NAU 100: Transition to College

NAU 100, in its broadest sense, is about moving in, through, and out of a transition. Transitions are perennial in life; our relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles will evolve and change continuously throughout our life.

The transition from high school to college is often not simply a change in schools. It is a change in communities, living situation, diet, friends, often geography, climate, and a thousand other remarkable and unremarkable changes- all of this aside, of course, from the move from childhood to emerging adulthood. The course focuses on supporting students holistically and on encouraging them to own their college experience, education, and learning.

NAU 100 will not form the foundation of a college career- that’s a student’s job; but it will create an environment conducive to learning, growth, development, and exploration so students can begin to form this foundation for themselves and feel confident in being the experts of their transition in college and beyond.

Facilitate a student’s meaningful exploration of campus and community resources.
Support a student’s transition from one stage in life to another by acting with intention to positively influence the factors that encourage a person’s ability to cope and thrive in transition.
Hold space for a student to normalize, reflect on, and discuss challenges and celebrate successes.
Make room for community building with other first-year students.
Support a student in the most holistic conception of possibility for a meaningful life.
Create spaces for students to understand, discuss, and explore their role in their own education and learning.

Any first-year students not participating in the College Success Program or Honors 100.

Students often report that their Peer Instructor played a crucial role in their transition into higher education.
Students enrolled in STEM majors benefit from taking NAU 100. Analysis suggests that taking NAU 100 can increase STEM majors overall academic performance (higher GPA, higher retention rate, lower rate of academic probation).
NAU 100 is often particularly beneficial for males, first-generation students, and students of color (higher GPA, higher retention rate, lower rate of academic probation)