Key Points of Engagement
First-Year Students
First-Year Student Orientation
Point Person: Meghan Gregory
Lead Unit: Center for Student Success
Date: June and July
Description: The Orientation program is offered to all incoming students prior to their first semester at
Ramapo. The Center for Academic Advisement and First-Year Experience sponsors first-year and transfer
student orientations throughout the summer for those students who are admitted for the fall semester
and in the fall/winter for those students who are admitted for the spring semester. Students utilize an
online system to register for orientation. At orientation, students receive the information needed to
start a successful academic and social experience at Ramapo College. Orientation programs include
course advisement and an overall introduction to faculty, staff, and all campus resources. The
orientation program also provides participants with many opportunities to connect with student
orientation leaders, leaders of clubs and organizations, and other incoming students and future
classmates.
Summer Reading and Convocation
Point Person: Director of First Year Seminar
Lead Unit: Director of FYS/Summer Reading Selection Committee/President’s Office
Date: Summer/Day 3 of Welcome Week
Description: First-Year Seminar is the home of the Ramapo College Summer Reading Program. All
incoming first-year students will be required to read a common book selected by students, faculty, and
staff members, which will be used as a discussion topic in the FYS course. Students are expected to read
the book during the summer months prior to joining the Ramapo community and they will be asked to
discuss issues raised in the reading and to write thoughtful responses to questions that develop in the
course of engaging discussions. The summer reading is chosen each year by a committee of students,
faculty, and staff from the Ramapo College community. The committee uses the following criteria to
select the reading:
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Academic Merit - The subject of the book is based on important issues that can elicit rich
discussions in First-Year Seminar courses. Students will learn something new or something more
deeply after having read the book. The material should challenge a reader’s thinking.
Diverse Subject - The subject of the book is diverse enough to appeal to a large number of
students across the disciplines.
Relevant Subject - The subject of the book is current, thought-provoking, and relevant to firstyear students.
Accessible Style - The book is written in a manner that is understandable to first-year students.
The book does not rely on references to arcane subjects or use dated analogies to make a point.
Engaging Author - The author is an engaging individual with good speaking skills and has the
ability to hold an audience’s attention. (Use You Tube or the web to find interviews involving the
author to determine this trait.)
Related to Ramapo College’s Academic Mission – Books that have a subject that is
interdisciplinary, international, intercultural understanding, or sustainability. Later in the fall,
students will attend Convocation, where typically the author of the summer reading speaks.
AlcoholEdu
Point Person: Cory Rosenkranz
Lead Units: Center for Health and Counseling Services
Date: August and October
Description: AlcoholEdu for College is a two- to-three-hour program produced by Outside the
Classroom. Delivered in an interactive Web-based format, the course provides basic facts about alcohol
use and provides students with online feedback about alcohol-related health behaviors. The course
includes five modules and is completed in two parts.
New-Student Assembly and Arching
Point Person: Meghan Gregory/Eddie Seavers
Lead Unit: Center for Student Success/Center for Student Involvement
Date: Day 1 of Welcome Week
Description: During New Student Assembly, new students and their family members receive an official
welcome to Ramapo, including remarks from President Peter Mercer, the Vice President of Student
Affairs and Enrollment Management, the Director of Student Success, and president of the Student
Government Association. Immediately following the New-Student Assembly, all new students are invited
to participate in an annual Ramapo tradition. President Mercer shakes the hand of every new student as
they enter the College by walking through the Arch, which marks the beginning of their career at
Ramapo. Family members stand along Mansion Road to cheer and symbolically release their sons and
daughters to the community.
Maroon Madness
Point Person: Kathleen Finnegan
Lead Unit: Athletics, Intramurals and Recreation
Date: Day 1 of Welcome Week
Description: The purpose of this event is to introduce new students to the programs and services
available through Athletics, Intramurals and Recreation and introduce them to Maroon Mondays and
the concept of being a Ramapo Rowdie. New students will receive their official Ramapo Rowdie T-Shirt
and participate in the following activities:
 Workshop on health and lifestyle
 Live Music and a Host for the Evening
 Contests and Prizes
 Late Night Dining/BBQ
 Game Room
 Rock Wall
 Pool Party
 Fitness Center
 Basketball/Volleyball in the Aux Gym
 Zumba and/or a Spinning sample class in the Dance Room
 Photo booth in the Spectator Lobby
 Introduction/Celebration of the Fall Athletes (Upperclassmen only – Freshmen would take part
in the evening)
Choices and Consequences
Point Person: Cory Rosenkranz
Lead Units: Center for Health and Counseling Services & Judicial Affairs
Date: Day 2/3 of Welcome Week
Description: Choices and Consequences is an interactive workshop that provides students with
information about informed decisions they can make if they choose to drink alcohol in order to minimize
negative consequences. This workshop reviews protective factors and risk factors about alcohol. The
workshop provides students with their own personalized Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) card based
on their weight and gender to help facilitate them “staying in the green zone” (safe zone) should they
choose to consume alcohol. The workshop also provides students with pertinent information about the
College’s Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Policy, including an overview of the expected sanctions for
violations.
Green Dot
Point Person: Kat McGee
Lead Unit: Center for Student Involvement
Date: Day 2/3 of Welcome Week
Description: A green dot is any action that either directly prevents interpersonal violence or challenges
the cultural attitudes that allow violence to continue. The Green Dot program is critical for first year
students for three reasons. The first is the importance of reducing interpersonal violence (including
sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking) which 25% of females and 5% of males at
Ramapo College report surviving. The program provides individuals with the necessary knowledge to
identify situations that could potentially lead to violence and the skills to intervene in some way to
prevent violence from occurring. The high rates of violence are comparable to other college institutions
and reflect a problem within our larger culture. This leads to the second reason Green Dot is critical: it
promotes bystander intervention through empathy building and an increased sense of college
community. Lastly, in recognition that primary prevention is not always possible, Green Dot also
introduces students to campus resources related to interpersonal violence and clarifies relevant policies
(i.e. the Good Samaritan policy, confidentiality protocol, etc.) so that survivors and their support
systems are fully informed of their rights and options.
Club Bites/Taste of Tuesdays
Point Person: Cory Rosenkranz/ Eddie Seavers
Lead Units: Center for Health and Counseling Services & Center for Student Involvement
Date: Day 3 of Welcome Week
Description: Club Bites, is a carnival like setting with recreational activities such as food and novelties
hosted by student groups. The goal is to promote healthy choices by providing entertainment and
socialization without the presence of alcohol. The event serves as an alternative to attending parties on
campus, serves as a way for students to socialize with each other, and to learn about the student clubs
and organizations on campus. The event is set up where all student groups are invited to have a table
with an activity that students can participate in. Taste of Tuesdays showcases the offerings that happen
each Tuesday night throughout the semester with activities in Linden Hall and the Scott Student Center.
First-Year Seminar
Point Persons: Director of First Year Seminar
Lead Units: FYS
Date: Fall Semester
Description: Designed for first-time, full-time, first-year students, First-Year Seminar (FYS) provides a
comprehensive introduction to college-level learning. Seminar courses are developed around an
academic theme or topic that is based on one of Ramapo College’s academic pillars. First-Year students
will have the opportunity to select a seminar that best suits their interests while learning about
Ramapo’s academic foundation. The First-Year Seminar course helps students in their transition from
high school to college life both in and out of the classroom. The common learning outcomes of FYS are:
critical and creative thinking, college-level writing, oral communication, information literacy, and
technological competency. FYS classes re small to emphasize open discussion and experiential learning
within the context of the theme of the seminar course. FYS is also the home of the Ramapo Summer
Reading Program; all first-year students read the same book and discuss and write about it in their
seminars. FYS encourages new students to participate in a community of learners, to strengthen their
critical thinking skills, and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Peers
Point Person: Director of Student Success
Lead Unit: Center for Student Success
Date: Fall Semester
Description: As an added resource for first-year students, each section of First-Year Seminar (FYS) will
have a peer facilitator. This upper-level student will attend the FYS class and assist the instructor with
the academic topics covered in this seminar. He or she will serve as a discussion leader on issues that
pertain to students’ personal and social development and will also facilitate weekly discussions on the
class readings. The peer facilitator will be the students’ mentor and will be available to students to
provide guidance on navigating the different personal and social hurdles that students may encounter in
the first year at Ramapo. Peer facilitators play an essential role in each FYS class ensuring that first-year
students have guidance from a more experienced student.
Student Involvement Fair
Point Person: Eddie Seavers
Lead Unit: Center for Student Involvement
Date: September and January
Description: All student clubs/organizations/sororities/fraternities will be invited to have tables
showcasing their organizations. The Student Involvement Fair is an opportunity for student clubs and
organizations to present information about their organizations. Participating organizations staff tables
where they display information, answer questions, and sign up interested students. The Student
Involvement Fair is a means for all students, and in particular new students, to find out about the wide
variety of student clubs and organizations that Ramapo offers. The Student Involvement Fair typically
occurs during the second week of each semester. During the fall semester, it is held outside the Student
Center (inside the Student Center during inclement weather). During the spring semester, it is held
inside the Student Center.
Advising
Point Person: Michelle Johnson
Lead Unit: Center for Student Success
Date: throughout the academic year
Description: The Center for Student Success oversees a comprehensive academic advisement team
comprised of faculty and staff who interact in an intentional manner with our diverse student
population. Faculty and professional advisors assist students with identifying, clarifying and
accomplishing their academic, experiential and civic engagement goals through the College’s mission to
educate global, engaged citizens through our rich liberal arts tradition. All first-year students are
assigned a Professional Advisor in the Center for Student Success and the Advisor visits every First-Year
Seminar (FYS). Professional Advisors are responsible for teaching students about the Ramapo College
curriculum, the academic advisement process, the registration procedures and the Four-Year Plan in
FYS.
First-Year Career Awareness
Point Person: Beth Ricca
Lead Unit: Cahill Career Development Center
Date: Throughout the first year
Description: Introduction to the Career Development Center, career programs, resources and the
Archway during FYS. Classroom visits will be coordinated through Peers and conducted by professional
career advisors. In the spring semester, school specific career information sheets will be distributed by
the Center for Student Success followed by personal emails from career advisors to students following
their advising appointments.
Spring Peer Reunion
Point Person: Tracey Pastorini
Lead Unit: Center for Student Success
Date: February
Description: The Spring Peer Reunion Dinner is open to all first-year students and is led by Student
Success. Peer Facilitators from the fall semester are invited to attend and support the dinner. The
Reunion Dinner is aimed at reconnecting the first-year students with their upper class mentors and
allowing students the opportunity to mingle and network with each other. This progressive style dinner
features activities led by the Peer Facilitator Interns and returning Peer Facilitators at each stage to help
students explore more about themselves, their peers, and the campus.
World Expo
Point Person: Ben Levy
Lead Unit: Roukema Center for International Education
Date: April
Description: This celebratory event will highlight all regions of the world through a variety of activities;
music, dance, art, workshops, lectures, and so much more. The all-campus event will acknowledge the
exciting international activities the College community is involved with through study abroad,
international research, service-learning and co-curricular programs.
FYE End of Year Event: Admit One to the Sophomore Year
Point Person: Meghan Gregory
Lead Unit: Center for Student Success
Date: April
Description: To bookend the Seniors only dinner that occurs it with be a first-year only dinner in the
Pavilion dining hall. It will have a movie premier theme including a slide show of photos provided by the
students and yearly activities. A DJ will be playing in the dining hall. Flyers and information about the
sophomore year programming will be distributed. Members of the SYE Board will also be present to
mingle with the students to discuss wants and needs in the upcoming year. In the trustees pavilion
lobby and rooms there will be dessert, resource tables, activity booths and interactive stations reflecting
on the past year to future plans.