Captains Launch
Kickstart Your College Journey with Captains Launch!
Welcome aboard, Captains! Captains Launch is an exclusive virtual summer transition program designed to give newly admitted freshmen a head start on their college journey. College is going to be hard, there's no way around it. But this program is designed to make your college experience a breeze. This unique opportunity offers enhanced support to help you thrive and also provides you with the information you need to be a successful member of our campus community.
We have designed specific topic areas that we know contain the information you need while navigating the challenges of being a college student. These aren’t very long, but will give you the opportunity to prepare yourself for those first couple of weeks and beyond.
Set sail with what it means to be successful in college—academically, socially, and personally. You will:
- Build meaningful connections with fellow Captains
- Learn how to navigate campus resources
- Develop effective communication skills with faculty & staff
- Master digital tools for academic success
Included in this transformative program is entry into College 140 - The Transitional Learner, a two-credit course that’ll help shape your time here at CNU!
College 140 makes adjusting to university life a breeze, helping you with:
- Setting and achieving your goals
- Enhancing your academic skills for long-term success
- Developing consistent, sustainable routines
- Empowering your journey with on-campus resources
By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of learning strategies, problem-solving skills, and the academic tools you need to shine in the classroom and beyond.
Are you ready to launch into success? Let’s do this, Captain!
Topics
In the Launch program, you will learn a variety of life and study skills. Topics covered in the online modules may include:
This session will teach you how to navigate the various information sources as well as access key resources only found through CNU’s "interweb."
You heard about them at Setting Sail, now get a closer look at all of the support systems designed to help you succeed.
You'll meet Frankfurt Furstyear, a first-year student who's having a bit of a problem communicating with his professors. Through various scenarios, this session will ask you to guide Frankfurt as he learns how to build relationships with faculty, staff and administrators to get the help he needs (includes homework assignment).
In this session, we will explore your personal and academic priorities, reflect on personal responsibility in high school and predict how managing life will change in college. You will learn strategies to manage your time and commitments while balancing college demands (includes homework assignment).
Twenty-five to thirty hours of study time per week? How do successful students fill that time? Certainly not with busy work! This session will provide an overview of the SOAR study method (which is covered in College 140), in addition to providing strategies to make the most of study time (includes homework assignment).
In this session, you will learn:
- The "80 / 20 rule"
- The differences between learning in high school versus the expectations of college professors
- What it means to learn intentionally
- How to read and understand a syllabus
- Christopher Newport's academic integrity expectations
Based on Carol Dweck's research, this session will explore how what you believe about yourself can truly affect your success.
You will learn the components of GRIT and explore how developing effective coping skills can help when things don't always go as you plan. Once again, Frankfurt needs some help when he fails at things he once thought were easy. Students will help Frankfurt find the emotional GRIT to get back up and try again (includes homework assignment).
The Campus Experience Module is a collection of fun activities, small-group discussions and large-group experiences designed to support the topics covered online and allow you to meet and interact with your peers and peer mentors.
Important Dates
Launch will take place between Monday, July 14 - Friday, August 15!
COLL 140
All students who participate in Captains Launch will automatically be enrolled in COLL 140 The Transitional Learner. This is a two-credit course that meets twice a week to assist you with your transition to the college environment. Your instructor will give you study skills and resources and will show you how they can be directly applied to your coursework! A Peer Mentor and your instructor also help you to manage your time and check in with you during your first semester.