Education,
provide a common set of
requirements that all
undergraduates must fulfill,
regardless of their major.
…....but General
Education is so much
more than “extra” classes:
An educated person--- which is what we know you
want to be-- must know how to do research, know
how to speak and write coherently and have skills
working with and leading other people. We really
believe that our General Education courses have
helped us develop these skills and given us a better
understanding of people and our environment.
 They will encourage you to engage in
life-long learning and public service.
 They will provide an introduction to
different disciplines.
 They will build a broad framework to
understand courses in your major.
Really, my G.E. courses did all this—
and I’m still taking more!
We have to admit, the way UW-Eau Claire’s
requirements are laid out can be a bit
confusing, because in addition to General
Education requirements, we have other
requirements that complement G.E. :
•
•
•
•
•
English Competency
Math competency
Foreign Language/foreign culture
Cultural diversity
Wellness
They all work together to make you a wellrounded person who is ready to become a
productive citizen.
Now on to the specifics---let’s take a look
at university requirements first (but
remember, requirements vary by major
and degree).
First, English competency:
Students need to earn a C in a college level
English composition course. Most
students will take English 110,
Introduction to College Writing, a 5 credit
course.
About half the freshmen take it their first
semester and the other half take it their
second semester.
Everyone needs to know how to
write effectively--- and if you
are anything like me, you may
need some help learning how
to do research papers at the
college level.
Math Competency
Everyone needs to show they can use
numbers effectively---and believe me in this
complicated world, we’ll need to be
mathematically literate. Important decisions
we’ll make about medical treatment, home
buying, voting, etc., will depend on our
math skills.
This requirement (like many others)
depends on your major and the type of
degree you want to complete.
The math course you begin with depends
on your placement test--- so it is best to
wait until Orientation to speak with and
advisor and decide which one to take.
Cultural Diversity
Everyone is required to include the equivalent of
three credit hours of courses that study African
Americans, Hispanic Americans, American
Indians, or Southeast Asian Americans.
An educated person should be aware
of and appreciate the wide range of
cultural diversity that exists in the
United States.
Anyone in the Career Services
office will tell you that employers
really want students who can work
effectively with people from
different backgrounds. When I
came here, I didn’t know too many
people different than me, so
taking these courses was a big
help!
Foreign Language/Foreign Culture
We also believe that understanding the world outside of the U.S. is
absolutely crucial to being an educated person and a productive
citizen.
All students are required to do one of the following:
A.
Complete the second semester of a foreign language or the
third semester of American Sign Language with a C. (Can also
test out by placement or CLEP)
B. Earn 9 credits of foreign culture courses or 6 credits of foreign
John studied in Australia.
culture courses and one semester of a foreign language or
American Sign Language
I learned sign language - that was fun!
C. Complete at least one semester of study abroad or an
approved internship abroad.
John studied in Australia.
This requirement is tricky and depends on
your major --- so check with your adviser.
I learned sign language - that was fun!
Wellness
Everyone is required to take
one credit of wellness theory
and one credit of activity
courses (sometimes the activity
and theory are offered as one
course).
Eau Claire students are really active--70% participated in high school sports.
So you should know how important it
is to continue taking care of yourself.
Service Learning
UW-Eau Claire is known for its
commitment to serving our
community and the world beyond
Eau Claire. All students complete
at least 30 hours of service that
has a learning component.
There are all sorts of great ways to
get involved.
Check out the Service-Learning
web-site.
For example--Jenna worked at the
local Food Bank and I helped a
non-profit set up their web-page.
Okay, we’ve covered University
Requirements … that took a
while! Now we’re ready to
discuss General Education (GE).
Your G.E. requirements vary depending on
your degree. While everyone needs to meet
the minimum requirement, sometimes you
need to take more courses or need to take a
specific course.
I think we said that already, just wanted to
make sure you’re reading carefully.
As you go through the next few slides you can
link to a “course catalogue” that will give
descriptions of courses freshmen can take in
each category. Not all of them will be open
when you come to Orientation, but they can
give you a good sense of what types of courses
are included in each category.
You can use this worksheet to make a long list of
courses that sound interesting and bring it to
Orientation with you. You may not be able to take
them your first semester, but they’ll give you ideas
for your second semester.
.
These are the General
Education
categories:

GE I – Communication

GEIA – Language Skills

GEIB – Analytical Skills

GE II – Natural Science

GE III – Social Science

GE IV – Humanities

GE V – University Wide
We’ll go through them
one by one.
General Education Category I is Communications, also
known as GE I.
You’re required to take a minimum of six credits
from this category.
Within GE I there are three subcategories:
GEIA – Language skills
GEIB – Analytical skills
GEIC- Interdisciplinary studies-communications
However, almost everyone takes their courses from GE IA
and IB. So let’s look at these subcategories in more
detail………………..
Sub-category GEIA is
Language skills; it includes:
 Communication and Journalism
 English
 Foreign languages
Good writing and speaking skills
are necessary for success in
almost any field. Almost all
Alumni wish they had taken more
communication courses.
See courses available
Quantitative analysis and analytical
thinking are crucial for us to
understand the ordinary as well as
the technical problems in life.
See courses available
The second GE category is
Natural Sciences - GE II
We need to take 9-15 credits with at least one lab course
from at least two of the following sub-categories (that
means subjects)
• Biology
• Chemistry;
• Geography (physical);
• Geology;
• Physics
• Interdisciplinary Studies - Natural Sciences
I really like this quote--- “Today,
the race goes not just to the swift,
but to the inventive, the
resourceful, the curious.” Natural
Sciences help us understand the
principles governing the physical
universe.
See courses available
The next GE category is
Social Sciences - GEIII
We take 9- 12 credits from at least two of the
following sub-categories:
 Anthropology,
 Economics,
 Geography (cultural),
 Political Science,
 Psychology,
 Sociology,

Interdisciplinary Studies - Social Sciences
Throughout my life I hope to meet people from
lots of different backgrounds. Courses in the
social sciences help me understand and
appreciate both individual differences and
differences among groups of people. We can
also learn how institutions can and do change.
See courses available
The fourth GE category is
Humanities - GE IV
We need to take 9 - 15 credits from at least two to four
of the following sub-categories:
 Fine Arts (Art, Art History, Music, Theatre Arts)
 Philosophy or Religious Studies (excluding logic)
 History
 Literature (English literature, Foreign Language literature, and civilization)
 Interdisciplinary Studies (Humanities, International Studies, and
Women's Studies)
Humanities allow us to learn about human
creativity in all its forms and about richness of
human experience, past and contemporary. I
learned about Asian religions, took a Film class and
discovered I liked Jazz when I took a music course.
See courses available
The last category is
University-Wide GEV
0-6 credits
University-wide courses either involve
multiple GE areas or incorporate a
professional school perspective to courses
in the liberal arts.
You don’t have to take
any courses in this
category, but if you
do, it helps get you
earn the total GE
credits for graduation.
See courses available
Yahoo! You’ve made it
through the university
requirements, including
G.E.
Remember the other half of the pie chart?
Majors and minors?
University
Requirements
General
Education
Electives
Standard Major
(36 credits) and a
Minor (24 credits)
OR
Comprehensive
Major
60 credits
Majors and Minors
There are lots of majors to
choose from;
I’m a Political Science major,
John is a Marketing major.
…..but I started out as “undeclared” what we call students who aren’t
sure what they want to major in. It’s
o.k. to be undeclared - about 30% of
freshmen are undecided. My adviser
helped me choose the right courses
so I could explore.
Bundle Courses
One unique way to fulfill some of your general
education requirements is by enrolling in a
“Bundle”. This is a group of 4-6 classes taught
across two semesters. You will take courses
that are linked together to explore a “big
question” from different disciplines of study.
This is a great way to meet general education
requirements in an interesting and meaningful
way. Check out the bundles being offered for
freshmen this fall. And talk to your adviser to
see if a bundle would be right for you!
Whether you think you know what you want to
major in, or you just want to explore some majors,
you should check out the “Introductory Advising
Guides.”
These will give you information about how to
explore the major, requirements for the first year
and who to contact for more information.
The web-version that we are pointing you to
actually links to descriptions of the courses---isn’t
that great!?
So, we’re going to leave you for a bit and let
you explore the Introductory Advising Guides.
After you finish, please open the next power
point that has some pieces of advice. AND it
allows you to take the quiz and have a chance
to win prizes (plus see how much you’ve
learned and if you’re ready for Orientation).