How does Assumption ensure that first-year students are supported in the transition from high school to college?
Chart Your Path: Manage the Transition to College
Looking for the right college is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Your first year will be full of new expectations, new responsibilities, and new people, so the question you want to ask at this point is, what supports are in place to help me succeed and thrive in my first year? At Assumption, those supports start with your Foundations Learning Community.
How does your foundations learning community help?
What is a learning community?
First semester, you’ll choose and join a learning community that is geared towards your interests. And you will have plenty of choice—no one-size-fits-all model here! Each learning community is small with no more than 22 students in each. This is an ideal balance where you take two classes with the same small group of fellow first-year students who share your interests, but your other three classes allow you to meet plenty of other students. At larger institutions, you can take five classes and never see a familiar face. The Foundations Learning Community is the beginning of your “company of friends,” to quote our mission. What better way to find your company of friends than by taking two classes together?
What are the benefits of a learning community?
You’ll quickly get to know your classmates because you take two classes together in the first semester. With this growing familiarity, you’ll become more comfortable in the classroom, which results in a more engaging learning environment. You’ll feel more open to asking questions and interacting with your peers and professors.
Your Foundations Learning Community points the way
- Become part of a close-knit learning community
- Build friendships that will last a lifetime
- Find a solid footing in the liberal arts
- Develop the skills you need for a successful college career and beyond
- Connect core skills with a major
Skill-building workshops
In addition to sharing two classes, you’ll participate in workshops throughout the first semester that provide guidance on how to become a disciplined, resilient college student. The workshops are co-taught by a staff member and an upper-class student on topics such as:
- Using your time in college effectively
- Finding a good balance between personal life and academic work
- Studying effectively for exams
- Preparing to meet with your advisor to registerfor classes
First-year advising
Not sure about the major you’d like to pursue? Wondering about the classes you need to take? Need help planning your academic career at Assumption? You are carefully matched with a first-year advisor who will assist you with the transition to Assumption.
These questions, along with any others you may have, will be discussed in one-on-one meetings with your advisor.
Your Foundations Learning Community is an integrated, comprehensive experience for first-year students to help foster success in their academic and social live