Beginning Fall Semester 2014, Gwinnett Technical College launched the First Year Experience course as part of its campus student success initiatives. The First Year Experience course is an integral part of every student’s first semester experience at the college.

About the First Year Experience

FYES1000 is a required course for graduation within the academic curriculum of all degree and diploma programs at the college and most certificate programs. For more information, see the Course Catalog.

To achieve the most from this academic requirement, incoming new students are required to enroll in FYES1000 during their first semester of enrollment. All incoming new students and transfer students (with less than 30 hours of qualifying college credit), and returning Gwinnett Tech students (with less than 30 hours of qualifying college credit) who are accepted to a program of study for Fall 2014 and forward are required to take the course as part of their academic curriculum. There are limited criteria that may exempt a student from taking this course. To determine your need to enroll in the course, Review the FYES FAQ Sheet.

Students who believe that they may qualify for an exemption from FYES1000 and have not requested transcript evaluation should e-mail registrarsoffice@GwinnettTech.edu to evaluate previous college transcripts. Students will receive an email notification when the evaluation is complete. Students who are not eligible for exemption after the evaluation will need to enroll in the course.

Students who do not enroll in the course during their first semester, those who do not pass, and those who withdraw from the course during their first semester will be sent notifications to their student email accounts regarding the need to enroll in the course during their second semester of enrollment.

Students identified as needing the course as part of their program’s curriculum and do not enroll during the first semester are subject to an advising hold on their accounts before registration for the next or future semesters. Students with an advising hold would be required to meet with an advisor to ensure they have been advised of this missing academic and graduation requirement for their program of study.


Who should enroll in the FYES1000 course?

View the fact sheet to determine if you are required to take the course.

Have questions about the FYES1000 course requirements in your program?
What does the FYES1000 curriculum cover?

FYES1000 is designed to connect and acclimate new students to Gwinnett Technical College including its resources, policies, and procedures. In addition to campus resources, the course creates an awareness of the academic and life skills necessary to achieve educational and career success. Through the use of academic strategies, self-discovery, and technology, students will develop critical thinking skills necessary to be successful.

In addition to academic and career success skills, the course also includes introductory computer skills and software training. Topics include familiarity with the basic uses of a computer, the Windows environment, word processing software, spreadsheet software, and presentation software.