College Success Initiatives (CSI) courses are designed to support new first year and transfer students in their transition to the University of Iowa. In addition, CSI courses enrich students’ experiences, develop their academic skills, and prepare them for college-level learning.
College Success Initiatives courses are administered by the associate provost for undergraduate education through the Academic Advising Center and University College.
Undergraduate Program
The Iowa Edge
The Iowa Edge Program strives to cultivate a community of leaders and future professionals among all students, including transfer and first-generation college students. The program achieves this by connecting participants with faculty and staff, campus resources, and transformative career and leadership development activities. Participants are connected with a peer leader who is trained to help students with their transition to the University of Iowa.
College Success Initiatives Courses
CSI:1010 Kirkwood Joint Admission Program 0 s.h.
Requirements: enrollment in the Kirkwood Joint Admission program.
CSI:1015 Living Learning Community Seminar 1 s.h.
Provides participants an opportunity to reflect on their transition to the University of Iowa, engage with fellow students, and learn about campus resources. Requirements: placement in a living learning community.
CSI:1020 Academic Seminar I 3 s.h.
Development of knowledge and skills essential for academic success at college level; reading, writing, and communication skills; focus on reading comprehension, class discussion, and development of writing process; various narratives including published collections of essays and peers' texts; writing process and techniques, and components that bring each piece together. Requirements: IowaLink participant.
CSI:1021 Academic Seminar II 3 s.h.
Continued development of knowledge and skills necessary for academic success; reading, writing, and communication skills; experimentation with ethnographic research methods, exploration of cultures and subcultures; writing about findings in various experimental forms, using as a model, short ethnographic essays, excerpts from a graphic novel; focus on reading comprehension strategies, class discussion, and development of writing process. Requirements: IowaLink participant. Recommendations: CSI:1020.
CSI:1100 College Transition Seminar 1 s.h.
College culture, University of Iowa resources, refinement of study skills, test taking, identification of personal values, self-motivation, goal setting; taught in small sections with emphasis on classroom discussion. Requirements: entering first-year student.
CSI:1110 College Transition for Pre-Health: Seminar I 1 s.h.
Explores the skills, values, and mindsets that are important in healthcare professions and how to cultivate them in college; identify and strengthen study skills and strategies for success in pre-health coursework and explore how healthcare professionals confront complex problems that have several possible answers; identify personal values, engage in meaningful extracurricular activities, explore personal interests and how they relate to career goals, and hone academic/study skills; first in a two-course series. Corequisites: CSI:1160 and CHEM:1070.
CSI:1115 College Transition for Pre-Health: Seminar II 1 s.h.
Explores the skills, values, and mindsets that are important in healthcare professions and how to cultivate them in college; identify and strengthen study skills and strategies for success in pre-health coursework and explore how healthcare professionals confront complex problems that have several possible answers; identify personal values, engage in meaningful extracurricular activities, explore personal interests and how they relate to career goals, and hone academic/study skills. Corequisites: CSI:1165 and CHEM:1110.
CSI:1150 College Transition Workshop 1 s.h.
Preparation for affiliated lecture course; practical context to apply, evaluate, and refine study skills strategies explored in CSI:1100; expand study strategies, enhance grasp of affiliated course material, and apply study skills to future coursework. Corequisites: CSI:1100. Requirements: concurrent enrollment in a CIC affiliated lecture course.
CSI:1160 College Transition for Pre-Health: Workshop I 1 s.h.
Facilitated group study for connected anchor course; workshop setting to apply, evaluate, and develop study skills explored in CSI:1110; deepen grasp of connected anchor course material; expand and refine study strategies; apply study skills to future coursework and academic/professional goals. Corequisites: CSI:1110 and CHEM:1070.
CSI:1165 College Transition for Pre-Health: Workshop II 1 s.h.
Facilitated group study for connected anchor course; workshop setting to apply, evaluate, and develop study skills explored in CSI:1115; deepen grasp of connected anchor course material; expand and refine study strategies; apply study skills to future coursework and academic/professional goals.
CSI:1180 College Transition 1 s.h.
College culture, University of Iowa resources, refinement of study skills, test taking, identification of personal values, self-motivation, goal setting; taught in small sections with emphasis on classroom discussion.
CSI:1200 First-Year Seminar 1 s.h.
Introduction to the intellectual life of the university; opportunity to work closely with a faculty member or senior administrator; active participation that eases the transition to college-level learning.
CSI:1210 Peer Led Undergraduate Study (PLUS) 0 s.h.
Peer guided and facilitated academic support focusing on quantitative problem-solving skills; students discuss course material, address multiple course concepts, and develop tools and skills for effective study habits. Corequisites: CHEM:1070 and MATH:1005.
CSI:1213 Special Topics I 0-6 s.h.
Special topics offered through University College.
CSI:1214 Special Topics II 0-6 s.h.
Special topics offered through University College.
CSI:1270 Strategies for Veteran Success 1 s.h.
Promotion of academic success, improve retention of student veterans, and assist in cultivating a systematic approach to career planning and decision-making; primary focus on available resources, identification of individual goals and strengths, development and application of study skills and time management strategies, and problem solving related to personal issues or barriers that could impede student transition and academic performance; for student veterans and service members in academic transition from active duty military or guard/reserve status to the University of Iowa. Requirements: veteran status.
CSI:1280 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step I 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; first in a series of courses.
CSI:1281 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step I 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; second in a series of courses.
CSI:1290 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step II 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; third in a series of courses.
CSI:1291 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step II 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; fourth in a series of courses.
CSI:1380 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step III 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; fifth in a series of courses.
CSI:1381 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step III 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; sixth in a series of courses.
CSI:1390 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step IV 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; seventh in a series of courses.
CSI:1391 Steps to Success for TRIO: Step IV 1 s.h.
Learning about and adjusting to the University of Iowa for TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) students; eighth in a series of courses.
CSI:1400 The Three Ms: Strategies for Success in College and Beyond 2 s.h.
Introduction to the Three Ms for Effective Learning (mindset, metacognition, and memory) and the practical tools to apply these concepts and achieve goals in college and beyond.
CSI:1410 Life Design 2 s.h.
Students discover what they are innately drawn to do through readings, activities, and reflective writing; integration of worldview and professional life; practical skills and exercises for investigating different career paths; cultivating mentors; relationship between ambition, drive, and the value of creating a meaningful life.
CSI:1420 Life Design II: A Better World 2 s.h.
Once you start unraveling who you are, the next matter becomes what world do you want to live in? Readings, structured experiments, and written reflections provide generalizable knowledge about the science of empathy, passion, and perseverance; students apply these insights to efforts "bigger than themselves" and a deliberate path to become agents of social and environmental change.
CSI:1450 Explore Iowa Colloquium 3 s.h.
Opportunities for peer mentors involved in CSI:1400; activities include short readings and media screenings related to innovative and best practices in learning and teaching; emphasis on multimodal writing online for peers; informal presentations and reflections; may include work with Passport Projects students, collaboration on development of guidelines and handouts for best practices in writing, and supplemental writing reflections.
CSI:1460 Athletic Transition Seminar 1 s.h.
Focus on the comprehensive development of UI student-athletes through the Hawkeye Life Program pillars of leadership, community engagement, academic success, career development, and health and wellbeing).
CSI:1500 College Success Seminar 1 s.h.
Skills, habits, and mindsets essential for college success: goal setting, motivation, resiliency, time management, preparing for exams, working with instructors, and using campus resources including academic advisors, the Pomerantz Career Center, and University Counseling Service; emphasis on class participation and completion of assignments related to course topics. Requirements: selected students with first-year standing in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
CSI:1550 Strategies for Academic Success 1 s.h.
Designed for second-year students; focus on academic strategies to help students improve their academic performance; topics include organization, goal setting, motivation, time management, study skills, test preparation, and campus resources; requires class participation and completion of assignments related to course topics. Requirements: second-year standing in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and no prior credit earned for CSI:1500.
CSI:1600 Success at Iowa 0-1 s.h.
Online course designed to help students transition successfully to the University of Iowa; required of all new undergraduate first-year and transfer students.
CSI:2010 Undergraduate Engagement Corps Grant 0 s.h.
Builds on the foundations of community engagement; provides support and reflection space for students implementing community-engaged projects with UEC grant funding. Requirements: selection as an Undergraduate Engagement Corps Grant awardee.
CSI:2021 First Gen Hawks Seminar 1 s.h.
Opportunity to be part of a class planned specifically for First Gen Hawks; students connect with the UI in a meaningful way through one of three learning track areas—civic engagement and leadership, on-campus student employment, or undergraduate research; course format includes small class size with lots of classroom discussion; assignments emphasize self-reflection; content areas equip students with information and skills they need to thrive at the University of Iowa. Requirements: participation in First Gen Hawks program.
CSI:2100 The Transfer Transition 1 s.h.
Adjustment to university life and academics; strategies for academic success including study and test-taking skills, time management, utilization of campus resources for success in courses; planning a major and learning about Career Center services; exposure to university culture; opportunities to reflect on adjustment to the university. Requirements: entering transfer student standing.
CSI:2150 Open Minded 1 s.h.
Focus on self-reflection and use of resources to research majors; topics include values, strengths, goals, identity, managing uncertainty, critical reading and thinking skills, recognizing transferable skills cultivated by majors; class participation and assignments related to course topics; for students with open majors.
CSI:3000 The Hawkeye Life Experience: Life After Sport 1 s.h.
Prepares student-athletes for transitioning out of college and into life after sport. Explore topics such as professional development, athletic identity, strength, conditioning, and nutrition in life after sport, and post-graduate financial literacy. With a hands-on approach, participants leave class with a better understanding of how to navigate today's professional world.