What is Elevate?
The Elevate Living Learning Community is designed specifically with first-generation college students in mind to assist them in their transition to college. Residents benefit from major and career exploration as well as assistance in creating a four-year graduation plan. This exclusive program even guarantees access to an English stretch course and assistance in enrolling in a foundational math course.
Elevate also offers one-on-one advising throughout students' entire first year. In addition to academic benefits, Elevate members get to live together, take classes together, and enjoy exclusive social events, giveaways and perks throughout the year.
But one year just isn't enough! Elevate 2.0 is available to sophomore Elevate students who would like to continue their Elevate experience during their second year of college.
Dr. Jennifer Wittman
Elevate Faculty and Curriculum
Coordinator
Email: jpwittman@csustan.edu
Fall 2020 Virtual Office Hours
Schedule an Appointment
Select Elevate
My favorite thing about Stan State is... the students are the best and the
faculty and staff are supportive and helpful. The size of our campus allows us
all to come together and build a really cool community.
Biography
Dr. Wittman is the Faculty Mentor for all first and second year Elevate students. She has been working at Stan State since 2009. She enjoys interacting with students—particularly college freshmen—both inside and outside of the classroom, and she looks forward talking with you about your first- and second-year college experiences. Whether you meet to chat with her in-person or virtually, she hopes to help make your time at Stan State successful and fun!
Students describe Dr. Wittman as understanding, having high expectations, and being easy to talk to. A lot of them also describe her as funny, which, she shares, "...has turned into a running joke at my house. My husband likes to say, 'You’re not funny, you’re goofy.' I like to joke back that he’s just jealous. [laughs] I don’t really know whether I’m funny or not, but we have a lot of fun with it."
When she's not working with college students, Dr. Wittman likes to hang out at home with her family, consisting of a partner, two kids, two dogs, a cat, and her chicken, Mabel! She loves coffee and dogs, big funky earrings and t-shirts, reading articles on current events, and binge-watching shows with her daughter. Dr. Wittman also loves getting new recommendations on shows to watch from Elevate students: "they always have the greatest ideas!"
The purpose of the Elevate Program is to provide an inclusive infrastructure to support historically underrepresented residential students’ personal, academic, social, and professional development during their first and second year of college.
Specific goals for Elevate residents include the development of:
- Problem solving capabilities
- Institutional capital
- Organization
- Time management
- Goal setting
- Curiosity
- Self-awareness
- Self-efficacy
- Initiative
- Adaptability
- Empathy
- Social awareness
- Communication
- Teamwork
This is achieved through community benefits such as:
- Integrated first-year experience with an English Stretch class reserved exclusively for Elevate members as well as reserved seats in Math courses
- Personalized, one-on-one academic advising based on Elevate member's interests and aptitudes
- Social events and outings exclusively for Elevate members
- Exclusive study sessions and access to laptop computers and free printing
- Focused support to graduate in 4 years
- Personalized course recommendations for Elevate members to use as a guide for registration at their New Student Orientation
- Faculty Mentorship who will support Elevate members' transition to college
- Living amidst a connected community of peers, all experiencing college together for the first time
As an Elevate student, you'll be enrolled in two English courses: Stretch A in the fall and Stretch B in the spring. Your roommates and neighbors will be your classmates and you'll even have a faculty mentor to help you throughout the year.
Fall Semester
English 1001: First Year Composition, (3 units)
Satisfies General Education Requirement Area A2
A course in reading and writing expository essays that also introduces students to academic culture in a learning community. In additional to writing essays, students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of college level success skills. Class incorporates technology and information literacy skills.
MDIS 1200: First Year Experience, (1 unit)
Partially Satisfies General Education Requirement Area E
Introductory first-year seminar encourages students to engage with their university education by introducing them to academic culture. Students define personal learning goals through exploration of educational issues, review of University resources, and success skills, and practice in information retrieval and academic writing.
Spring Semester
English 2000: Critical Inquiry, (3 units)
Satisfies General Education Requirement Area A3
The focus of this course is critical thinking, with emphasis split between receptive (reading/listening) and active (writing) exercises. Students will be expected to analyze arguments of others and to produce defensible arguments of their own, both in analytical summaries and in original argumentative essays. Emphasizes the difference between good and bad arguments, as well as the distinction between significant and trivial positions on issues. Satisfies G.E. area A3. Prerequisites: Completion of G.E. area A2.
When you fill out your housing application, self-select the Elevate community as your preferred living community. If you are a current Elevate student and would like to become a member of Elevate 2.0, contact Dr. Jessica Bettencourt Wojciechowski for more information or to reserve your spot.
For more information about Elevate,
please contact Dr. Jessica Bettencourt Wojciechowski or Dr. Jennifer Wittman via email.
Updated: August 13, 2023