The first year is crucial for students and their families. If the transition from home and high school to college is smooth, students are more likely to be successful and to stay in school.
Difficult transitions may cause students to perform below their potential, and in extreme situations, to drop out. Constructive support from the college and the family helps to ease the transition. The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown focuses significant attention on assisting students in their transition.
Help for Freshmen
Pitt-Johnstown is committed to a campus-wide effort to help freshmen succeed. We address the specific needs of first-year students in a number of ways. To begin with, we house all of our resident freshmen together. This creates a natural community of peers and allows our new students to share in all of the new experiences that college will bring. We also make arrangements for those students who choose to commute from home to be official members of the freshmen residence communities, affording them the same access to all of the programming and structure designed for students new to Pitt-Johnstown.
We also address the specific needs of freshmen in the classroom. Our Academic Success Center offers many services for students. The office provides both scheduled and drop-in tutoring, as well as advising services. Coupling this with the small class size and attentive faculty in introductory classes, our freshmen find that any help they may need is there for the asking.
Campus Events
Check the online calendar or our Facebook and Twitter pages. Information is also mailed from the Academic Divisions and Student Life Office.
With these resources, both you and your student will have a timely reminder of both formal and informal happenings, deadlines and relevant campus issues at Pitt-Johnstown.