First-Year Experience (FYE)

The Mount's First-Year Experience (FYE) Program welcomes first-year students and fosters success as they transition into the Mount Saint Mary College community. Our goal is not only for students to thrive as new members of our community; we want them to establish a foundation for the entirety of their college experience and beyond. 

Here’s what students can expect:

• Community and support: All incoming students will be automatically placed into a Learning Community with 19 other students, where they will take two of their fall-semester courses together. Each Learning Community is led by two faculty members and also includes a personal librarian and an academic coach.

• Making connections: Throughout the fall semester, students will attend First-Year Connections workshops that are designed to support students as they navigate through all the non-academic parts of going to college - like how to take care of your own mind, body, and spirit in this new chapter of your life. Students will then be able to reflect on what they’ve learned in the workshops and connect it back to their Learning Community courses. 

• Peer network: After the first few weeks of college, Learning Community members will become friends, study partners, and important resources to one another as everyone navigates the expectations of college-level coursework and campus life together. 

An Individualized, Integrative Experience:

Every Learning Community will collaboratively create (under the guidance of their faculty members) an outside-of-class experience that engages students in real life applications of their coursework. For example, members of our recent first-year cohort designed and participated in the following events.

• Voter registration drive: After identifying that many young adults weren’t registered to vote, Sociology students organized a voter registration drive and engaged over 150 people to register right here on campus.

• Tree planting initiative: Biology and Chemistry classes went out into the community to test soil, assess trees, and make recommendations to improve genetic diversity right here in Newburgh.

After experiencing our community-based approach to making connections and developing skills to solve real-world problems, we hope that our students will be inspired to make positive and meaningful contributions to their communities. 

Have questions or want to learn more about FYE? Email fye@msmc.edu