Global Experiences

Connecting Rollins with the world through...

First-Year Field Experience

Summary: First-year programs at Rollins College provide a warm and thorough welcome to the campus thanks to the many efforts of Rollins Explorations. In 2009, Rollins launched a one-of-kind opportunity for a handful of first-year students to kick-start their freshman year before they even stepped on campus. The first known program of its kind on the national academic landscape, First-Year Field Experiences allows participants to began their college careers in exotic and engaging locations across the globe weeks before the school year officially commenced. In 2010, two First-Year Field Experiences allowed students to spend 10 days on an Environmental Studies Costa Rica trip plus Rollins launched an intensive 23-day Shanghai language immersion trip. Full story and contact information

Alternative Spring Break

Summary: For Rollins students, spring break presents the opportunity to spend some time actively engaged in global citizenship as well as the chance to bridge the gap between academics and altruism, textbooks and travel. Full story and contact information 

Service-Learning

Learning that pulls together all facets of the community through...

Service-Learning Curriculum

Summary: The Rollins College Office of Community Engagement was established in 2001 and focuses on three strategic priorities at Rollins: engaged scholarship through the curriculum; campus-wide engagement through service, civic engagement and activism; and community partnership and development through learning opportunities. Rollins has garnered multiple national and statewide awards for its service-learning programs, including being named to the Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Full story and contact information

Fern Creek Elementary School Partnership

Summary: From on-campus college visits to helping develop a new science lab to teaching robotics to painting classrooms to donating more than 1,000 books to the library, Rollins is intrinsically involved in all aspects of school life. In fact, you’ll find at least one person from the College on-site at Fern Creek every day. It’s one of the reasons why Fern Creek credits Rollins with helping elevate it from a “C”-rated school to “A” status over the course of the partnership. Full story and contact information 

First-Year Programs

Extraordinary first-year programs that engage and inspire through...

Rollins Explorations

Summary: Freshman year—a time that can be fraught with anxiety, loneliness and melancholy or an experience filled with excitement, hopeful anticipation and bold steps forward. Research shows that the type of experience first-year (freshman and transfer) students have depends significantly on their first few weeks of life at a new school. It’s this knowledge that motivated the creation of several Rollins College first-year initiatives that fall under the umbrella of Rollins Explorations. Full story and contact information 

Living Learning Communities

Summary: Another important aspect of Rollins Explorations is the Living Learning Communities (LLC), a campus residence concept designed to increase contact and connection among students. Students may be housed in one of the 17 Living Learning Communities, which means they'll live and study with the same core groups of students from their RCC course. The combination of RCCs and LLCs increases the chance that every student will make a few close friends almost immediately. Full story and contact information 

Peer Mentoring

Summary: The upfront, personalized attention first-year students receive is enhanced by the peer mentor program. Peer mentors receive more than 75 hours of training in the summer and throughout the academic year, so that they're prepared to participate in weekly classes and discussion forums that provide accountability, leadership training and support. Full story and contact information

Rollins College Conference

Summary: To facilitate greater connections, Rollins requires all first-year students participate in the Rollins College Conference (RCC). With 30 different seminar classes to choose from, students are teamed up with a professor and a small group of 15-17 other students to explore a subject of mutual interest through reading, writing and experiential learning. Launched in 1994, RCC was one of the first of style of seminar courses offered in the country. Full story and contact information

Internationalization

Living the mission of true global citizenship through...

On-Campus Diversity Initiatives

Summary: Global citizenship, a term that sits at the heart of Rollins College’s mission, is woven, by design, into all aspects of the Rollins experience. Through an internationalized curriculum, long- and short-term abroad opportunities and partnerships with foreign institutions, Rollins cultivates a worldwide mindset. And while this internationalized learning experience is certainly intended to support students beyond the campus in their future endeavors as professionals and leaders, global citizenship has rooted itself into everyday college life thanks to the efforts of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA). Full story and contact information

Internationalization

Summary: Rollins’ unprecedented efforts to educate students for global citizenship and responsible leadership have received national accolades. The College achieved recognition as a leading institution for the internationalization of its faculty in The Chronicle of Higher Education. And, according to the Institute of International Education, Rollins ranks among the top 25 colleges and universities for its study-abroad program.  Full story and contact information

Dynamic Learning and Research

Building education in the classroom and beyond through...

Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program

Summary: When college students think about summer, they might envision lazy days spent on the beach or quiet time relaxing at home. Many Rollins College students, however, give up their summer vacations to take part in Rollins Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program. The program annually features a variety of in-depth research projects that are typically only available at the graduate level. Full story and contact information

Internships

Summary:  Like studying abroad, internships are becoming an increasingly popular way for students to maximize their educational experience and enhance their marketability in the job market. According to Elizabeth Boggs, assistant director of career services at Rollins, 80 students completed internships for credit through the Academic Internship Program for the Summer 2010 term. Students interned in 23 states and in 10 countries outside the U.S., including Costa Rica, Croatia, England, Spain, Canada, Jamaica, Hungary, South Korea, Jordan and Venezuela. Full story and contact information

A Campus Community

One-on-one engagement that creates a sense of community through...

Faculty-in-Residence Program

Summary: As part of Rollins' Living Learning Community program, the College built its first-ever faculty apartment during the renovation of Ward Hall in summer 2008. The core philosophy behind bringing a faculty member to live on campus with his or her family is to better connect what happens in the classroom with outside life. As many as two programs a week are put on in Ward Hall to provide students with a variety of offerings that are both social and educational. Full story and contact information

The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership

Summary:  What better way to enrich students’ learning experiences at Rollins than to encourage student involvement in an endless number of possibilities beyond the classroom? The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership (OSIL) exists primarily to engage each and every student in an organization, activity, event or program intended to encourage leadership, global citizenship and just plain fun.  Full story and contact information