CONNECT

CONNECT
2024 CONNECT Participants wearing yellow shifts with blue writing, CONNECT mentors wearing blue shirts with the Beauregard Center logo on them, and Beauregard Center staff, standing in front of Thompson Hall

CONNECT is an early-arrival residential summer program with a focus on incoming first-year students with historically underrepresented backgrounds, including those who are first in their families to attend college. CONNECT participants move in early into on-campus housing, get matched with a trained and experienced peer mentor, explore student resources, and engage in interactive learning, skill building, and social activities.  

Program costs, including on-campus housing, meals, and activities, are covered by the University of New Hampshire. 

Why join CONNECT? 

  • Move in early and make new friends! 

  • Explore UNH and beyond! 

  • Get matched with a peer mentor! 

  • Build a supportive community of peers, faculty, and staff!  

CONNECT Transitions to the Beauregard Center

The CONNECT Program moved to the Beauregard Center in March 2024. Program transition coupled with the budgetary changes, provided an opportunity to review the program and reimagine it for the most effective implementation as an early arrival program. It was essential that the re-imagined program be evidence-based and data-informed. We presented the results of the program review and the vision for the program to campus leadership and partners in April 2024, which was well received. 

Program Goals

After months of deliberative work, we developed evidence-based and data-informed learning outcomes for the program: 

  1. A sense of purpose for obtaining a college degree (sense of purpose for degree, student identity centrality, degree commitment, institutional commitment) 
  2. A sense of belonging at UNH (identification with the university, social match, social acceptance, social support, cultural capital in higher education) 
  3. Experience with the college learning process (familiarity with UNH student resources, academic advising, communication with professors, understanding syllabi) 
  4. Academic Skills (time management, note-taking, exam preparation). 
  5. Wellness Skills (connection of well-being with Academic Success, evaluating mental well-being, strategies for stress or anxiety, communicating consent) 

Continuous Improvement

We developed a robust and comprehensive assessment plan to evaluate program effectiveness. By collecting feedback data from participating UNH staff members, CONNECT student mentors, and CONNECT student participants, we can engage in a continuous improvement process. Furthermore, the CONNECT student participants complete pre and post-evaluations, which allows us to determine the impact of the program.   

Mini Courses

We are collaborating with academic colleges to develop a common interdisciplinary mini-course in alignment with the program goals, which will be implemented in CONNECT 2025. 

"I feel confident that I have a great support system that will help me, not only through my first year at UNH, but all four years." - CONNECT Alum, Class of 2024

"A place of love and fellowship where you get to experience the comfort of a community that wants you and cares about your academic achievement-= that is what CONNECT means to me." - CONNECT Alum, Class of 2020

"My best friends to this day are the ones I made in CONNECT." - CONNECT Alum, Class of 2018

"This program showed me that I could be successful at this university no matter where I come from or what my situation is because there are students just like me getting their degree. It showed me that there is a family here always cheering me on." - CONNECT Alum, Class of 2018