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AURA Lab
FST 101 · Fall 2026 · Sections T07 + T08

First Semester Transition

Succeeding and engaging at SIUE. Eight weeks, one 75-minute meeting a week, and a set of habits that make the next four years easier than the first eight weeks were.
Blackboard Student toolkit

Start here

Four things, in the first week. None of them take long.

  1. Check which section you are in. T07 meets Tuesdays in Peck Hall 0406. T08 meets Thursdays in Peck Hall 0408. Different sections, different rooms, and going to the wrong one is the most common first-week mistake.
  2. Open the Blackboard course. The syllabus, the graded assignments, and the week-by-week schedule live there. That is the official version of all three.
  3. Get the textbook. It is free. See below.
  4. Email me if anything about week one is unclear. Asking early is not a bother; it is the whole point of a first-semester course.

What this page is

FST 101 is taught across many sections by many instructors, and the course is coordinated at the department level. The syllabus in your Blackboard course is the official one: it sets the assignments, the points, and the week-by-week schedule, and it governs if anything here and anything there ever disagree.

This page carries the part that is specific to my two sections and that students most often cannot find: where we meet, when, how to reach me, and which campus office handles what.

When we meet

Each section meets once a week for eight weeks. That is eight meetings total, so a single absence is an eighth of the course. If you have to miss one, tell me beforehand and we will sort out what you need.

Meeting dates by section, Fall 2026
Meeting T07 · Tuesdays · Peck Hall 0406 T08 · Thursdays · Peck Hall 0408
1 Aug 25 Aug 27
2 Sep 1 Sep 3
3 Sep 8 Sep 10
4 Sep 15 Sep 17
5 Sep 22 Sep 24
6 Sep 29 Oct 1
7 Oct 6 Oct 8
8 Oct 13 Oct 15

Labor Day (Monday, September 7) does not fall on either meeting day, so no meeting is lost to it.

Textbook

The required textbook is OpenStax College Success Concise, and it is free. OpenStax is an openly-licensed publisher; you can read it online, download the PDF, or buy a printed copy at cost if you prefer paper. Do not pay a third-party site for it. The link is in the Blackboard course, and the book is at openstax.org.

Some weeks also draw on Connections Are Everything, which is likewise free to read online. Anything else you need is posted in Blackboard.

How to reach me

  • Right before or right after class. My office hours are Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30 to 1:45 PM and 3:30 to 5:00 PM, in 1017 Dunham Hall. The first window ends fifteen minutes before your section starts and the second begins fifteen minutes after it ends. Walk over. No appointment needed.
  • Email (aleith@siue.edu) for anything formal, confidential, or not urgent. I answer within 24 hours on weekdays.
  • By appointment, remotely, through Microsoft Bookings, which shows you only my open times.

Clearly stated needs save us both time. Tell me what you tried, what is not working, and what kind of help you are hoping for.

The student toolkit

The AURA Lab keeps an open-source student toolkit: a set of free tools for writing, citing, reading, note-taking, and keeping track of your work, with setup instructions. It is not a course requirement and nothing on it is graded. It exists because the software students are told to buy is usually replaceable by something free that does the job as well, and the first semester is the right time to find that out.

The toolkit's front page is laid out against the same eight weeks as your Blackboard course and in the same order, so the setup listed for a given week is the one that helps with what we are doing that week. You can also ignore the weeks entirely: go to the toolkit index and pick the one thing you are currently doing the hard way.

Getting help

You do not need to know how the university is organized to get help from it. Find your situation on the left and start at the office on the right. If you are not sure, ask me and I will point you.

Where to go, by what you need
If you needStart here
A deadline you cannot meet Email me before the deadline. I work with students case by case when contacted early; I cannot extend a deadline that has already passed.
An accommodation for a disability ACCESS, Student Success Center 1203. myaccess@siue.edu, 618-650-3726. You do not need a diagnosis in hand to start the conversation.
Help with the writing itself The Writing Center. Bring a draft at any stage, including a blank page.
Help with the course content My office hours first. Then the Tutoring Resource Center and Supplemental Instruction.
Finding sources Lovejoy Library. Ask for the Mass Communications subject librarian by name; that is what they are there for.
A computer, software, or login problem ITS: 618-650-5500, help@siue.edu. Check ITS System Status first, and search the ITS KnowledgeBase.
To talk to someone about your mental health Counseling and Health Services, Student Success Center 0222, 618-650-2842. Appointments through Cougar Care (SIUE login).
Food, housing, or money to be short Financial Aid and the Kimmel Belonging and Engagement Hub, Morris University Center 2027, 618-650-3180. Tell me too, if it is affecting your work in this course.
To report harassment or discrimination Office of Equal Opportunity, Access, and Title IX Coordination (EOA), Rendleman 3316.
Help choosing courses or a major Academic Advising, and the Career Development Center, 618-650-3708.

Services for students needing accommodations

It is the policy and practice of SIUE to create inclusive learning environments. If aspects of the instruction or design of this course create barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement, please contact Accessible Campus Community and Equitable Student Support (ACCESS) as soon as possible. Register with ACCESS online at siue.edu/access or in person in the Student Success Center, Room 1203. Email myaccess@siue.edu or call 618-650-3726.

Accommodations are not a favor and they are not remedial. Tell me what you need and we will make it work.

Cougar Care

College life can be challenging, and I support students prioritizing their mental health. Counseling is available at the Student Success Center, Room 0222. Make an appointment at cougarcare.siue.edu or call 618-650-2842.

Full list of academic and student services

Page last updated August 17, 2026. This page is the live version of this syllabus; if a printed copy and this page disagree, this page is correct.