First-Year Experience

New Student Orientation

http://www.rockford.edu/admission/admitted/orientation/

All new students are required to attend orientation. Orientation provides students with an understanding of the expectations in and out of the classroom at the University level and sets the foundation for academic success. Orientation helps students connect with their First-Year Advisors, other students, and University staff members thereby building the supportive relationships that will sustain them during their years at Rockford University.

First-Year Advisors

The First-Year Advising Program pairs each student entering with fewer than 20 credits with a First-Year Advisor, a specially-trained faculty or academic staff member. Each advisor helps students formulate educational goals prior to starting classes at Rockford University and supports them in attaining those goals during that first year.

First-Year Seminar (CLWS 101)

Through First-Year Seminar, first-year students are introduced to the nature of a liberal arts education and to the academic skills required for success at Rockford University. Small groups of students work with professors to examine significant works and to explore their relationship to the various academic disciplines and their implications for our society. Class assignments will help students develop and strengthen academic skills in expository writing, public speaking and critical thinking, hallmarks of the liberally educated person.

The First-Year Seminar is worth two credits and is required of all students entering with fewer than 20 credits.

Residence Life for First-Year Students

Living on campus can be one of the most formative experiences of a student’s life. Residential students tell us they enjoy the independence of campus residency that helps them learn practical skills that last a lifetime while developing lifelong friendships. Living on campus fosters a sense of community and allows them the opportunity to be fully engaged in their University experience.

While first-year students can choose from a variety of living options, Rockford University offers a housing option just for first-year students which not only affords them the opportunity to live with other first-year students who are going through similar experiences, but it also provides programs and services that are geared to help new students transition into the University experience.

See “Residence Life” for more information.