SNU began offering 'Freshman Seminar' as a liberal arts course beginning in the first semester of 2005. In this class, SNU professors meet with approximately 10 freshman students and interact actively and intimately.

Response is hot regarding the 'Freshman Seminar'. According to the results of the survey handed out by the Faculty of Liberal Education to the 578 students who participated in the first semester 'Freshman Seminar', the average satisfaction rate was 4.08 out of 5, and the average satisfaction rate given by the 60 professors regarding lecture administration was even higher with 4.11. When the students were asked if they would be willing to recommend this program to their peers, they responded positively with a 4.27 out of 5.
In this article we looked into the effectiveness and significance of the 'Freshman Seminar', now in its second semester, and visited the site of the action.

"Warming Up for Creative Knowledge"
Behind the rapid introduction of the 'Freshman Seminar' is the need for SNU to raise the levels of its education in order to foster creative intellectuals and the perception about just how important freshman education is. A creative intellectual means someone who constantly questions him/herself, and has to ability to answer these questions through independent exploration. An independent, creative way of thinking is the essence of a creative intellectual. Such qualities do not come overnight, but can only be acquired by training for a long period of time. Because of the Korean secondary educational system centered around blind memorization, it is even more important for freshmen to receive active help and guidance so that they may quickly adjust to college life and academics. Working intimately with professors and learning how to study properly and independently can help students adjust to their new educational surroundings and bring out the best during this crucial time of transition.
There are many schools who currently offer the freshman seminar program to its students. There aren't many in Korea yet, but as of 2005 over 90% of American universities offer the freshman seminar program, and many universities around the world such as England and Japan have started offering similar classes. There are various studies on the effects of the freshman seminar being carried out, and these results show that it has a positive effect on the students' ability to adjust to college life, academic achievement, active interaction with their professors, and their inquiries into a major area of study.

"Close Professors, Interactive Classes"
The specific method in which the freshman seminar is carried out varies according to each department's unique situation. Typically, most of the schools around the world first seek to understand the problems and dilemmas facing freshmen today, establish an ideological educational situation the school seeks to achieve, and decides on necessary items such as the main curriculum, grading system, and number of terms. At SNU, a total of 60 courses were offered and more than 600 freshmen participated. These lectures are taught by official, full-time SNU professors only, and in the first semester of this school year the president, dean of academic affairs, and superintendent of student affairs each taught a class, receiving much attention from in and outside of campus. These are examples of just how interested and concerned the entire school is in the movement to improve the quality of education for our freshmen.
Upon deciding the lecture times, professors and students negotiate the most convenient and effective times within the boundaries of completing 15 hours a semester. The professors use methods such as e-mail, interviews, orientations, and/or a first come, first serve basis to select their students. The students submit an application illustrating why they wish to take the seminar and what they would like to learn from it, and the professors apply their personal standards to these applications to decide which students to accept. Because the students voluntarily apply to take the class and the professors choose each student personally, the relationships between the professor and students are naturally very close and intimate. The relationships between the students, of course, are much more intimate than in other larger classes as well.
During class students may discuss specific topics that their professor is researching, talk about various ways to adjust to university life, or even meet professionals working in various fields to learn more about the jobs they are interested in. Just last semester, many interesting classes such as"The Economy and I","Shakespeare's Life Seen Through the Screen","Self-Analyzation and Planning Your Life","A Trip to the Land of the Uncertain", and"Energy Development and the Growth of Humanity" were offered. These"seminars" included debates, independent projects, group presentations, on-site visitations, and question-and-answer sessions with professionals. Students received opportunities to meet prominent public figures, learned how to handle various laboratory equipment, and visit different cultural sites. At the end of the course, students receive a pass/fail grade instead of the traditional A, B, C, D, F system. This pass/fail grading system allows students to be free from the pressure of grades and focus more on healthy interaction and discovery.

"The Welcome Ceremony-The Freshman Seminar Continues"
The students' response to the 2005 1st semester 'Freshman Seminar' is extremely promising. According to the survey results tallied by the Faculty of Liberal Education, students said that the influence of the freshman seminar was extremely large, despite only being a 1 credit class, and helped them adjust to university life and develop their academic abilities and potential. Also, most of the students who participated mentioned that they would like to recommend it to other students. This sort of positive response came not only from the students, but from the professors as well. They responded that the experience of guiding the young, bright-eyed freshmen in their path into the future was reward enough for the time and effort they put into it.
SNU plans to offer over 60 'Freshman Seminar' courses in the second semester. This program is rapidly becoming a"welcome ceremony", a meaningful program which someday every SNU freshman will have the chance to experience. We hope that through the firm establishment of the freshman seminar program, liberal education at SNU will become more fulfilling and spread the positive influence to all parts of campus.

Written by Kang Hyun Bae (Associate Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Education, Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences) and Kim Ji Hyun (Research Professor at the Faculty of Liberal Education)

Translated by SNU PR Office