Welcome to Assumption University!
As a first-year student, we encourage you to participate in an enhanced version of the COMPASS Program (Common Pursuit of Academic and Social Success). All first-year students participate in the COMPASS program in their first semester.
The Enhanced COMPASS Program has three benefits that distinguish it from COMPASS:
- Year-long program instead of one semester
- Offers focused peer tutoring and support
- Faculty function as your academic advisors as well as your instructors. With closer, year-long connections with faculty and peer tutors, students benefit from a more supportive network for the often challenging transition from high school to college academics.
Enhanced COMPASS is a year-long program consisting of two courses in the fall (Introduction to Literature and either U.S. History or Math 111—your Math placement would determine which second course) and two in the spring (English Composition and either a second History or Math 114, which is the minimum required Math course for the Foundations Program). These courses are foundational not only to the liberal arts curriculum, but also to developing critical thinking and writing skills that are crucial to student success in all college classes. All of these courses fulfill Foundations Program requirements and are commonly taken by first-year students—so these are courses you would take anyway. Students take these two COMPASS classes and three other classes each semester, for the usual course load of five classes each semester so that they can graduate on time.
Four faculty members teach in the Enhanced COMPASS learning community and also serve as academic advisors. Since students are taking two classes with the same faculty over the course of the year, faculty and students really get to know one another. Students also benefit from the small class size, and the comfort and familiarity of taking two classes each term with the same group of peers. Thus students form lasting friendships with their fellow COMPASS participants and important, mentoring bonds with the faculty.
The Enhanced COMPASS Program also includes a peer tutoring component. An upper-class student who has demonstrated academic excellence in the subject and been trained and certified as a Tutor Teaching Assistant (TTA) is assigned to each English, History and Math course to work with and support the students in the program. The TTAs work with students on course content as well as writing skills. The Tutor Teaching Assistants serve as important peer models of successful upper-class students to new first-years. All students can take advantage of tutoring through our Academic Support Center, but the Tutor Teaching Assistants in Enhanced COMPASS attend class, do the reading and work closely with faculty to make sure they understand the expectations of assignments and upcoming exams. In this way, the TTAs offer more focused support for the work in these classes. The courses that make up the Enhanced COMPASS Program are the same English, History and Math courses that first-year students generally take; the only difference is the added support provided by the tutor teaching assistants, small class size and faculty attention as advisors.
Participation in the Enhanced COMPASS learning community is on a first-reply basis and will supersede your COMPASS preference survey.
Please register by Monday, June 9, if you would like to join the Enhanced COMPASS Program for the 2023-2024 academic year.
For additional questions, please contact Jennifer Morrison.
Why Join the Enhanced COMPASS Program?
-
Dear Member of the Class of 2027,
Congratulations on your acceptance to Assumption University! In addition, I would like to congratulate you on your invitation to join the Enhanced COMPASS Program. As a past participant of the program, I would like to share my personal experience with the program. I truly believe that the program is special and that the community it fosters is unlike any other that I have experienced.
When I was first invited into the program, I was apprehensive. I was just coming to college, and I was not sure if the program would be a good fit. After going through it, I cannot believe that I doubted joining. I experienced such a sense of community while working with other program participants. We formed study groups together, helped each other with our assignments, encouraged each other to do better, and even vented about our classes together. The camaraderie of the group was strong and the program allowed me to make friends that I might not have otherwise. We have so many great memories inside and outside of the classroom.
The professors you encounter in this program are extraordinary. They are funny, entertaining, knowledgeable, and care for each and every one of their students. It feels as though your professors are rooting for you to do well in each and every class. I went into their classrooms every Tuesday and Thursday knowing that they wanted me to succeed. They are approachable and constantly available in their office hours. During these office hours, you can talk to your professors about anything. I would personally go into their offices and talk to them about my day, the new TV show I was watching, or how I should fix my thesis statement (yes, we would talk about class work too). Many of the students I talked to really loved their professors. In fact, if a class got canceled, instead of being really excited about having the day off, students would mention that they missed their professors. They genuinely wanted to have class.
The classroom experience was enhanced through having tutors embedded in each class. They added interesting insights to each lecture and assisted us with classwork when needed. They are one of the most important parts of the program. Each of these upper-classmates took time out of their hectic schedules to help the first-year students. I found that all of the tutors had really good acumen, not only when it came to the work in the class, but also with college life in general. A student could go to them not only for tips on how to write a better paper, but also tips when it came to housing or class selections.
The Enhanced COMPASS Program has made me a more confident student, and I am so proud to have been a part of it. It was honestly the best decision of my freshman year, and I could not imagine my first year without this program. I sincerely hope that you consider taking advantage of the Enhanced COMPASS Program—you won’t regret it!
Best of Luck,
Sophia Dewsnap
Assumption University, Class of 2021
Dear Member of the Class of 2027,
Congratulations on your acceptance to Assumption University! In addition, I would like to congratulate you on your invitation to join the Enhanced COMPASS Program. As a past participant of the program, I would like to share my personal experience with the program. I truly believe that the program is special and that the community it fosters is unlike any other that I have experienced.
When I was first invited into the program, I was apprehensive. I was just coming to college, and I was not sure if the program would be a good fit. After going through it, I cannot believe that I doubted joining. I experienced such a sense of community while working with other program participants. We formed study groups together, helped each other with our assignments, encouraged each other to do better, and even vented about our classes together. The camaraderie of the group was strong and the program allowed me to make friends that I might not have otherwise. We have so many great memories inside and outside of the classroom.
The professors you encounter in this program are extraordinary. They are funny, entertaining, knowledgeable, and care for each and every one of their students. It feels as though your professors are rooting for you to do well in each and every class. I went into their classrooms every Tuesday and Thursday knowing that they wanted me to succeed. They are approachable and constantly available in their office hours. During these office hours, you can talk to your professors about anything. I would personally go into their offices and talk to them about my day, the new TV show I was watching, or how I should fix my thesis statement (yes, we would talk about class work too). Many of the students I talked to really loved their professors. In fact, if a class got canceled, instead of being really excited about having the day off, students would mention that they missed their professors. They genuinely wanted to have class.
The classroom experience was enhanced through having tutors embedded in each class. They added interesting insights to each lecture and assisted us with classwork when needed. They are one of the most important parts of the program. Each of these upper-classmates took time out of their hectic schedules to help the first-year students. I found that all of the tutors had really good acumen, not only when it came to the work in the class, but also with college life in general. A student could go to them not only for tips on how to write a better paper, but also tips when it came to housing or class selections.
The Enhanced COMPASS Program has made me a more confident student, and I am so proud to have been a part of it. It was honestly the best decision of my freshman year, and I could not imagine my first year without this program. I sincerely hope that you consider taking advantage of the Enhanced COMPASS Program—you won’t regret it!
Best of Luck,
Sophia Dewsnap
Assumption University, Class of 2021