Taking seriously our charge to transform the undergraduate educational experience, we offer a comprehensive and integrated approach to student learning in the first year.  The First-Year Experience (FYE) is an institutional initiative that utilizes a student centered approach designed to foster learning and achievement inside and outside of the classroom.  The FYE begins before students arrive on campus and continues well beyond their first year. 

Pre-Orientation is a required one day orientation program where new students learn about academic life at Wittenberg and identify course preferences for the fall semester.

Summer College is a two-week pre-college transitional program for newly admitted first-year students that allows students to take a 2-credit college course and learn how to be successful in college.    

New Student Days is a required four-day orientation program for first-year students that takes place immediately before classes begin each fall semester.

Wittenberg Seminars (WittSems) is a required first-year seminar class that explores an intellectual topic in detail and addresses academic issues and skills first-year students need to master.  To assist in the transition to Wittenberg, peer mentors act as social and cultural guides for the students.

Igniting the Spark is a new first-year experience program that is being piloted in some of the WittSem classes. Teams of Wittenberg professional staff are assigned to a WittSem class and present in-class workshops designed to help first-year students get started on the process of identifying who they want to be, the character strengths and qualities they wish to develop, and what they wish to accomplish and contribute to the community.

English 101 is a first-year writing class that introduces students to basic forms and conventions of college writing, provides the opportunity for frequent practice in writing and revising, and helps students explore various stages of the writing process from planning to proofreading.

Supplemental Instruction is an academic support program that uses collaborative learning strategies and trained, supervised student facilitators to increase academic achievement and retention in target courses.

FYE Support Series is a workshop series that engages first-year students in interactive sessions that complement the academic learning experience and address their total development as a person.

Honors Program offers a travel-abroad opportunity to enhance the education of first-year Honors students. The program provides first-year Honors students an opportunity to experience another culture and engage in a service-learning experience.

An Artist-in-Residence program has been established by Wittenberg University linking its First-Year Experience Office, the Community Service Office, the Center for Civic and Urban Engagement and Student Development. This communitywide partnership will include joint programming with local groups such as Project Jericho, Forging Responsible Youth and the local Circles Campaign.  During the fall 2009, Bryonn Bain will return to Springfield to inaugurate the artist-residency by helping develop a module for “arts-based activism and engagement” building on the one he facilitated in fall 2008.

Connectors is a program offered by the office of Multicultural Programs that is designed to guide first-year African American students and students of color through their first semester of college by connecting them with upper-class students (called Connectors).  Connectors assist first-year students as they transition from high school to college by helping them to make friends and navigate the day to day tasks of college life. 

Emerging Leaders Program is a leadership development program for first-year students that meets weekly from October-December each year.  Through the program, students develop the skills, personal qualities and knowledge they will need to be effective leaders at Wittenberg.  Students will also have the opportunity to work with mentors to plan an event or program for the campus in the second semester.

Community Service and Service-Learning are experiences students can participate in during their years at Wittenberg.  First-year students will have the option to participate in a service-learning course where they can engage in meaningful and purposeful ways of connecting the concepts and theories they learn in the classroom with the practical, hands-on learning of “real life” experience. 

New Student Showcase is an opportunity for first-year thespians and entertainers to perform in theatre and musical numbers during Family Weekend for their fellow students and visiting family members.  The Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Music welcome all Wittenberg students to participate in and study the performing arts. 

The Traveling Bus provides the opportunity for first-year students to explore the Springfield area and get to know fellow students through social outings.  Once a month the Traveling Bus will travel to a different place providing first-year students the opportunity to get off campus and have some fun.