Attention First Year CC students:

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You must complete both University Writing and Frontiers of Science during your first year, unless you have special permission.

If you do not take these Core courses, you will be placed on Academic Probation.

Please contact your advisor immediately if you are not currently in either Frontiers or UWriting.

ATTENTION FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS!

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Students in need of switching their section of University Writing as well as students attempting to reverse the order of their enrollment in UW and Frontiers of Science should go to the Undergraduate Writing Program office:
310 Philosophy Hall, FRIDAY August 29, 2008
From 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

About University Writing Section Changes
Students will only be accommodated in the case of schedule conflicts with other Core courses or required classes or similar obligation. Students cannot be guaranteed a section change: it will be allowed only if there is space available. Sections of University Writing will not be oversubscribed.

About Reversing the order of University Writing and Frontiers of Science
Students with a compelling reason to reverse the order of their enrollment in University Writing and Frontiers of Science may petition as well. Petitions must include a strong argument for the request. Even then, the granting of a petition is not guaranteed as it depends on space availability in both courses.

ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!

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CORE REGISTRATION:
Tuesday, September 2 to Monday, September 8, 2008
Center for the Core Curriculum, 202 Hamilton Hall
During this time, students unable to register in or change sections of the Core courses listed may file petitions to do so at the Core office: Literature Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, African Civilization, Art Humanities, Music Humanities, Frontiers of Science.

Changes will only be made for students who have conflicts with another Core class, major requirement, or varsity athletic practice.

All requests must be made in person by filing a petition with the Core Office in 202 Hamilton.

ATTENDANCE of Core classes is always a crucial but it is particularly so during this registration period– if you miss the first two classes, you will not be guaranteed a seat.

Last day to ADD a Core Class: Monday, September 8, 2008
After this date students MAY NOT add a Core class. Students with questions and concerns should see their Advising Deans.

Last day to DROP a Core Class: Friday, September 12, 2008 by 5 PM
After this date students MAY NOT drop their Core classes. Students with questions and concerns should see their Advising Deans. This Core Drop date happens much earlier than the regular drop date, so it is imperative that students keep this deadline in mind as they work out their schedules. NOTE TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS: Literature Humanities, University Writing or Frontiers of Science CANNOT BE DROPPED…

Frontiers of Science

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For all the CC First-Years taking Frontiers of Science...

Letter from Frontiers of Science head, Prof. Helfand

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PROFESSOR HELFAND'S LETTER TO CC FIRST-YEARS
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Dear Students:

As part of your Columbia experience this year, you will be taking Frontiers of Science, the latest addition to Columbia's Core Curriculum.

Some of Columbia's most distinguished scientists from a variety of scientific disciplines will present the latest discoveries in their fields, and explore the unknowns on the frontiers of our current knowledge to speculate on the discoveries to come in your future. Our goals for the course are straightforward:

1) to demonstrate the dynamic mode of inquiry we call science while enriching your perspective on the universe, and
2) to inculcate some of the habits of mind that inform this rational approach to the world.

Students entering Columbia come from a rich variety of backgrounds and, particularly as far as their exposure to science is concerned, arrive with a wide range of experiences (from the good to the bad to the ugly).

In order to provide a self-assessment of your experience and to illustrate many of the quantitative reasoning skills Frontiers requires, I have prepared an electronic book, "Scientific Habits of Mind". It is probably unlike any "science" text you have had in high school. It is not very long, and it is not crammed with bold-faced words to memorize or equations to plug and chug through with your calculator. Many of the ideas discussed may be familiar.

It is our experience, however, that while many students may have seen the concepts presented, not all have truly mastered them or feel comfortable exercising their knowledge of them. Thus, we strongly suggest that you read "Habits" this summer. In the first three chapters, short self-assessments are provided; these can be used to determine whether you need to brush up on the skills highlighted in these chapters. Concepts from later chapters, also essential to Frontiers but possibly less familiar to you, will be covered in seminar. There will also be a weekly help room, where you will find assistance in mastering these (possibly less familiar) concepts.

You can access Scientific Habits of Mind (for free) at:

http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/frontiers/

NB. If you are accessing this from off-campus (which we hope you do) you need the following name and password:

username: science
password: openmind

I would be interested in any feedback you have that could help me improve the book for future students; feel free to contact me with comments (djh@astro.columbia.edu).

Sincerely yours,

David J. Helfand
Chair, Dept. of Astronomy
co-Chair, Frontiers of Science

ATTENTION FIRST YEAR STUDENTS!!!

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If you are taking Frontiers of Science this semester, PLEASE make sure that you are also registered for a Frontiers DISCUSSION.

You must be registered for the DISCUSSION by 5pm this Wednesday, January 16th or the Core Office will register you themselves. ***This may cause you to get bumped from a previously registered class.