A Study on the Development and Effectiveness of a University Freshman Seminar

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a “Freshman Seminar” course designed to support self-understanding, major exploration, and college adjustment among first-year students admitted under the Undeclared Major Selection System. The course was grounded in Self-Affirmation Theory and Possible Selves Theory and systematically developed through the ADDIE model (Analysis-Design-Development-Implementation-Evaluation).To examine the effectiveness of the course, a retrospective pretest-posttest online survey was conducted at the end of the semester, and responses from 252 students were analyzed. Psychological capital, self-understanding and major exploration, and college adjustment were set as the primary learning outcomes, and paired-sample t-tests and effect size analyses (Cohen’s d) were applied.The results indicated significant improvements in overall psychological capital and its sub-dimensions (self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience) from the beginning to the end of the semester, with resilience showing the largest effect size. Selfunderstanding and major exploration, as well as college adjustment, also improved significantly, demonstrating the practical educational effects of the seminar.These findings provide empirical evidence that the Freshman Seminar goes beyond prescriptive academic advising focused on information delivery, serving instead as an effective course that fosters students’ self-reflection, major exploration, and holistic growth. The study contributes to the design of general education curricula and policy implementation by highlighting the role of experiential liberal education in supporting self-directed growth and successful college adjustment among first-year students.