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Osprey First Summer Program

On behalf of the Office of Student Success, we’re excited to partner with faculty to support our incoming students as they begin their academic journeys at UNF. The Osprey First program offers students the opportunity to take two in-person courses during Summer B (typically July to August), while also participating in co-curricular programming designed to build community, confidence, and academic momentum.

Students who complete the program with a 3.0 GPA or higher will receive a $500 Fall scholarship — a powerful incentive to start strong!

But this program is not successful without a strong partnership with our faculty. Review the FAQ below to read more on how the program functions, what students get out of it, and how you can participate.

  • What is my role in the program as a faculty member?

    As a faculty member in Osprey First, you play a vital role in helping students feel welcomed, supported, and engaged. Beyond delivering impactful instruction, you’ll help students build the skills and relationships they need to thrive.

    You will also help them feel connected to UNF at-large. Students will be required to sign up for co-curricular events (the Osprey First Event Calendar can be found in MyNest every summer: https://mynest.unf.edu/portal/osprey_first) to help them engage and foster connections with other University faculty, staff, and their peers. 

    Additionally, you can share information about and normalize various support services on campus, such as the Student Counseling Center for mental health support and Student Academic Success Services for one-on-one peer coaching and tutoring.

  • What support is there for participating faculty?

    Each year there is a Professional Development Program focused on best practices for teaching first-year students.

    Here’s what’s expected:

    1. Attend one required in-person event, such as the Summer B Welcome Cookout
    2. Student Success offers four webinars to faculty teaching in the Osprey First program. Webinars are designed specifically to help enhance faculty's toolkits and provide tips to incorporate into their existing teaching styles, especially regarding support for students making the transition to their first year of college
    You'll also get to work closely with our Osprey Peer Mentors (OPMs). OPMs are selected and overseen by the FYE (First-Year Experience) Coordinator, who will be the primary point of contact. They will share insights during onboarding about integrating mentors into your course sections and will be in contact with you all about next steps.
  • How are students expected to benefit from the program?

    Besides the benefit of engagement mentioned above, this provides a crucial time to highlighting to students the "hidden curriculum", or unspoken norms that can help students succeed, such as:

    • How should they study or prepare for your class, and their futures ones?
    • What does active participation look like?
    • What note-taking or time-management strategies might help them stay on track?
    • When and how should they contact you - and what can they expect from office hours?

    These are critical in positive student development and effective habit-forming, especially for those students early in their academic journey and without the background knowledge on how to be successful in college.

  • Where can I get more information?

    The current FYE Coordinator is Sara Stuart, who can be reached at sara.stuart@unf.edu.

    There is an Osprey First Program website that introduces students to the program.

    Participating faculty will also be invited to an Osprey First Canvas page.