Connections is a two-credit academic course designed to ease your transition to Utah State by helping you understand the purpose of higher education and how you can intentionally take advantage of the many opportunities and resources available to you as a college student.
Make Connections
- Find your why
- Understand your responsibilities as a student
- Develop a mindset of success and belonging
- Meet your mentors
- Maximize your opportunities
Contact Us
Brooke Lessar
Staff Assistant - General Advising
Advising, Student Orientation, and Transition Services
Connections Objectives
The Connections objectives have been framed as three big questions that students should be able to answer at the end of the course. In referencing assignments, workshops, and activities back to the big questions, we focus on the "whys" and "hows" of a university education. The intention is to help students become "intentional learners" who understand how to get the most out of their education and how to address challenges that affect college students.
Why am I here?
- What does it mean to become a learner, and what are the intellectual habits of mind that allow learners to contribute to society—within professions and communities—as Citizen Scholars?
- How is the Utah State University degree and each course intentionally designed to help me become a Citizen Scholar?
- How will I intentionally design my university experience in order to develop the intellectual habits of mind needed to contribute to my community as a Citizen Scholar?
How do I best engage myself in the process of becoming an educated person?
- What behavioral habits of mind do successful students have?
- What behavioral habits do I have that are productive, and which do I need to develop to succeed at the university and beyond?
- How will I intentionally engage with available resources to help me meet my goals?
How do I become a fully engaged member of the university community?
- What are USU's shared values, and why are they essential to creating a safe, respectful, and engaging learning community?
- How do I enact these values, and engage in building my own learning community, and cultivate a sense of belonging within the Aggie family?
- What have I learned from Connections about how to intentionally build and maintain mentoring relationships?
There are two ways to take Connections (USU 1010)
Pre-Semester Connections
Wednesday - Friday, August 21-23, 2024
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Connections Luminary Fri. Aug. 23, 8:30-10:00 p.m.
Online assignments through October 18, 2024.
Pre-Semester Connections is only offered fall semester.
Semester Connections
August 26-October 14, 2024
Meet twice a week for 90 minutes for the first seven weeks of the semester.
What Do You Learn in Class?
Classes discuss the importance of failure and resilience, and how students can go about developing habits of mind that will help them professionally, civically, and personally throughout their lives.
- Resilience and Overcoming Challenges
- Building a Learning Community
- Time Management
- Intentionally Planning a Degree
- Becoming a Learner
- Communication and Conflict Resolution
- Inclusion and Upstanding
- Logistics of Navigating USU