Program Highlights
PaSSS provides select students with opportunities to earn funding to support summer course enrollment and engagement opportunities during the semester prior to their first year and continuing through the first and second years of enrollment at a Penn State Commonwealth campus that participates in PaSSS.
During the initial summer, the PaSSS program is designed to help first-year students network with campus faculty and staff, make friends early within a learning community, and get a head-start on college. Participating in the PaSSS program will give you a smoother transition from high school to college, to improve your chances of graduating in four years or less, and, ultimately, to help you save money and reduce college debt.
PaSSS course offerings will run six weeks from June 29 through August 12, with classes and programming 4 days per week, Monday through Thursday, from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. A program kickoff will occur on Wednesday, June 29.
Participants will:
- Make early progress toward a Penn State Degree by completing two courses, which will advance academic progress and fulfill general education requirements, regardless of major
- Receive a $2,000 scholarship applied to tuition for two 3-credit courses
- Participate in academic success, peer mentoring, and co-curricular programming designed to help develop strong study habits, support student success, and enhance the student engagement experience in preparation for a full schedule of classes in the fall
- Participate in Math Academy to increase college readiness
- Continue with cohort connections, peer mentoring, and a PaSSS first-year seminar during the fall and spring semesters
- Build your resume early through campus work experience and the opportunity to serve as a peer mentor in future summers
- Have the opportunity to take up to 12 credits across the summers after the first and/or second year with a maximum award of $4,000 and earn additional funds through fulfilling a personalized engagement plan—developed during the program—that offers PaSSS students the opportunity to conduct research with a faculty member, earn a stipend for an unpaid internship or service learning project, or continue campus employment
Courses
Integrative Arts INART 1: The Arts
M,T,W, Th from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
The Arts is a course designed to give students an integrative experience of the themes and purposes common among the arts, visual, performing, and literary. Students are given the opportunity to view and discuss many forms of art, learning a specific vocabulary for discussing each artistic form and arriving at an answer to the question "what is art?" The goal of the course is to enhance aesthetic perception by examining works of art, by discerning what can be seen and heard in them, by understanding what those elements are called, and by determining how the artwork creates a response in the viewer or listener.
Instructor: Patrick Daugherty
Communication Arts and Sciences CAS 206: Mediation and Communication
M,T,W, Th from 2:45 to 4:15 p.m.
This course will present the history, theory, and practice of mediation as a means of resolving conflict through communication. The course will acquaint students with conflict as a normal part of the human condition, and specifically with mediation, which involves the intervention of a neutral third party. While Western methods will be emphasized, mediation also plays an important role in non-Western cultures. The course will also acquaint students with communication issues in mediation under study by both professional mediators and communication scholars. This course demonstrates how the different theories and practices of rhetoric and communication can be integrated to produce important positive outcomes not only to individuals in conflict, but also to cultures.
Instructor: LaVarr McBride
First Summer Program Costs and Campus Employment Benefits
Estimated Tuition
Tuition for six credits (two courses): $3,354.00
Summer Student Fee $125.00
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TUITION COSTS: $2,000
ESTIMATED TUITION/FEE OWED AFTER SCHOLARSHIP IS APPLIED: $1,479*
*without possible student aid eligibility from the FAFSA
Books
Estimated Costs: $200
Campus Employment
In addition, you will be offered an on-campus job, which will start in the summer and can continue throughout fall and spring, at the rate of $10/hour with the potential to earn up to $1,000.
Enrollment Date
To enroll in PaSSS, you must accept your offer of admission to Penn State Fayette by paying the $230 acceptance fees and submit the Enrollment Reply Form.
Next Steps to New Student Orientation and PaSSS
As a PaSSS student, you will attend New Student Orientation (NSO) on June 14, 15, 16, or 17, final round of June NSO prior to the PaSSS program kickoff. During NSO, you’ll meet with students, faculty, and staff, learn more about campus resources, schedule courses for your first semester, and become familiar with campus. Please make your NSO reservation for June as soon as possible at the following website: https://orientation.psu.edu/reservation
Check out all of your next steps to NSO on our website at: New Student Orientation Programs.
