Dear Class of 2025,
I expect I am not the first to welcome you to the Notre Dame family, and I certainly won’t be the last. Our entire community of students, faculty, and staff is simply delighted that you have chosen to join us as you continue your learning and service to the world. We are aware of the sacrifice, commitment, and perseverance you’ve demonstrated as you’ve prepared to join our community of scholars. And while your future classmates, faculty, and mentors are eager to celebrate you and your decision to enroll at Notre Dame, as Assistant Provost for Academic Advising, I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming you on behalf of the Center for University Advising.
The Center for University Advising, home of First Year Advising, offers mentorship, support, and guidance as you cross the threshold into university life and enter into the next chapter of scholarship. We seek to serve first-year students in a particular way by providing personalized and professional academic advising and transformative learning experiences and resources. These initiatives, alongside your first-year coursework and community engagement, introduce the values of a liberal arts education in the Catholic tradition and empower you to grow in your academic curiosity, integrate your mind and heart, and navigate your unique Notre Dame journey.
This summer is sure to be one of great anticipation and excitement. It may also bring about questions, concerns, and perhaps some nervousness. You are entering into the Notre Dame community in the midst of a distinct chapter of our story. While we anticipate the realities of the coronavirus pandemic will continue to present challenges, together as the Fighting Irish, we also believe we will continue to meet these challenges, seize our opportunity to fight, and grow in our ability to serve as a force for good in the world.
We are excited to partner with you and your family as you explore the boundless options at Notre Dame that can combine your diverse interests into a rich and challenging program of study. Our philosophy at the Center for University Advising is one that seeks to empower students as authors of their distinct academic journey. Part of this empowerment involves communicating first and foremost with you, as a student, to discover new interests, encounter new perspectives, and explore the resources of the Notre Dame community. All communication from the Center for University Advising will be sent directly to you. As the primary director of your engagement with the Center for University Advising, you are welcome to forward any of our communications to your families as an invitation to join you along this journey.
Throughout these next few months of your transition, you can expect to hear from the Center for University Advising every week regarding your first steps as a Notre Dame student. One main source of communication will be the “First Steps Home” summer newsletter, sent regularly to your ND Gmail account beginning May 11, 2021. (If you have yet to access your ND Gmail account, please click here.) We also encourage you to follow our various social media platforms for additional information and guidance. A few links to these platforms are below.
Our role this summer includes: ensuring you are equipped to complete necessary enrollment tasks, assisting you as you build a Fall 2021 course schedule that works best for you, and connecting you with the countless resources devoted to serving you and your growth as a scholar, citizen, and force for good. A brief summary of these steps is below and should give you a general sense of what action items lie ahead.
- Connecting with the Notre Dame Community: Activating your new Notre Dame email, financial account, residential application, and access to the University’s web portals, tools, and online resources.
- Preparing for a New Academic Journey: Connecting with your First Year Advisor, viewing Fall 2021 courses, identifying your course preferences, confirming transfer or exam-credit, and requesting placement exams.
- Becoming a Scholar at Notre Dame: Exploring academic options, connecting with campus partners, reviewing your Fall 2021 course schedule, and completing online modules required for all incoming students.
- Anticipating Your Arrival and Welcome Week: Reviewing your Welcome Week schedule and opportunities, preparing for any foreign language or mathematics placement exams, connecting with your residential community, and preparing for life at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame continues to closely monitor the health risks of the coronavirus pandemic. After a year of in-person teaching, learning, and living together as a University, our developing response will continue to prioritize your safe arrival and full entry into the vibrant campus community so distinct to a Notre Dame education. If you would like to follow our campus response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit here.nd.edu.
Later this week, you can expect to hear from the leaders of Welcome Week, our orientation endeavor shared between the Center for University Advising and the Division of Student Affairs. As your gateway into the life of a student at Notre Dame, Welcome Week seeks to share the unique characteristics of our undergraduate educational experience, introduce and inspire engagement in academic and residential life at Notre Dame, and facilitate the exploration of University resources available to you and your family. This summer, alongside our “First Steps Home” newsletter, you will also hear regularly from Welcome Week, the Division of Student Affairs, and various colleges, departments, and offices eager to embrace you as the newest members of our community.
Those of us within the Center for University Advising, like our entire community, are humbled by the opportunity to walk with you during these first steps. As the current academic year draws to an end, I invite you to fully celebrate the important milestones and relationships that have shaped your journey thus far. As you embrace this unique period of transition, know that your Notre Dame community looks forward to welcoming you home.
Sincerely,
Elly Brenner
Assistant Provost for Academic Advising
Director, Center for University Advising
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