Dear newest students of Notre Dame,
We are excited for your arrival on campus to officially begin your undergraduate experience at the University of Notre Dame! We hope that the coming years will be ones of growth for you in both mind and heart.
Welcome Weekend Detailed Schedule
You and your family can now access a detailed schedule of Welcome Weekend events. We hope these descriptions help you identify the various opportunities and requirements for you and your family throughout your weekend experience.
Some Welcome Weekend events include optional RSVP forms or opportunities to pre-submit questions for select Question & Answer conversations. Please explore the listed programs and events of interest to you and complete these submission forms as needed or desired.
Will you be arriving on campus alone?
If you plan to arrive at Notre Dame alone (unaccompanied by family, friends, or guardians), please let us know by completing this form by Monday, Aug. 14. This information will help our community welcome you in the best way possible.
Newly Launched Summer To-Do List Items
One of our greatest blessings as a University is our strong community, which comes to us from our Catholic, Holy Cross mission and leads us to cultivate a sense of connection and care for one another. You are expected to participate in and contribute to our community in many ways, and we in turn want to do all that we can to support your safety, your well-being, and your personal formation.
Because your welfare and the values of our community are so important, the University has adopted AlcoholEdu and Building Community the Notre Dame Way as two programs that are part of our comprehensive prevention efforts for new students. These programs cover topics such as appreciating the diverse individuals who make up our community, forming healthy relationships, being safe on and off campus, and providing information and prevention skills for high risk topics.
Both programs are required for all new students, and successful and timely completion of them is necessary as a component of your Moreau First Year Experience course grade.
These programs open on Friday, July 28 and must be completed prior to August 17, 2023.
Note for Gateway Program Participants
We recognize that some transfer students are entering Notre Dame as members of the Gateway Program, which allows select students to enroll at Holy Cross College for their first year of college with a guaranteed transfer agreement to Notre Dame for the start of the student’s sophomore year. Gateway students have already completed AlcoholEDU and BCND as a portion of their program and are not required to recomplete them.
AlcoholEdu
The first program, AlcoholEdu for College, is a nationwide, evidence-based online module that will provide you with education on these topics and help you develop critical skills to make more thoughtful and intentional decisions. This online module is interactive and will take about one hour to complete.
Alcohol and drug use are significant issues in the lives of students in college, and this affects individuals as well as families and friends. Like many universities, our community is impacted by alcohol and other substance use. We promote the health and well-being of all students, and as such, illegal drugs are prohibited at Notre Dame. We encourage all students to be aware of new dangers nationally due to substances such as fentanyl being found in recreational drugs obtained without a prescription like oxycodone or adderall. The University’s policies on illegal drugs and controlled substances can be found in du Lac: A Guide to Student Life. AlcoholEdu is designed to help you develop critical skills to make more thoughtful and intentional choices, reduce the negative consequences of alcohol use, and prepare to join a strong community of individuals working to make Notre Dame a safer and healthier community. Our aim is that you will employ the skills learned in this course to find safety, wellness, and a sense of belonging at Notre Dame. In addition, your participation in confidential course surveys guides our programming decisions and how we engage in these important conversations as a community for the rest of the academic year.
The steps outlining how to complete AlcoholEdu can be found here. If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being (574-631-7970 or mcwell@nd.edu).
Building Community the Notre Dame Way
As a University community, we care deeply about preventing all types of harm. Racism, other types of discrimination, harassment, and interpersonal violence are troubling challenges in our nation, and they have absolutely no place at Notre Dame. Building Community the Notre Dame Way (BCND) is designed to help prevent these instances from occurring and provide you with skills and strategies to join our community’s commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all. You can help make our campus one where everyone feels a sense of belonging, is free from violence, and can flourish. There are two components to BCND: online modules with assessments and small group discussion within your Moreau First Year Experience course.
To access the BCND modules, follow the instructions outlined here. You do not have to complete the entire program in one sitting. However, you will need to complete a module's assessment successfully to be checked off on that particular topic. Some are longer than others but the average video lasts 8 minutes.
Notes: Some of the modules deal with difficult issues such as sexual assault, relationship violence and discrimination. If at any time, you need someone to talk to or process the information with, please feel free to contact the University Counseling Center at 574-631-7336 (confidential) or the Gender Relations Center (non-confidential) at 574-631-9340. For more information about resources, visit SpeakUp.nd.edu.
If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact the Office of Student Affairs at
osa@nd.edu.
Additional Resources
Despite our best efforts at prevention, if you are impacted by interpersonal violence or acts of discrimination, know that your University stands ready to support you. SpeakUp is a tool you can use to share your experience, and a variety of other resources exist to offer confidential support and alternative reporting options. We want to know about your experiences so we can respond effectively and make our campus inclusive for everyone.
Each of these required programs will help you prepare to contribute to sustaining a safe, caring, and inclusive community. Please know that we and our colleagues across the University are committed to your development and formation, and we will do all that we can to support you as a member of our community.
We wish you safe travels to campus, and we look forward to welcoming you home soon!
Sincerely,
Emily Orsini
Program Director for New Student Engagement and Formation
Division of Student Affairs
E. Andrew Whittington
Director of First Year Programs
Center for University Advising
