Information & Initiatives for First-Year Students

University College helps to coordinate a range of programs that are specifically aimed at students during their first year in college.  All of the evidence shows that this first year is one of the most challenging periods in a student's college career but also one of the most rewarding.  Our goal is to provide you with a menu of options that are all designed, in different ways, to help you get the most out of your first year and to make the transition.  Please have a look at the options below and think about which one best meets your needs; our research shows that students taking advantage of any one of these options have a better experience in their first year and do better throughout their college career.  These things work!

• Enhanced Learning Linkages [NEW for Fall 2008]
• Learning Communities
• Freshman Seminars
• Freshman Head Start [NEW for Summer 2008]
• Common Reading Experience

Remember: your best source of information about all of these options is your advisor.  Staff in the University Advising Center for UCOL students and in the advising offices of all of the Colleges know about all of these programs and how they might benefit you.  Talk to your advisor during SOAR, and during the school year to see how the various programs at the University can help you succeed.