Many liberal arts universities in the United States offer first-year experience courses, and AUx is designed to address the most relevant issues facing students as they navigate their academic success, their personal and community wellness, and their identity and social development.

In recent years, AUx has become one of the leading models nationally for the first-year experience. AUx program staff frequently meets with other colleges and universities to offer insight into design and curriculum development for first-year experience courses. These institutions include: University of Alaska Anchorage, Georgetown University, Southern Methodist University, Portland State University, St. John Fisher College, and Trinity University, 

All incoming first-year and transfer students are required to take AUx1 and AUx2 as part of the AU Core Curriculum. Please see the guidance below for more specifics related to requirements and waivers based on entering class year.

2018-2019: Starting in academic year 2018-2019, all incoming first-year students will be required to take AUx1 and AUx2 as part of the AU Core Curriculum. In fall 2018, students in the International Accelerator Program (IAP) will also take AUx1 in restricted sections and following completion will be mainstreamed into AUx2.

2019-2020: In academic year 2019-2020, transfer students and Mentorship Program students will also take AUx1 in restricted sections and following completion will be mainstreamed into AUx2.

2020-2021: In academic year 2020-2021, transfer students with an Associate's Degree are waived from the AUx1 requirement. Transfer students with an Associate's Degree should enroll directly into a section of AUx2.

2021-2022 & 2022-2023: In academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, external transfer students holding an associate or bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, or transferring 60 credit hours from other regionally accredited two or four year institutions are waived from the AUx1 requirement. External transfer students matching this criteria must submit their transcript, and should work with their advisor to apply an exception to the student’s degree audit. These students should enroll directly into a section of AUx2.

2023-2024: In academic year 2023-2024, AUx1 will be offered as a 1-credit, 10-class course. During this academic year, students will enroll in a section of CORE-196 rather than CORE-100/101. External transfer students holding an associate or bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, or transferring 60 credit hours from other regionally accredited two or four year institutions will be required to complete the AUx1 requirement. 

AUx1 and AUx2 are two of the foundational courses that comprise the AU Core Curriculum. To receive credit for the courses, students must receive a C or higher in both courses.

AUx1 and AUx2 are A-F graded courses that will be co-facilitated by an AUx Instructor and a Peer Facilitator and meet once per week. Readings and videos will be assigned through Canvas as online homework, and students will be asked to complete written assignments prior to their next class meeting. The content will be covered in class discussions, as the students come together as a group to process the material, participate in classroom activities and dialogues, and explore new ways of thinking.

Students who complete AUx1 (1.5 credits) with a C or higher will take AUx2 (1.5 credits) the following semester. Students who receive lower than a C in AUx1 will need to retake the course again and must receive a C or higher before continuing into AUx2.

Students who receive lower than a C in AUx2 will need to retake the course and receive a C or higher to fulfill their AU Core Curriculum requirement.

For full-time students (12-17.5 credit hours), enrollment in AUx1 and AUx2 is part of their tuition and fees total as set by the University. In other words, a student enrolled in 17.5 credits and a student enrolled in 15 credits will pay the same tuition amount. 

For more information about tuition and fees, please visit this website.

The role of the AUx Instructor and Peer Facilitator is to co-facilitate class discussion and activities for their sections of AUx. They work together to coordinate course planning, teaching, and classroom logistics.

The AUx Instructor and Peer Facilitator are also there to help support students during their first year of college at AU, both inside and outside of the classroom. They have been specially selected and trained to work with first-year and transfer students, and are knowledgeable about the resources and opportunities available to them on the American University campus and in the greater Washington, DC area.

AUx uses a co-facilitation model as a way to flatten the hierarchy structure in the classroom environment.

The majority of the AUx1 Instructors are members of the first-year advising team. Incoming first-year students they will be assigned to a section of AUx1 (CORE-100) that is taught by their first-year advisor and their advisor will have no more than 76 assigned students as part of their caseload. This close-knit relationship allows their advisor to engage in personal mentorship that recognizes student’s individual needs. Plus, this ensures that students will see their advisor every week in the classroom during the Fall semester.

Transfer and spring admits will not have a first-year advisor as their AUx1 Instructor. Instead, their sections will be taught by staff, faculty, and alums who have been specifically selected and trained to instruct their sections.

Students will be able to choose their own section of AUx2 and thereby their instructor. The AUx2 Instructor team will be comprised of the first-year advising team, as well as staff, faculty, and alums who have been specifically selected and trained to instruct these sections.

All AUx Instructors have obtained a faculty appointment in order to serve in their role with the program. AUx Instructor are responsible for adhering to the co-facilitation model, the standardized curriculum, and AUx program policies including grading rubrics.

The AUx Peer Facilitators are undergraduate students with sophomore standing or who are in their second year at AU with a minimum of 30 credits completed. By the start of their employment with AUx, Peer Facilitators will have already completed both AUx1 and AUx2 requirements.

Peer Facilitators typically serve as co-facilitators for two sections of either AUx1 or AUx2, and will typically be paired with the same staff or faculty Instructor for both sections. They are expected to attend all once-a-week AUx classes for their assigned sections and assist the Instructor by offering their unique perspective as an AU student. Peer Facilitators have various responsibilities, including updating their students about campus events and activities, encouraging their participation and engagement in class, and coordinating with the assigned Instructor on course planning, teaching, and classroom management/logistics.

The AUx1 curriculum is revised during the summer in preparation for the fall term with minor revisions made in the fall for the spring term. 

The AUx2 curriculum is revised during the fall in preparation for the spring term with minor revisions made in the summer for the spring term.

Revisions to the curriculum for AUx1 and AUx2 typically include removing, editing, or adding assignments, readings, and resources. Revisions also include reorienting the order of the class units or selecting new themes to explore in the courses. The weekly guiding question(s), why statements, and learning objectives are also updated to reflect the changes to course content.

The AUx Program frequently requests feedback from students, Instructors, Peer Facilitators, and AU community members. Feedback is collected during Instructor and Peer Facilitator meetings and through surveys. Focus groups are also occasionally held.

Currently, AUx has a comprehensive survey assessment strategy for students, which includes:

• the AUx1 Start of Semester Survey,
• the AUx1 End of Semester Survey,
• and the AUx2 End of Semester Survey.

These surveys allow for longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data collection over an academic year. Results and responses to these surveys help to inform the curricular revision process.

Feedback is also collected informally through one-on-one meetings with students who reach out the AUx Program.