A Learning Community is a group of 24 students who take their classes together during their first year. These courses center on a common theme, such as film, science, or health professions. UWG also provides a Learning Community for students who do not know what they want to study—Making Decisions. Learning Communities are available for both residential and commuter students. For more information, visit the Learning Communities website.

UWG 1101 is a class offered only to first-year students in order to ease your transition into college life and inform you of the resources that are available at UWG. This course will lead you through all aspects of college life from learning responsibility in your new freedom as a college student, to improving your writing and critical thinking skills, to understanding the various teaching methods that your college professors might use in the classroom. UWG 1101 is specifically designed for smaller class sizes in order to give you the individual attention you need. For more information, see here.

Honors College students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have diverse academic and social interests. Honors students' majors include all academic undergraduate degree programs offered by the University. What the students have in common is their desire for an innovative, challenging education that, while demanding, is often a lot of fun. For more information, visit the Honors College website.

The FYRST (First-Year Residents Succeeding Together) Program is a unique freshmen-only program that will assist you in achieving academic success by focusing on your needs as a first-year student. Research shows that freshmen who are supported academically, who have a smooth transition to campus life, and who are involved outside of the classroom, typically have higher grades and have a greater chance for graduation. Over the last few years, students who were members of FYRST at UWG had higher GPAs and were more likely to reach graduation than students not in the program. Visit the FYRST website for more information.

iServe Mentoring combines peer mentoring with a voter registration project for freshmen. iServe pairs upper-class peer mentors with first year students to help ease their transition to college life academically and socially. In the Fall 2008 semester, students in the program will participate in a voter registration service project in collaboration with a required POLS 1101, American Government course.

The MAP (Multicultural Achievement Program) Mentoring program provides mentors to first year minority students. MAP Mentors serve as big brothers and big sisters to minority freshmen to help them make a successful transition to college life. Primarily, MAP mentors motivate minority freshmen to succeed academically and socially at West Georgia. MAP mentors are trained upper classmen students paired with approximately 5 minority freshmen. Visit the MAP Mentoring website for more information.

The First-Year Commuter is a brand new mentor program which helps connect first-year commuter students to UWG. Students will meet their mentor at Summer Orientation and they will keep in contact with their mentor (and with Commuter Services staff) throughout the year. The First-Year Commuter program will help connect first-year commuter students with each other, and with residential students, and will help build a sense of community through meetings, events, and programs. Mentors will serve as a resource and are there to support and encourage academic success and involement with UWG. All first-year students who are commuters (not living on campus) are eligible.