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Curriculum and Activities

Curriculum Overview
Academics
Physical Readiness
Citadel Life Orientation
Special Programs

Schedule
Morning Activities
Afternoon Activities
Evening Activities
Friday Activities
Weekend Activities

Curriculum Overview

The CSI curriculum is composed of four interconnected components: academics, physical fitness, Citadel life orientation, and special programs. Each of these components provides CSI students with essential skills and information that will prepare them for knob year. The curriculum is integrated so that skills learned in each area can be applied across the domains in order to maximize learning opportunities.

Academics

Students take three courses during CSI for a total of 4 credit hours.

Grades are assigned for these courses exactly as they are during the school year, and these courses will appear on the student’s transcript.

Although courses taken during CSI 2008 do not count towards the number of hours required for academic advancement during the 2008-2009 school year, these hours do count in the total number of hours required for graduation and are included in calculations of cumulative GPA.

For a detailed description of the courses offered, please refer to the course descriptions provided on the academics page.

Physical Readiness

Physical fitness is a very important aspect of life at The Citadel. Lack of preparation for long days of marching, running, and working out is one of the leading factors that causes freshmen to withdraw from The Citadel.

Citadel Life Orientation (CLO)

Citadel Life Orientation is designed to introduce students to college life at The Citadel.

CLO is conducted as a classroom activity with some experiential learning opportunities.

Although CLO introduces some military concepts and activities, it is conducted in a non-military atmosphere with an emphasis on reinforcement of knowledge and skills to help students adjust to life at The Citadel.

CLO topics may include: campus tour, campus resources, Q&A sessions, demonstrations, skills remediation sessions, and introduction to knob knowledge, barracks life, military branches, and the Charleston community. Learning these skills and information during CSI helps to reduce stress during the early weeks of the school year.

Special Programs

Several guest speakers and special topics presentations are planned.

These programs will help to introduce students to The Citadel’s culture and services and give them useful information about a variety of Citadel-related topics.

Attendance is mandatory at all special presentations.

Some special programs will preempt the students’ 1-1:30 pm free time; others will be held during Citadel Life Orientation or Citadel 101.

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Engineering Students

An important note about the curriculum for all students majoring in engineering.

At The Citadel, the curriculum for all majors except engineering includes the Citadel 101: First Year Seminar course. This course is normally taken during the fall semester of freshman year. Engineering students who do not attend CSI are not required to take this course.

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Academic Support Services

The department of Academic Enrichment at The Citadel provides a wide array of academic as well as other support services. The Writing and Learning Center, Multicultural Student Services, International Studies, and OASIS offices are all contained within this department. All of these offices are located on the first floor of Thompson Hall.

Students with disabilities are served through the OASIS office. All students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the OASIS office before arriving for CSI so that arrangements for appropriate academic adjustments and/or accommodations can be made in advance. For more information, please contact the OASIS department at 843-953-1820.

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Schedule

Morning Activities
CSI students begin their days with breakfast at 7:00 AM. All students are expected to be dressed, groomed, and fully prepared to begin the day no later than 6:50 AM. After breakfast, a morning study period is held during which students are expected to prepare for the day’s academic requirements. Students are in class from 8:00 AM until 12:30 PM, with one mid-morning break for on-campus errands.

Afternoon Activities
Lunch is served from 12:30 – 1:00 PM, after which students are given approximately 30 minutes of free time. Classes resume at 1:30 PM. Citadel 101, Citadel Life Orientation, and RPED fill the afternoon schedule and end at 5:30 PM.

Evening Activities
Dinner is served at 5:30 PM, after which students are given approximately 1 hour of time for personal hygiene and free time. An evening study period is held from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, during which students are required to study, do homework, and/or participate in tutoring or study groups. Bed checks are conducted at 10:00 PM. After bed checks, students are not allowed to leave their rooms except in cases of illness or emergency. Students are allowed to use the time between bed checks at 10:00 and lights out at 11:00 as in-room free time, or for studying or sleeping.

Friday Activities
The schedule differs slightly on Fridays. Students participate in a weekly 2-mile run on Friday mornings before breakfast, and morning study period is replaced by time for personal hygiene after breakfast. The morning and afternoon schedules remain the same until 2:30 PM. At that time, students have a weekly personal and room inspection, safety briefing, and knob knowledge test in lieu of Citadel Life Orientation. After these activities, they are free to leave for the weekend provided that they have not earned punishment time through the accountability system. Students with punishment time will be required to work off their punishments before leaving.

Weekend Activities
There are usually no formal CSI activities scheduled between 4:00 PM on Friday afternoon and 6:00 PM on Sunday evening. The barracks remain open and meals are served at the mess hall, but students are not required to stay on campus. Occasionally, extracurricular activities may be available on the weekend, but weekend activities are not mandatory.
Any student who wishes to stay on campus during the weekend has the freedom to come and go at his/her leisure but must abide by the barracks’ scheduled evening curfew. Weekend curfew for the barracks is from 1 am to 6:30 am. In addition, all CSI students must be back on campus by 6 pm on Sunday evening.

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Recreation

There are many opportunities for CSI students to pursue recreational activities at The Citadel and in the Charleston area. The Citadel has racquetball courts, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a weight room, and outdoor running track, outdoor fields, and jogging trails. Community service and volunteer opportunities are also available. Students who wish to attend religious services on the weekend may request in advance (no later than the preceding Thursday) to be transported to an off-campus service.

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	Push-ups	Sit-ups	2-Mile Run
Male	42	53	15 min. 54 sec.
Female	19	53	18 min 54 sec