|
|
Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is LEAP?LEAP is a year-long learning community that enables new students to transition more confidently to college and to play an active role in their own education. Students work with outstanding faculty in small classes and participate in social and service activities with other students and with Peer Advisors. The heart of LEAP is a year-long seminar in which students stay with the same classmates and faculty member. The seminar is paired in the fall with writing classes reserved for LEAP students. In the spring, LEAP students are offered optional LEAP-only add-on classes in library research strategies, service learning, and major selection. The year-long seminar fulfills two general education requirements and the University’s diversity requirement. How big is the leap program?In academic year 2007-2008, LEAP will have 23 sections taught by 11 faculty members. Enrollment will be between 650 and 700, which means that roughly one out of every four incoming students elects to join the program. Individual LEAP sections, however, are small. They are never larger than 35, and most are capped at 30. Some sections are even smaller. 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. How will LEAP benefit me?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. You’ll improve your writing skills. You’ll develop sophisticated library research strategies to complete assignments related to your LEAP classes, and you’ll be offered the option of getting credit for a library research strategies course. You’ll connect with at least one professor. This is an important relationship when you need recommendations for awards, scholarships, internships, or jobs. You’ll have a chance to get to know your classmates and Peer Advisor, since you’ll have a class with them both fall and spring semesters. You’ll receive expert (and now required) academic advising right in your LEAP classroom and will automatically receive early registration for your second semester. You’ll be offered special LEAP-only classes that fulfill the lower division writing requirement as well as optional courses in service learning and major selection. You’ll make progress on your general education requirements: completing two of these, as well as the University’s diversity requirement, by taking your fall and spring LEAP seminars. What are my options within the leap program?All LEAP courses focus on the themes of diversity and community, and are very similar in content. Four different kinds of LEAP are available for students with varying interests:
How do I enroll in LEAP?You enroll in LEAP at Orientation, when you enroll in your other classes. Visit the orientation website at http://www.sa.utah.edu/orientation or call 581-7069 to sign up for your orientation time. LEAP fills on a first-come, first-served basis, so the earlier you attend Orientation, the wider your choice among LEAP options will be. |
