Freshman Year Experience - Sonoma State University Residential Life

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Unique Features of MOSAIC • Requirements • Questions? • How To Apply

Introduction/Program Description

Interested in an amazing student driven environment where community, human awareness & diversity, leadership, service, and FUN is paramount? MOSAIC, an acronym for "Making Our Space An Inclusive Community", is a living and learning community made with you in mind.

MOSAIC is a living and learning community intentionally focused on getting students, faculty and staff fully collaborating and engaged in their community and the world around them in new innovative ways. Residents in MOSAIC are enrolled in two to three classes together in the fall and spring semester that are taught by a vibrant and diverse faculty who are also apart of the unique MOSAIC family and community.

Mission & MOSAIC S.E.A.L.S

MOSAIC is founded on five guiding principles called MOSAIC SEALS:

Service & Civic Engagement
Embracing Diversity
Academic Excellence
Leadership & Personal Development
Social Responsibility & Social Justice

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through active participation in the MOSAIC community, students will:

recognize the value of life-long civic engagement and social responsibility through active participation in program objectives such as service learning. (Service & Civic Engagement)
demonstrate knowledge of cultural sensitivities. (Embracing Diversity)
recognize the value of life-long learning through continual education opportunities inside and outside the classroom. (Academic Excellence)
increase awareness of their own and others' values, and will learn to assess their own identity development in relation to others. (Leadership & Personal Development)
increase their ability to be effective allies by addressing behavior that detracts from the development of a positive multicultural community. (Social Responsibility & Social Justice)

Benefits of Active Involvement in MOSAIC:

Campus leadership opportunities
Development of effective relationships with faculty, advanced student leaders, and other professional staff
Continual engagement in dialogues about what it means to be socially responsible and a citizen of the world
Exploration of career and learning goals both in the classroom and outside as they relate to issues of human awareness and diversity
Opportunity to live in a unique community of learners that are dedicated to working towards social justice
A "Safe Space" where differences can be openly explored and where all are welcomed

What does the community look like and how many spaces are available?

The MOSAIC living/learning community is housed in Chardonnay in the Zinfandel Village Complex, which includes Housing Services, Zinfandel Dining Hall, the Post Office, and Zin Pool. To maintain a small, close-knit community where students have the opportunity to create one-on-one relationships with faculty and staff associated with the program, space is limited to 50 residents.

There is no additional fee to participate in the program, even though there are many additional benefits provided by both the Residential Life Office and the academic departments. NO English place mentor Math placement. Because there is the living component, students must live on-campus in the MOSAIC building their entire freshman year. Failure to maintain enrollment in all MOSAIC courses will result in a forfeit of the MOSAIC contract and students will be required to move to a different building or village, space permitting.

UNIQUE FEATURES OF MOSAIC

MOSAIC Students become leaders

MOSAIC students, faculty, and student staff are engaged in a holistic approach in addressing social justice and change in the classroom, the residential community, on campus, and beyond. Through active involvement in MOSAIC students are prepared to be the change they seek in the world by putting their classroom into action by taking on various campus leadership positions.

Peer Advisor Staff

One of the signature points of the MOSAIC Program is the utilization of Peer Advisors who play a critical role in connecting the classroom to the living room. Each MOSAIC cohort has one Peer Advisor, who is an upperclassman with advanced leadership experience. In the fall, the Peer Advisor co-teaches a specialized section of University 102 with a faculty member who his knowledgeable about diversity and social justice. The Peer Advisor also sets-up outside of the class field trips, events with faculty members and teaches their students how to set up study groups within their community. In the spring, the Peer Advisor independently teaches a weekly one-unit seminar for her/his MOSAIC cohort.

Strong Faculty Commitment

Strong connections with the 3 faculty compliment the MOSAIC program. The importance of faculty commitment to this program is affirmed by out of class involvement with students at meals, study sessions, field trips, theatre trips, and receptions.

Links With Core Curriculum
Each MOSAIC group has an academic block consisting of 2 core classes that every student is enrolled in together. These classes relate to the theme of the social justice and diversity. The classes are integrated into the programs and activities offered in the residential community. Therefore, students can apply what they are learning in one class to all the classes and what they are engaging in outside of the classroom.

Civic Engagement Projects
We know the value of learning through doing and strive to teach our students about the Sonoma State and surrounding community through direct engagement. A variety of service-learning and civic engagement projects are woven into the curriculum to give students direct experience in their field of interest, contribute to our local community, and build pride in what MOSAIC students can accomplish.

First Year Experience as a Cornerstone
The First Year Experience course is the cornerstone for the MOSAIC theme by providing a base from which integration and collaboration among the courses linked to each theme stem.

Student Taught Spring Semester Course
During the Spring semester MOSAIC students take a one unit course taught by a Peer Advisor. The purpose of the seminar is to further enhance the freshman experience by broadening student views of diversity and social justice, and helping with the academic and personal transition to college. Course objectives include encouraging personal development, improving academic success, and maintaining supportive residential learning-based peer networks for all students.

Requirements

Must live on campus in the designated MOSAIC building, the entire academic year. No exceptions.

Maintain enrollment in all MOSAIC courses both Fall and Spring semesters. No exceptions.

Questions?

Prospective students who are interested in being a part of the MOSAIC program should contact:
Julie Greathouse
MOSAIC LLC Director
(707) 664-3305
julie.greathouse@sonoma.edu