Academic Foundations (ACAF)

Provides a one-on-one relationship to help the student clarify their goals and establish strong study skills

Provides an opportunity to discover and develop skills and habits that will lead to success in the student's scholastic, personal and professional life. Students evaluate goals and past academic paths and establish strategies to successfully meet academic goals.

Is designed to be the foundational course for the Freshman Year Experience. The course uses the framework of “Big History,” beginning with the origin of the universe through the present in order to provide an intellectual foundation for examining the enduring human questions. The course is multidisciplinary which lends itself to the practice of integrated thinking and an understanding of the nature of liberal education in the light of the USF mission.

Is the second course in the First Year Experience. The course is designed to be an inquiry-driven seminar that actively engages the students in developing the basic academic skills required of USF students: reading, writing and evidence-based and thesis-driven research and thinking. The course is disciplined based and focused on interesting question within the discipline. Whereas the first course (Foundations I) focuses on seeing oneself within the large frame spanning from the beginning to the end of the universe, this second course focuses on a much smaller piece of that larger framework, while still utilizing the same organizational structure of “thresholds” and “increasing complexity.” This course builds on the academic skills introduced in the first course (academic reading, research and argumentation) by de-mystifying academic writing and utilizing a book-length text written by scholars as a model. This course also actively involves students in applying these skills to explore real-world problems.