What is LEAP?

The heart of  LEAP is a year-long learning community committed to the goals of learning, engagement, achievement, and progress and to the principles of civic awareness and service. Central to the LEAP Program are its dedicated faculty and peer advisors who support and mentor new students and challenge them academically.

Through a sequence of two semester-length seminars exploring the themes of community and diversity, students participate in stimulating class discussions around assigned readings, audio-visual materials, and contemporary issues.

The courses in the year-long LEAP Program fulfill two general education requirements and the University’s Diversity requirement.

How big is the LEAP Program?

In academic year 2009-2010, LEAP offers 27 sections taught by 11 faculty members.  Enrollment is 950, which means roughly out of every four incoming students elects to join the program.

A sophomore or junior-level Peer Advisor is assigned to each section and stays with that section throughout the year. Thus, students, Peer Advisors, and faculty all get to know each other well and are able to form a community within the wider LEAP community. Put in current information here.

Will LEAP help me to succeed in college?

            Yes! LEAP will...

• prepare you to succeed in your future college work by actively engaging you as an individual and in teams to think analytically, creatively, and practically about issues important to the role of the citizen, nationally and globally.

• improve your writing and speaking skills.

• teach you sophisticated library research strategies that will be fundamental to your success in most university courses.

• help you develop a relationship with at least one professor who could write recommendations for awards, scholarships, internships and/or jobs.

• foster strong friendships and social networks with classmates and your Peer Advisor.

• provide academic advising right in your LEAP classroom, which will qualify you for early registration for spring semester

• connect you to campus and community events, organizations, and activities.

Exactly how will LEAP classes improve my writing?

In the LEAP seminar and in Writing 2010 you will receive sustained, individual attention focusing on the quality of your written expression—clear arguments, logical organization, useful evidence, thorough analysis. In the fall semester LEAP partners with the Writing Program to offer sections of Writing 2010 designated “for LEAP students.”  As a partnership these courses will work together to make you a substantially better writer.

Is it easy to make friends in LEAP classes?

Yes, because LEAP students are both interested and interesting; they want to be involved in campus events and organizations as well as social and service activities. It is often very easy to make close friends over a year’s time and these friendships may be the foundation of your social life at the university. LEAP helps you make connections and friendships early on in your freshman year so that you will be more confident in the larger campus community.