Making friends, getting along with your roommate, getting involved on campus, choosing the right classes and getting good grades are just a few of the fears students are overwhelmed with during their first year at a university.

For NIU students, the university recognizes these initial fears and offers freshmen a one-credit course called UNIV 101.

UNIV 101 classes are designed to help students adjust to college life, make plans to achieve academic success, manage their time wisely and take advantage of university resources.

Because these classes are intended to help students, the course runs only the first 12 weeks of the semester, allowing students more time to study for their finals without the hassle of an extra class.

The classes intentionally are kept at 20 to 25 students to allow students to get to know one another.

Chris Kubic, assistant director of orientation and a UNIV 101 instructor, said both on-campus and national surveys have shown that students who successfully complete UNIV 101 courses have a higher GPA during their freshman year and have higher retention rates.

About every instructor has the aid of a peer instructor. These student assistants already have gone through the hurdles of freshman year and are there to serve as both a peer and an instructor for UNIV 101 students.

“The peer instructors are the role models of successful NIU students,” said Denise Rode, director of orientation and a UNIV 101 instructor.

Peer instructors are volunteers, receiving no pay or credit hours for their participation in the class.

Rode said the demand for the class has exceeded capacities this year.

“There is a high demand for this class,” she said. “I think this growth spurt can be attributed to the proven track record of successful UNIV 101 students.”

Rode has been teaching UNIV 101 courses for almost 10 years and is optimistic about the future of the program given its successful history.

“In general, I would say that the students feel as though the class has exceeded their expectations,” Rode said.

When the course was first offered in 1986, there were 13 students enrolled in only one section. Today, UNIV 101 is offered in 69 sections and has 1,388 students – nearly 50 percent of the freshman class.

Unknown to many students, there are two honors sections available for UNIV 101.

Kubic said the honors courses, as with any other courses, are different in that they are a bit more accelerated in their curriculum.

Sandra Kuchynka, director of academic advisers for the College of Health and Human Sciences, is teaching a UNIV 101 class this semester.

“This course is effective – absolutely,” she said.

Kuchynka has been credited for initially developing the program in 1986. She began teaching her first UNIV 101 class in the fall of 1987 and has been teaching it for 16 years.

“This course helps different students in a number of different ways,” Kuchynka said.

She said for some students, the course is a resource or a contact. For others, it is a support system, whether with the instructor or with the classmates. Others benefit from the program by performing better academically and socially. Of course, some students benefit from the course in more than one area.

“How much the student puts into the program determines how much they will get out of it,” Kuchynka said.