The Momentum Year

Momentum Year is a suite of strategies designed to help University System of Georgia students in their crucial first year of college. We work with students to guide them on a path to achieve their educational goals, including successful degree completion and on-time graduation.

We know that:

• Predictive analytics and proactive advising help keep struggling students on track toward graduation, saving students money in the long term.
• Changes in remedial education that include intensive tutoring in conjunction with courses being taken for credit have led to big jumps in student success rates.
• First-year students who take at least three courses connected to what they think they want to study are 40 percent more likely to graduate than students who do not.  
• Taking 15 hours a semester improves student success as well as shortening the time to graduation.

Evidence-based research confirms that college students are most successful when they:

• Start their college careers by making a purposeful choice in a focus area or program,
• Develop a productive academic mindset,
• Follow clearly sequenced program maps that include:
  • Core English and math
  • Nine credits in the student’s academic focus area, and
  • 30 credits in their first year.  

Put together, these three elements create a Momentum Year for students—a starting point that helps students find their path, get on that path, and build velocity in the direction of their goals.

View the Momentum Year Planning Slides.     View the Momentum Year Planning Webinar