The fall semester doesn’t technically start until next week, but first-year students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga can take their “First Class” this Friday.
Sponsored by Read to Achieve and Student Success Programs, the Class of ‘26 will learn “how to college” in a one-hour course taught by volunteer faculty and staff—each with the help of a current UTC student—in rooms across campus.
“We’re cultivating a culture of investing in our students in those first weeks, even before Welcome Week, and letting them know we’re here for them now and throughout the year,” said Crystal Edenfield, director of Student Success Programs.
“If we can start that culture at the very beginning, it makes it easier for them to engage in class, talk to people face-to-face and just get a little bit of help,” she said.
First Class will focus on college success tips—for both in and outside the classroom—and introduce students to basics like a course syllabus and, more importantly, how to read it and why it’s important.
The class takes place directly after Convocation 2022, a welcome rally at McKenzie Arena for first-year students, and is followed by a resource fair in the Tennessee Room at the University Center from 2-4 p.m. and a Friday Night Lights event at the UTC Sports Complex.
These events and others taking place this week are part of First Flight, a pre-welcome week experience created to help first- and second-year students navigate life at their new home away from home and includes tons of giveaways, from food to school supplies to UTC merch.
First Flight also includes weekend activities such as drop-in tours of the UTC Library, how to navigate campus, registering a device with UTC networks and a field trip to ride the CARTA bus, which is free to current UTC students with a valid student ID.
“A lot of students try to figure out everything on their own and they just need a little help and we’re happy to provide that help on all levels,” Edenfield said.
