First-Year Experience Program
Your freshman year begins a whole new stage of life! The First Year Experience (FYE) is designed to provide support and encouragement throughout your first year, and help ensure that you succeed both personally and academically. All areas of the University collaborate to connect freshman students with our community and aid in your success.
Components like Orientation, Common Read, and First Year Convocation support and encourage you as you tackle your first year on campus. FYE will also be instrumental in helping students overcome challenges like: adjusting to a new place, managing time and workload, starting new relationships, clarifying values, establishing autonomy and addressing a host of other developmental issues. Along the way, you will also get to know your classmates and gain new skills.
The FYE features an integrated first six weeks of programming specially designed for first-year residential students. The program includes weekly shopping trips, monthly Eastern Market activities, retention initiatives (Titans Success Network) and direct focus on interpersonal relationships.
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Residential Experience Program
The Residential First-Year Experience (FYE) program is designed to assist students through the transitions and experiences of being a first-year student.
Many first-year students experience
- New academic challenges
- New friends
- New romances
- First time living away from home
- New interests
- New decisions
- New routines
- New adventures
- New outlooks on life
As a Detroit Mercy student, your First-Year Experience can be whatever you make it and our program is there to help you make it the best it can be.
Components of Residential FYE
Bringing first year students together to share a common living space allows you to transition through your first year with someone who may be experiencing the same things.
Each first year hall has a number of FYE Resident Advisers, who are there to provide support and be a resource for first-year students. Also, because only first-year students reside in FYE buildings, there is a strong network of support and understanding developed through shared experiences and struggles.
All students are expected to sign and follow a Community Living Agreement. This agreement has been designed to maintain appropriate community standards to enable both study and social interaction to occur. Of particular note, Residential FYE provides an alcohol-free environment as the vast majority of the participants are under the age of 21.
Programmatic Component
Educational and social opportunities are essential to your development in your first year of college. The Residence Life staff provides a wide range of programs specifically geared toward your needs as a first-year student.
Some of the topics covered through programming include:
- Roommate relationships
- Nutrition and health
- Decision making
- Homesickness
- Managing your finances
- Diversity/cultural issues
- Study skills/test-taking skills