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Champ 101 Program

Call or Text: (802) 625-0201

Master the transition to Champlain with Champ 101.

Wondering what Champ 101 is? Great! Now that we have your attention, we're excited to tell you more. Part of our InSight Program's wellbeing theme, Champ 101 is a 10-week program designed specifically for incoming first-year students. The goal? Help you find your footing as you enter college life. Immersing yourself in a new environment can be both exciting and overwhelming. We're here to help you adjust to your new life on campus. Each week, you'll join one or two short workshops focused on building community with your peers and supporting your academic, social, and personal transition.

Champ 101 is a required program that will empower you to become a resilient, college-ready success story. You will:

connect to campus resources, people, and opportunities;

examine your role in creating an inclusive Champlain community;

explore how to care for your personal health and wellbeing; and

learn how to navigate Champlain's policies and procedures.

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Who? You!

To provide you with a consistent and cohesive structure throughout the 10-week program, you will be grouped in a cohort of 20 students and required to attend noncredit-bearing sessions once or twice per week with an assigned staff or faculty facilitator and a peer facilitator.

Are you a transfer student? We encourage you to take part in our Transfer Connections program, a six-week workshop series tailored to creating a sense of belonging and fostering academic success among transfer students.

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What? The Good Stuff.

You will take part in workshops that offer concrete, practical skills and strategies designed to support your successful transition to Champlain. Some of those topics range from the more personal and social "identity development in college years" or "managing homesickness" to more practical and transactional topics of "what's in the Smart Space?" or "how to prepare for advising appointments." There is no out-of-classroom work. (All you need to do is show up, engage, and think about how to use this info in your new everyday life!)

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Why? So You Can Win Big.

If we're being real, college is a big deal. Without the right preparation, it's not a given you'll be successful. We're not saying this to alarm you but to be real with you. We are prepared to give you the resources you need to succeed, and we want you (beg you!) to take advantage of them. Think of Champ 101 as the CliffsNotes for Champlain College. We are committed to setting you up for success from the very start, so you feel empowered to continue your education at Champlain and remain a valuable member of our community for many years to come. Champ 101 is your first-year InSight wellbeing milestone. (Yes, attendance is required to graduate!)

See a breakdown of the program topics below that will teach you how to excel in your new college landscape in Burlington, Vermont.

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Champ 101 Academic Workshops

A few program highlights of academic topics covered during Champ 101 workshops:

What is an add/drop week?
Who is your Academic Specialist? What do they do? How can they help? Where can you find them?
Intro to the SMART Space: academic support and coaching
How and when to use email
How to use Canvas
How to use Student Central
Communicating with professors (office hours, emails, accommodations, etc.)
How to access and interpret midterm grades
How to prepare for next semester, register for classes, and use Student Planning
Are you questioning your major? Learn about resources for support, including your Faculty Advisor, Academic Specialist, and Career Coach. Understand how to change your major and add minors. Explore how to create the best academic experience for yourself and get the most out of your degree.
How to prepare for advising appointments, complete your advising checklist, make appointments with advisors, and evaluate midterm grades.
How to set yourself up for a successful end to the semester: Recognize gaps in time management, plan for big end-of-semester assignments, revisit resources such as the SMART Space and tutors, and get guidance on how to ask faculty for help.

Link to this FAQ

Champ 101 Personal Health & Wellbeing Workshops

A few program highlights of personal health and wellbeing topics covered during Champ 101 workshops:

Who is my support team, and what are their roles?
Identity development in college years
How to assume responsibilities for self
Advocating for your wants and needs while balancing others' wants and needs
Distress Tolerance Planning: What are my triggers, what are signs that I am spiraling, and how do I manage them?
What resources are available where: Counseling Center, Student Health Center, and IDX Student Life Center
Science of habit-making and routines, and developing healthy and useful habits
Identifying your limits and boundaries
Challenges of basic self-care in the college setting (eating, sleeping, hygiene)
Basic body health and sexual health
Neuroscience of physical-mental health
Science behind exercise and sleep

Link to this FAQ

Champ 101 Social Workshops

A few program highlights of social topics covered during Champ 101 workshops:

Searching for a peer group
Isolation
Homesickness
Community building
Engaging with a diverse population
Emotional IQ awareness/tolerance: recognizing conflict is not always bad and learning when/how to ask for mediation/resources
Healthy friendships, relationships, roommates, consent and boundaries, and how trust is built over time
Establishing boundaries around alcohol and other drugs
Psychoeducation around changing friendship groups
Changing dynamics related to both friends and family

Link to this FAQ

"I had an extremely beneficial experience in Champ 101. It helped me find many resources that were useful to me, and I was able to stay on track with my school life thanks to the help from my instructors."

Champ 101 Student, Class of 2026

All That And More

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New Student Experience

Champ 101 is just one wellbeing component of our New Student Experience—a holistic approach to your first year of education at Champlain that also includes Orientation, your first year of Core, and our two additional InSight themes: personal finance and career.

Check it out!