COURSE DESCRIPTIONS BY DISCIPLINE ACADEMIC SUPPORT Wicks NOTE: Credits earned from the following Academic Support courses with 0xx designation do not count toward graduation. AS004 Academic Writing 1 hour This course provides writing support to students enrolled in any course which has a substantive writing component. AS004 is designed to help students prepare for and write papers assigned in classes other than AS004 – the activities of the course include brainstorming as well as revision and editing. AS004 does not require any writing or reading assignments beyond what students have in their other classes. Instead, assessment for AS004 is based on attendance and completing the prewriting and writing activities set by the AS004 instructor. The course is recommended for students identified by Student Success Center staff and professors in any discipline as needing extensive writing help. Students who score a 17 or below on the ACT or a 420 or below on the SAT must take AS004 if they are enrolled in a writing-intensive ID course (ID203, ID205, or ID206) or EN 101. AS007 Academic Writing (ELL Supplemental) 2 hours This course is designed to help up to 10 ELL (English Language Learner) students who are struggling with linguistic and cultural difficulties in academic classes at Bethany College. Assessment will be based on attendance at the meetings scheduled with the instructor, completing in-class writings and activities related to the topic of each session, having peer tutoring sessions at the writing center, and composing a personal narrative essay set by the instructor. Students will focus on the following essentials of American college writing: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Rhetorical Strategies (Thesis-Driven Writing) Formal Language Use 10-Basic English Sentence Patterns Formatting and Different Styles Classroom Culture & Etiquette.
Ultimately, students will compose an academic paper through a personal narrative essay based on the 5 essential topics covered by this section in order to gain the basic writing skills for academic courses at Bethany. Enrollment for this section is only for the students who are identified as intermediate and beginner’s level of ELL. AS008 College Reading 2 hours This course provides instruction in effective reading and learning strategies to help you increase comprehension and success in academic coursework. You will develop active reading strategies to build your understanding of a text before, during, and after reading. Key topics covered in the course include: main ideas, supporting details, author’s purpose and organizational structures, discerning fact and opinion, and strategies for reading long passages or chapters in college textbooks. AS012 Study Skills 1-2 hours This course is designed to help students in their academic transition to college life by focusing on the strategies needed to succeed in their college classes. This class should be taken concurrently with at least one, and preferably two, lower level General Education courses so that techniques learned in this class can be immediately applied. AS013 Academic Assistance 1 hour This course is designed to support students who are on first time academic probation through weekly contact, self-assessment, planning, and student development. In addition, there will be a focus on accepting personal responsibility and employing selfmanagement. Success strategies, learning strategies, and self-improvement techniques will be explored. AS108 Ascension Summer Program 4 hours There are no prerequisites for any of the Ascension Program course work. In total students will earn 4 credit hours for completing the Ascension Program requirements. As a program, Ascension helps incoming Bethany students develop skills in key areas of college preparation: study skills, active listening, writing, problem solving and mathematical reasoning. This course introduces students to using critical skills for successfully engaging in interdisciplinary thinking both inside and outside the classroom. By developing students’ abilities around issues such as self-management, effective classroom discussion, and college-level reading skills, this course helps prepare students for success in Quest and Interdisciplinary Studies courses. Furthermore, using these real world examples, students will deepen their understanding of numbers and operations. Finally, this course is designed to help students in their academic transition to college life by focusing on the strategies needed to succeed in their college classes. 103
