First-Year Forums

Learning in college isn’t just inside the classroom, and that’s why Kalamazoo College offers the First-Year Forum program series for all first-year students during their fall term.

First-Year Forums are programs (usually 1-2 hours in length) offered throughout the fall term on topics important for first-year students (time management, study abroad/away, personal safety, civic engagement in Kalamazoo, career planning, and more!). These engaging programs are facilitated by faculty, staff, and sometimes even upper-class students.

First-year students are required to attend one program in each of five different categories:

  • Social Justice and Civic Engagement
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • Personal Decision Making and Habits
  • Career and Professional Development
  • Academic Success and Independent Scholarship

Multiple unique programs are offered throughout the quarter in each of the five categories, so students can pick and choose what programs to attend based on their interest and schedule.

Forum attendance is logged as part of the First-Year Seminar grade. If students do not attend at least one Forum in each group, two percentage points for each Forum missed will be deducted from the final Seminar grade.