Make Connections at USU Blanding

Connections is a two-credit academic course designed to ease your transition to Utah State by helping you understand the purpose of higher education and how you can intentionally take advantage of the many opportunities and resources available to you as a college student.

Make Connections

  • Find your why
  • Understand your responsibilities and opportunities
  • Develop a mindset of success and belonging
  • Meet your mentors

Contact Us

Christian Haws

Christian Haws

Coordinator - First Year Experience

Admissions

Phone: (435) 459-9263
Office Location: Blanding, HSL 210

Connections Objectives

The Connections objectives have been framed as three big questions that students should be able to answer at the end of the course. In referencing assignments, workshops, and activities back to the big questions, we focus on the "whys" and "hows" of a university education. The intention is to help students become "intentional learners" who understand how to get the most out of their education and how to address challenges that affect college students.

Why am I here?

  • What does it mean to become a learner, and what are the intellectual habits of mind that allow learners to contribute to society - within professions and communities - as Citizen Scholars?
  • How is the Utah State University degree and each course intentionally designed to help me become a Citizen Scholar?
  • How will I intentionally design my university experience in order to develop the intellectual habits of mind needed to contribute to my community?

How do I best engage myself in the process of becoming an educated person?

  • What behavioral habits of mind do successful students have?
  • What behavioral habits do I have that are productive, and which do I need to develop to succeed at the university and beyond?
  • How will I intentionally engage with available resources to help me meet my goals?

How do I become a fully engaged member of the university community?

  • What are USU's shared values, ad why are they essential to creating a safe, respectful, and engaging learning community?
  • How do I enact these values, and engage in building my own learning community, and cultivate a sense of belonging within the Aggie family?
  • What have I learned from Connections about how to intentionally build and maintain mentoring relationships?

2024 Connections Dates

New Student Orientation

August 20, 2024

3:00 pm, Check-in  | HSL
3:30 - 5:00 pm, Orientation  |  HSL 129
5:00 - 6:00 pm, Speaker and Dinner  |  BAEC

Parent Orientation

August 20, 2024

3:00 pm, Check-in  |  HSL
3:30 - 5:00 pm, Orientation  |  Blanding Hogan
5:00 - 6:00 pm, Speaker and Dinner  |  BAEC

Connections Class

August 20, 2024

1:00 pm, Connections Check-In and Campus Housing  |  Quad

August 21 - 23, 2024

9:00 am - 5:00 pm, +Evening activities each night

Weekly workshops through October.

What Do You Learn in Class?

Classes discuss the importance of failure and resilience, and how students can go about developing habits of mind that will help them professionally, civically, and personally throughout their lives.

  • Resilience and Overcoming Challenges
  • Building a Learning Community
  • Time Management
  • Intentionally Planning a Degree
  • Becoming a Learner
  • Communication and Conflict Resolution
  • Inclusion and Upstanding
  • Logistics of Navigating USU

Prepare to Attend Connections

Attending Fall 2024 Connections

Arrange your Schedule

Attendance in Connections is mandatory. Much of the learning that occurs in Connections is a result of participation in class discussions and activities. It is difficult, if not impossible, to recreate or make up a missed class or workshop. Class for Connections is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. The Connections luminary is also considered mandatory class time, and it is held Friday night from 7:00 - 10:00 pm. Arrange your schedule and work obligations accordingly.

Plan your Meals

Connections students meals will be provided from the cafeteria. Connections instructors will provide lunch one day (Wednesday, Thursday or Friday) during the week.

Log Into Canvas: August 14

Log into your Connections Canvas course and participate in the summer homework discussion about "Becoming a Learner". This assignment is due before you arrive at class on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, at 9:00 am.

Submit your Waiver: Mid-August

Log into Canvas and submit your waiver as a "quiz" in your Connections course before class starts. If you will be under 18 years of age prior to August 23, 2023, you are required to have your parents or guardians sign in ink and upload a signed waiver to that quiz.

Check Into Housing: Starting August 20, 2024 (Details to Come)

If you are living on campus, you may check in to your apartment starting August 22, 2023. Details for on-campus housing will come directly from the area office where you are living.

Check In and Parent Orientation: Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Check-in will begin at 2:00 pm. Sign in, get your t-shirt and get prepared for Connections.

Attend Evening Activities

After classes during Connections week, students are invited to participate in various evening activities. Whether you are from Monticello, UT or Window Rock, AZ, you will benefit from meeting other students and making connections with your peers. Evening activities are not optional.