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April 28, 2022 - ����ר�� opened its new First-Year Student Success Hub after a ribbon-cutting on campus on April 28. The First-Year Student Success Hub is located on the second floor of the University Center. 

"Our First-Year Student Success Hub will transform the experiences of our incoming students,” Dr. Matt Cecil, ����ר�� provost and vice president of academic affairs, said. “We want our new students to know they have a person who knows them and who they know can help them navigate the university and find the people, classes, and activities that will enrich their time at ����ר��."

The First-Year Student Success Hub will offer first-year students a centralized, comprehensive advising experience. The hub aims to provide first-year students the confidence to pursue academic goals using a coordinated-care approach. 

“Starting college can be intimidating for students coming out of high school because there are so many things to learn and processes to navigate that it may seem overwhelming,” Gannon Tagher, assistant vice provost for advising and first-year experience, said. “Advisors and staff in the First-Year Student Success Hub reach out proactively to first-year students to promote a sense of belonging and help them develop the skills to be successful throughout their college career. We want our students to be successful academically, socially, and financially and we want parents to know that their child is cared for.” 

In 2021, ����ר�� received a grant from the R.C. Durr Foundation to fund a full-time First-Year Career Advisor dedicated to supporting undeclared and pre-major students. This position, in tandem with other advisors in the hub, will help students transition to college life and to ����ר�� by arming them with the necessary skills to navigate academic, financial and career planning. Once a student is no longer a first-year student, they will then transition to an advisor for their academic program and/or college. 

The R.C. Durr Foundation grant will also support three student peer leaders to complement the work of the First-Year Career Advisor by assisting with direct outreach and support of various initiatives.

The First-Year Student Success Hub also aligns with the Success by Design strategic framework laid out by the university in 2019. The strategic plan laid out practices and policies ����ר�� continues to implement, including aligning university resources to encourage scholarship, creativity, collaboration and innovation, aimed at advancing student success. This will allow ����ר�� students to stay on their path toward graduation. 

For more information on the First-Year Student Success Hub,  

To learn more about the Success by Design strategic framework, click HERE.