Welcome to Assumption University!
As a first-year student, we encourage you to participate in an enhanced version of a Foundations Learning Community. All first-year students participate in a Foundations Learning Community in their first semester, but Enhanced Foundations Learning Communities have three benefits that distinguish them from other Foundations Learning Communities:
- Year-long program instead of one semester
- Focused peer tutoring and support
- Your instructors are also your academic advisors
With closer, year-long connections with your instructors and peer tutors, you benefit from a more supportive network for the often challenging transition from high school to college academics.
Enhanced Foundations Learning Communities start in the Fall and continue in the Spring, so it’s a two-semester sequence instead of one, which means you have the opportunity to connect with your peers and professors more deeply in your first year. You would take two courses in the Fall (English 140, Literature and its Interpretations and either History 114, World History I or Math 111—your Math placement would determine which second course) and two in the spring (English 130, Writing in the University 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 your success in all college classes. All of these courses fulfill Foundations Program requirements and/or electives and count towards graduation requirements. They are also commonly taken by first-year students—so these are courses you would take anyway. You would take your two Enhanced Foundations Learning Community classes and three other classes each semester, for the usual course load of five classes each semester so that you can graduate on time.
Four faculty members teach the Enhanced Foundations Learning Community courses and also serve as academic advisors. Since you are taking two classes with the same instructors over the course of the year, you really get to know one another. You 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 you form lasting friendships with your fellow Enhanced Foundations Learning Community peers and important, mentoring bonds with your instructors.
The Enhanced Foundations Learning Community 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 you on course content as well as writing skills. The Tutor Teaching Assistants also serve as important peer models of successful upper-class students. All students can take advantage of tutoring through our Academic Support Center, but the Tutor Teaching Assistants in the Enhanced Foundations Learning Communities attend class, do the reading and work closely with instructors 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 Foundations Learning Communities 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 an enhanced foundations learning community is on a first-reply basis and will supersede your Foundations Learning Community preference survey.
Please register by Wednesday, June 11, if you would like to join an Enhanced Foundations Learning Community for the 2025-2026 academic year.
For additional questions, please contact Jennifer Morrison.
Why Join the Enhanced Foundations Learning Community?
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Dear Member of the Class of 2029,
Congratulations on your acceptance to Assumption University! In addition, I would like to congratulate you on your invitation to join an Enhanced Foundations Learning Community. As a past participant, I would like to share my personal experience. 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, I was apprehensive. I was just coming to college, and I was not sure if it 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 students in my learning community. 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 I made 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.
My Enhanced Learning Community 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 it. I sincerely hope that you consider taking advantage of this opportunity—you won’t regret it!
Best of Luck,
Sophia Dewsnap
Assumption University, Class of 2021
Dear Member of the Class of 2029,
Congratulations on your acceptance to Assumption University! In addition, I would like to congratulate you on your invitation to join an Enhanced Foundations Learning Community. As a past participant, I would like to share my personal experience. 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, I was apprehensive. I was just coming to college, and I was not sure if it 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 students in my learning community. 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 I made 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.
My Enhanced Learning Community 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 it. I sincerely hope that you consider taking advantage of this opportunity—you won’t regret it!
Best of Luck,
Sophia Dewsnap
Assumption University, Class of 2021