Why the first year gets its own program
More students leave college in or after the first year than at any other point, and it is rarely about ability — it is about not connecting, not building study habits that work at this level, not knowing help exists, or a money or health problem that grew unattended. The First-Year Experience is the university's coordinated answer: a first-year adviser, a seminar, peer mentors, early-alert check-ins, and programming timed to the moments that are actually hard.
The first six weeks
Small-group sessions in the first weeks focus on the things that determine how the year goes: finding people and a place to belong, building a weekly routine, reading and note-taking that stick, using office hours, and asking for help before a wobble becomes a crisis. This is also when peer mentors — trained returning students — are most useful for the unglamorous questions (where do I print, how do I email a professor, is it normal to feel this lost). It is normal to feel lost; everyone around you does too.
The first-year seminar
A one-credit seminar that connects major and career exploration, money basics, campus resources, and a personal plan toward graduation. It threads through the summer common reading and gives you a small class and an instructor who knows your name early. Treat it as real — the habits and connections it builds pay off across all four years.
Early alert and staying on track
If an instructor flags that you have stopped attending or are struggling early in a term, a success coach reaches out — not as a punishment but as a "let's fix this while it is small" check-in. Responding to that email is one of the highest-value things a first-year student can do. The sixth week, midterms, registration, and the first long break are predictable pressure points; the program builds support around each.
Questions?
See the full staff & office directory for any phone number or email. Because this is a fictional parody site, addresses and phone numbers are illustrative and do not reach a real university.