Programs and Resources
The First-Year Program
The First-Year Academic Programming Team at Landmark College is committed to supporting new students through a welcoming community and supportive academic environment. Transitioning college students, especially those who learn differently, benefit from an intentional approach to education that acknowledges the differing needs of developing learners. Through curricular offerings, academic advising, and our network of support, we provide an intellectual framework that introduces students to the cognitive, physical, and affective dimensions of learning. We inform our best practices through current research and practical experiences in order to provide this exceptional collegiate environment.
Guiding Principles
- Assignments are relevant and meaningful.
- Course objectives and purpose of assignments are clearly explained.
- Feedback on assignments is prompt.
- Academic policies, course work, and expectations are explicit.
- Student progress in course objectives is assessed using a variety of methods.
- Study skills and learning strategies are integral to classroom instruction, assignments, and assessment.
- Self-understanding and metacognition are encouraged at every level of the curriculum.
- Support services are considered integral to the First-Year Program and are introduced in the First-Year courses as well as Academic Advising.
Network of Support Services
The First-Year Programming Team at Landmark College introduces students to the many support services on campus and how to access these supports. The overarching idea is to help students work with their strengths and challenges and to become more aware of themselves as learners. Students are encouraged to utilize the professional support offered through the Drake Center for Academic Support (DCAS), Coaching, Counseling, Advising, and office hours with professors.
Assistive and Adaptive Technology
The First-Year Programming Team understands that for many students the use of assistive/adaptive technology can be a necessary tool for accessing and engaging with class materials. Our faculty introduces students to a variety of technology tools based on the learning profiles and level of curriculum. We also recognize that for students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and ASD, tools and learning strategies that incorporate technology may be vital to achieving academic success. Exposing students to technology (such as text readers, graphic organizers, and speech-to-text software) enables our students to participate actively in the learning process without the overwhelming obstacles caused by difficulties with decoding, comprehension, working memory, and inattention. These powerful technology tools can help improve reading and writing fluency, comprehension, organization, and retention of information.
Academic Placement and Points of Entry
Because all students at Landmark College experience some type of learning difficulty, we strive to place students accurately based on their skill level and academic ability. The First-Year Programming and Placement Team carefully examines each student’s admission file including the psycho-educational evaluation, which contains cognitive and achievement testing results. This information helps us to determine which point of entry is most appropriate for the individual student. Personal attention at this level of detail is one of the features that makes Landmark College unique. After all placement material is read and discussed, the student is placed in one of three entry points (Points of Entry): the Language Intensive Curriculum (LIC), the Partial-Credit Curriculum (PC), or the Credit Curriculum.
Credit Curriculum
The Credit Curriculum is designed for students who have the skills and ability to engage actively with college-level material and concepts. Within the credit option, students will be placed in either a reading fluency focus or an academic self-management focus.
Core Requirements
FY 1011 Perspectives in Learning
EN 1011 College Composition and Rhetoric
Partial-Credit Curriculum
The Partial-Credit Curriculum is designed for students whose reading and writing skills are below college level. The partial-credit curriculum provides an intensive semester of skill and strategy instruction designed to help students prepare for the rigor of the credit curriculum. Assistive technology is emphasized as a tool for accessing college instruction and assignments. Students take two non-credit, developmental courses to improve writing and study skills while also taking two credit-level courses, including the required “Foundations in Learning” and a credit elective such as art, math, world languages, or physical education. Partial-credit students are also required to take a reading lab, which is a component of their First-Year Studies class.
Please note: In order to move to the credit curriculum students must pass their two required courses with a “C–” or better within two semesters.
Core Requirements
FY 1001 Foundations in Learning
FY 0901 Reading Lab
EN 0911 Developmental Writing
Language Intensive Curriculum
The Language Intensive Curriculum (LIC) is a non-credit, one to two semester intensive program for students with significant learning issues in the areas of reading and writing. The LIC emphasizes the use of assistive technologies to help students develop skills that will be required in the credit program. Students take three developmental courses in writing, reading comprehension and communication, plus a reading decoding class using the Wilson Reading System. Students who enter the Language Intensive Curriculum must be interested in learning and using the many technology tools that will become part of their repertoire when they take credit-level classes in subsequent semesters. In order to move to the partial credit or credit level, students must demonstrate reading, writing and technology proficiency within two semesters.
Assistive Technology and the Language Intensive Curriculum
Students accepted into the Language Intensive Curriculum are required to use a laptop that has been installed with the required technology software to facilitate in-class instruction and practice. It is the students’ responsibility to make use of this software. Training in the use of the technology is integrated into the coursework across the curriculum.
Required Non-Credit Core
FY 0111 Developing Reading & Study Strategies
EN 0111 Fundamentals of Writing
CO 0111 Language and Communication
DS 0111 Wilson Small Group Instruction I
Eligibility for Wilson Reading Instruction
Wilson small-group reading instruction is available through Step 9 to eligible students in the program.
Students are eligible to receive Wilson small-group reading instruction under the following conditions:
- They are placed in the Language Intensive Curriculum (LIC) and are determined to be eligible for the Wilson program during initial screening.
- Students move into upper levels of the curriculum and wish to continue with the program, and they are willing to make room for it in their schedule.
- Students do not place into the LIC, but decoding is noted as a learning issue during the placement process.
- Students are not in the LIC but decoding is observed to be a learning issue by an advisor or classroom professor. In this case, the student is referred to the Wilson supervisor and is screened to determine that Wilson instruction is appropriate. Additionally, the Wilson Reading class must fit the student’s course schedule.
Students are ineligible to receive Wilson small-group reading instruction under the following conditions:
- They have demonstrated a lack of commitment to the program by not attending classes regularly over a period of 2 semesters and have received formal warning in ISIS.
- They have been administratively withdrawn from the Wilson reading instruction.
Attendance in Wilson Reading Instruction Small Groups
Wilson small-group reading instruction is an intensive program that requires regular attendance to make progress. Missing a class negatively affects the individual student as well as the group. For these reasons, a student may be Administratively Withdrawn from a group if they accrue enough absences to affect their ability to maintain their place in their group, and/or at the discretion of the instructor. If a student drops Wilson or is Administratively Withdrawn, we cannot guarantee that they will be able to re-enter the Wilson program.
Common Core Requirements
Click here for the Common Core Requirements
Academic Concentrations
Academic concentrations are available to students as an option in the Landmark College curriculum. A Landmark concentration, constituting the successful completion of 15 or more credits defined by academic departments/programs and the Academic Dean, serves to promote and enhance students’ personal goals and build a sense of accomplishment. By designating a concentration, a student affords the advantage of focusing on and drawing upon an area of interest and strength. The concentration option is voluntary, and declaration of a concentration is not a requirement to earn a degree from Landmark College.
At present, Landmark College offers seven concentration options. For details on the course options in each concentration, refer to the department in which they are housed:
- Business Studies (Business)
- Communication (Communication)
- Creative Writing (English)
- Education (Social Sciences)
- Media Studies (Communication)
- Natural Sciences (Natural Sciences)
- Psychology (Social Sciences)
Awarding of Degrees
Landmark College confers degrees three times a year at commencement exercises in May, and December. Degrees are offered in August for Spring “walkers,” but no formal commencement exercises are held.
Graduation Rates
As per Public Law 101-542, The Student Right-To-Know and Campus Security Act, graduation rate information is available through the Office of the Registrar.
Course Offerings
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Program Offerings
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