ISSC Course Descriptions

The concept of culture as an analytical tool for understanding human diversity. The basic building blocks of cultural anthropology including kinship, marriage, the family, religion and myth, law and politics, and subsistence and economics, among others. Ethnographic data from all parts of the world.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
Equivalent: Anthropology 0500 (prior to 2016/2017)
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week

Introduction to concepts concerning the organization of life, from macromolecules and cells to ecosystems. Dynamic and interactive properties of living systems. Diversity and classification of living organisms with particular emphasis on evolution as a unifying theme in biology.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort AND Biology 20
Equivalent: Biology 0500 (prior to 2016/2017)
3.00 Credit hours
2 Lecture hour(s) per week
3 Lab hour(s) per week

Introductory foundation in chemistry. Composition, structure, and properties of substances and the transformations that they undergo.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort AND Chemistry 20
Equivalent: Chemistry 0500
3.00 Credit hours
2 Lecture hour(s) per week
3 Lab hour(s) per week

Introduction to the scientific method and all aspects of the natural environment: the geological and biological history of the Earth; weather and climate; concepts of ecology; energy and nutrients in ecosystems; biodiversity; human activities; services provided by ecosystems; environmental justice; environmental challenges such as development, toxins, waste, pollution, and overexploitation; environmental data; and current issues regarding our shared environment.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
Equivalent: Environmental Science 0500 (prior to 2016/2017)
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week

Overview of various applications of mathematics useful for students in any major. The topics covered include operations on numbers; applications of linear relationships; percentages and exponential relationships; basic probability; and descriptive statistics.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week
1 Tutorial hour(s) per week

Twice a week gathering of instructors and students, with the goal of fostering a learning community among first-year students. Through group discussions, speaker presentations, and hands-on activities, students learn computer and study skills, become familiar with the services available to them as Aboriginal students, are exposed to speakers from various departments on campus and from the community, and receive support in overcoming roadblocks they encounter in the transition to university.

ISSC 0524 - Fall

ISSC 0525 - Spring

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
Grading: Pass/Fail
1.50 Credit hours in Fall
1.50 Credit hours in Spring
Total - 3 credits
1.50 Lecture hours

This course provides students with tools to critically examine and bridge differences and similarities between Indigenous ways of knowing and Western ways of knowing. The class is based on interactive class discussion, class presentations, video and guest speakers.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week

This course is designed to teach Library research skills and a companion set of study skills and computer skills that together will help students adjust to the university environment and enhance their opportunity for academic success. Students will learn how information is organized, how to search for and retrieve information using both print and online resources, and how to evaluate and use information. In formulating and conducting research strategies, students will also have the opportunity to develop skills in time management, goal setting, note taking and critical thinking, all of which are essential for success in any academic program.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
Equivalent: Library Science 0500 (prior to 2016/2017)
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week

Preparation for university-level mathematics. Review of fractions, exponents and percentages; equations, functions and applications for linear and quadratic polynomials; systems of equations and their applications; and right triangle and oblique triangle trigonometry.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort AND One of Mathematics 20-1 or Mathematics 20-2
Grading: Pass/Fail
Note: Mathematics 0100 is a non-credit course designed for the Indigenous Student Success Cohort. The course is for students who lack the prerequisite mathematics background to complete Mathematics 0520 successfully or who have been out of school for some years and require upgrading in mathematics.
0.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week
1 Tutorial hour(s) per week

Polynomials and rational functions, trigonometry, exponential and logarithmic functions, inequalities, rudiments of probability and counting.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort AND One of Mathematics 0100, Mathematics 30-2 or Applied Mathematics 30
Equivalent: Mathematics 0500
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week
1 Tutorial hour(s) per week

Preparation for reading and writing at a university level. Students will learn strategies for critical reading and analysis, summary, persuasion, source evaluation, research writing, and editing.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
Equivalent: Writing 0500 (prior to 2016/2017)
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week

Introduction to the perspectives and methods that sociologists use to study the social life of communities and societies. Processes and patterns of group interaction, and the influence of group power over individual behaviour are examined. Topics such as social stratification, racism, sexuality, work, religion, and the family may be used to illustrate these concepts.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Indigenous Student Success Cohort
Equivalent: Sociology 1000
Note: Sociology 0520 may be used in place of Sociology 1000 in program or major requirements.
3.00 Credit hours
3 Lecture hour(s) per week