The goal of the Basics of American College Life Preparation Course is for students to come away with some understanding of what will be required of them while enrolled at a U.S. college. This includes being able to take effective notes, being able to read critically, being able to conduct independent research, being able to write an academic paper, being able to participate actively in problem-based learning, being able to collaborate on assigned projects, and being able to make oral presentations. Students will also learn the basics of how colleges are organized and function, as well as Dos and Don’ts while living in the U.S.

The 25-hour online curriculum contents (a series of videos with formative and summative quiz):

• English 101 
• Pre-quiz 
• Critical reading skills 
• Problem-based learning 
• Useful idiomatic expressions        
• Quiz 
• Assignment 
• Academic preparedness 
• Pre-quiz 
• Note taking
• Test taking 
• Time management 
• Study skills  
• Research skills 
• Writing papers 
• Collaboration with other students 
• Plagiarism/cheating/citing sources 
• Making oral presentations 
• Quiz
• Assignment 
• Adapting to life in the U.S. 
• Pre-quiz 
• Opening and closing a bank account 
• Understanding and signing a lease 
• Maintaining an apartment
• Driver’s license + car registration + car insurance 
• Expected public behavior 
• Behavior towards women 
• What are considered insults 
• Social media use
• Appropriate attire 
• The meaning of non-smoking areas 
• How to defuse threatening situations 
• Quiz
• Assignment 
• HOW TO for campus life
• Pre-quiz 
• Getting help/using campus resources 
• Using the library 
• Health care 
• Mental health 
• Campus residential life 
• Food/meals 
• Religious observance 
• Bureaucracy 
• Extracurricular activities 
• Greek life 
• Quiz
• Assignment
• U.S. legal issues
• Pre-quiz 
• Visas 
• Stalking 
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI) 
• Racing cars 
• Paying ticket/fines 
• Quiz
• Assignment
• U.S. culture
• Pre-quiz 
• Racism
• Women in authority 
• Sexual harassment 
• LGBT sensitivity 
• Self-referential pronouns 
• Religious tolerance
• Rights of homeowners/neighborhoods
• Role of law enforcement 
• Quiz
• Assignment
• FAQ
• Resources

The essential ability to think critically is taught in our unique 50-week live online course: Building Critical Thinking Skills, which is designed to prepare students from the MENA region in particular, who will be unfamiliar with American pedagogy and cultural references, for the rigors of American higher education.

Topics:

• Understanding American College Culture I.
• Understanding American College Culture II.
• American pedagogy: How courses are taught at U.S. colleges and what is expected of students
• Theories of Education
• What are the liberal arts?
• How do we know what we know? [Epistemology]
• The Trolley Problem [Introduction to Ethics] I.
• The Trolley Problem [Introduction to Ethics] II.
• The Trolley Problem [Introduction to Ethics] III.
• The Trolley Problem [Introduction to Ethics] IV.
• Analogical Reasoning
• Western Ideologies I.
• Western Ideologies II.
• Western Ideologies III.
• The Scientific Method
• Contesting truth claims of science
• Evolution and its consequences I.
• Evolution and its consequences II.
• Western politics I.
• Western politics II.
• What is beauty: Introduction to Aesthetics
• Literary Criticism: Ways to read a text I.
• Literary Criticism: Ways to read a text II.
• How to read a film
• History of Visual Arts I.
• History of Visual Arts II.
• How to read a painting
• How to read a poem
• History of music I.
• History of music II.
• Introduction to American Society
• Religion in America
• The media in America
• Race in America
• Sexuality in America
• American legal principles I.
• American legal principles II.
• American culture (high and low)
• Foundations of Economics I.
• Foundations of Economics II.
• Understanding visual information
• Learning from The Feynman Technique
• Identifying the big questions
• Breakthroughs in Brain Science
• Breakthroughs in Social Psychology
• How to identify fake news
• How to develop your creativity
• Systems thinking
• Developing debating skills
• Game Theory