Momentum Approach

General Information

Momentum Approach is a suite of strategies designed to help University System of Georgia students in their crucial first year of college. Evidence-based research confirms that college students are most successful when they do the following:

• Begin their college careers by making purposeful choices in a focus area or program
• Enter with a productive academic mindset
• Follow clearly sequenced program maps that include a core English and Math, 9 credits in the student’s academic focus area, and 30 credits in the first year

Put together, these three elements create a momentum approach for students - a starting point that helps students find their paths, follow their paths, and build velocity in the direction of their goals.

Academic Focus Areas

Supporting this work are academic focus areas that group programs together so that baccalaureate degree-seeking students struggling with uncertainty can pursue coursework from the start that contributes to college completion and also provides exposure to potential majors to help refine post-secondary paths. Courses pursued in the first year in an academic focus area are broadly applicable across a wide range of majors under the focus area umbrella and offer an informative exposure to the subject fields while preventing the completion of unnecessary credits as students narrow their program choices.

Students should consult with their Academic Advisors for information regarding course planning within each focus area.

The academic focus areas at UNG are:

1. Business
2. Education
3. Health Professions
4. Humanities
5. Social Sciences
6. STEM

Associate degree-seeking students may declare a general studies pathway in either science or non-science:

1. General Studies Pathway (Associate of Arts)
2. General Studies Pathway (Associate of Science)