ID120 FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE Course Syllabus - Marta Wilkinson, Ph.D.

Term
Fall 2025
Course Delivery
ln person­[FTF]
Class Program

ID120:

Credits 1
Description
A dedicated FYE course taught during the first 8-week abbreviated sesssion of fall term. The course will focus on an introduction to Wilmington College, Quakers, adaptation to college life, study skills, introduction to campus services and facilities, and other life skills. This course will also include a unified “summer” reading and additional course materials used to introduce the areas of thought and expressions (as well as applied fields) and serve as a first introduction to advising with the creation of a 4-year education plan.

Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details

Meeting Days:
MW
Meeting Times:
1:50 - 2:50
Location:
CH 201

Contact Information

Instructor:
Marta Wilkinson, Ph.D.
Instructor Email:
marta_wilkinson@wilmington.edu
Office Location:
College Hall 203-B
Phone Number
ext. 451
Office Hours:
MW 12:45 - 1:45, TR 1 - 2:30 ( and by appointment)
Course Materials

Textbook
O'Brien and O'Brien,  After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance, Charlesbridge, 2018

Instructor's Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to help students adjust to the demands of college courses and various aspects of college life beyond their classroom experience. In addition, students will:

Course Schedule

Course Schedule


 

Date

Topics & Readings

Writing, Quizzes, &  Assignments

F 8/15

Orientation: Incoming class welcome to FYE

Meet with your FYE class

 

M 8/18

W 8/20

What is a syllabus?

Arriving on Campus – Tip review: People, Places, Patience

Read: After Gandhi, chapter 1 discussion (your summer reading)

Intro: Your College Passport

Complete Global Education on-line survey

Online quiz (due before class): Gandhi chapter 1

M 8/25

W 8/27

Speaker visit: Jason Dixon (some sections in McCoy, Kelly)

College Study Skills: Seating, Note-taking, Lecture varieties, “Crash Course: Note-taking” (packet & video link on Blackboard)

Self-navigated assignments overview: Life Skills, Study Skills, Self-Awareness Skills

# 1 Due: Turn in event attendance selfie

Online quiz: study skills

M 9/1

W 9/3

LABOR DAY – no classes

Read: instructor’s choice from Gandhi text; Wilmington College’s Mission &Vision, Core Values, Queries (college website)

Submit: Self-navigated assignment choice

Assignment due: College passport, partial draft

M 9/8

W 9/10

 

Read “One” (Blackboard), Core values essay assignment

 

 

 

Diversity & Inclusion, Chip Murdock meet in McCoy, Kelly Center?

Online quiz: “One”

#2 Due: Event attendance selfie OR proof of math/writing/wellness center visit

Assignment due: WC’s values & myself (2-page reflection)

 M 9/15

W 9/17

Reading TBD: instructor choice from Gandhi text

Self-navigated assignment, in-class workshop; Westheimer overview

 

Assignment due: College passport

Assignment due: self-navigated

M 9/22

W 9/24

REQUIRED: “Sex Signals” presentation (Title IX): Monday, Sept XX at either 7:00 pm

Academic advising: An introduction to the Liberal Arts & taking inventory, Glossary of academic terms

4-year plans & spring scheduling

Thursday & Friday – Academic planning conferences

Online quiz (due before class) academic terms—end of syllabus!

#3 Due: Event attendance selfie OR proof of math/writing/wellness center visit

M/T 9/29–30

M 9/29

W 10/1

WESTHEIMER PEACE SYMPOSIUM, “Practicing Art, Practicing Nuclear Abolition”

Art & Nuclear Abolition

 

4-year plans & spring scheduling; Westheimer discussion

Assignment due: Spring schedule draft/4-year plan

M 10/6

10/6

Conclusions & FYE exit survey

Last day for all abbreviated session I classes

Due: Westheimer selfie & program summary

FYE Exit survey (in class)

 

**syllabus subject to change

Course Assignments

Special events: Attendance is required at:

  • “Sex Signals” presentation (Title IX): Monday, Sept 30th at either 4:00 or 7:00 pm
  • Any campus event (only one may be a sporting event other than your own!): Ice cream socials, Org Fairs, campus speakers
  • Any sessions of the Westheimer Peace Symposium
  • You must schedule (and attend!) at least one appoint with one of the student support offices on campus

Image removed.College Passport: As an incoming student you are required to visit & participate in a minimum number of places/services on campus. You will download the passport PowerPoint slide show from Blackboard—save it on your own device and then visit any 10 of the locations listed. Each location asks for different information and a selfie of you in the space (you may do this with other students!) Turn the completed passport in to your instructor. 

Image removed.Written Reflections:

  1. Core Values reflection
  2. College & Life Skills: self-navigated assignment & reflection
  3. Westheimer program summary and review

Spring Schedule Advising, Program Mapping: Students will work on a program and tentative spring schedule in order to be prepared for the advising period. This mapping will include plotting requirements and sequencing for general education, your major and any minor programs.

 

Course Final Exam
During last class period, 10/6/2025
Evaluation of Work

Evaluation:

Final grades will be calculated based on the following assignment weights:

Assignments: 45%

Passport: 20%

Event & support office visits: 10%            

Spring schedule/4-year plan: 15%

Quizzes: 10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grading scale:  

A

93.5 <

B+

87 <

C+

87 <

D

60 <

A-

90 <

B

83.5 <

C

83.5 <

F

> 59.9

 

 

B-

80 <

C-

70 <

 

 

 

Instructor Course Policies

Instructor's Course Attendance Policy

Attendance/Engagement is required at all class meetings, special events and activities. You get 2 absence freebies, whatever the reason! (illness, death, relationship drama, POS car, alien abduction…). Because this is an abbreviated course, any absences in excess of 2 will result in automatic failure of the course. Be sure to plan work shifts, medical appointments, family events, and other commitments carefully. If you must be gone, e-mail me as soon as you know you will be absent and understand that you are still responsible for coursework due or covered that day. See current Student Handbook for the college attendance policy especially as it pertains to excused absences.

Effective Communication with professors is vital for academic success.  Check your college e-mail at least once a day for messages from me, other professors, and college officials. Check your Pyle mail box regularly. Arrange for a class buddy to pick up handouts if you have to be absent. If possible, communicate with me by e-mail rather than the office phone and voicemail.

Classroom etiquette: Please arrive on time and refrain from packing up early, dozing off, walking out for non-emergency bathroom/drinking fountain visits, holding side-bar conversations, listening to electronic equipment, text-messaging, and checking phones. Students may be asked to leave class for these or other breaches of etiquette. FYI—I know you are checking texts on your watch too!

As this course discusses college life both in and outside of the classroom, we may sometimes discuss difficult, controversial and personal topics. This can include disagreement, conflict, and learning alongside one another. Your thoughts, analysis, opinions, and experiences are welcome in this space. What will not be tolerated is the dehumanization of any person—whether they are in this classroom or not. Please be respectful.

 

Instructor's Academic Integrity Policy

Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated.  See the current Student Handbook for the College’s Academic Integrity Policies as they pertain to examinations, plagiarism, classroom behavior, and the process for handling academic misconduct charges. Penalties for plagiarism or cheating in this class may range from an F on the assignment to an F in the class. In addition, all cases will be reported in writing to the Office of Academic Affairs. In the case of serious infractions, the Academic Standards and Appeals Committee may take further action.

 

Image removed.Image removed.Academic Offenses: No student shall engage in any form of improper or unethical conduct listed below. Furthermore, no student shall engage in any form of improper or unethical conduct designated as such by the faculty member teaching the course even though it is not specifically included in the listing below.

Examination offenses include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Taking unauthorized materials into or out of the examination room.
  2. Leaving the examination room without authorization before completing an examination.
  3. Talking in the examination room without authorization.
  4. Discussing the examination outside the examination room during the course of the examination.
  5. Attempting to observe the work of another student.
  6. Taking an examination for another person, or permitting someone else to do so.
  7. Collaborating improperly by discussion, joint research, or joint effort in any way expressly prohibited by the instructor.
  8. Using a cell phone, iPad or other electronic device. 

Written work offenses include, but are not limited to, the following, which are expressly prohibited in the absence of prior written approval of the instructor or instructors involved:

  1. Resubmission of work – Submitting work which has been previously submitted for credit.
  2. Plagiarism – Submitting work done wholly or partly by another, including the unattributed copying of all or parts of a published work. Information available on the Internet is considered “published work” and must be cited appropriately.
  3. Prohibited sources – Consulting material or persons contrary to the directions of the instructor.
  4. Improper collaboration – Engaging in any discussion, joint research, or joint effort of a kind expressly prohibited by the instructor.
  5. Deception – Misrepresenting the authenticity of sources, citations, or principles in any written work.
  6. Other misconduct – Engaging in any other improper conduct as specified by the instructor. 

 

 

 

 

 

Institutional and Program-Level Policies

Final Exam Schedule

All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.

SP25 Final Exam Schedule 

 

Out-of-class Work Expectation

A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week.

Instructional Course Delivery                                                                                                            

Definition of Courses

Academic Integrity Policy

The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions.

Academic Integrity Policy

Class Attendance Policy                              

Institutional Class Attendance Policy

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)