The university has a rigorous freshman core curriculum that insures overall grounding in the college disciplines and in preparation for major course work. Many sections of most core courses are offered every semester, and with classroom space in short supply, often classes are held in temporary classrooms or in small traditional classrooms. Two sections of ENC-1101 taught by the same instructor were held in electronic classrooms. A third section taught by the same instructor was held in a temporary classroom. The electronic classroom setting differs greatly from the traditional classroom.
Traditional classrooms have the seats in rows and a chalkboard in the front.
In the electronic classroom, students sit at wide tables in comfortable chairs and have plenty of room to spread work. They also have the opportunity to move the furniture around for group discussions. A large teaching station is located at the front and to one side of the room. Inside the station cabinetry are controls for the room's built-in equipment. Also included in the teaching station is a document camera that projects transparent, opaque, and three-dimensional objects.