EXPERIENCE WPCC
A First-Year Experience Program
Top 6 Important Activities at 2025 New Student Orientation
If you missed New Student Orientation the week before the Fall semester began, here are tasks you’ll want to complete as soon as possible to make sure that you have the tools and information you need for success!
Download the Watermark app on the App Store or Google Store, or log into your Watermark account from the Students menu on the WPCC homepage. This app will allow you to text your Advisor, your Success Coach, and your course instructors when you have a question or need help. It will also allow you to check your attendance and grades in your courses.
Download the Alertus app.When the College closes unexpectedly due to inclement weather, power outages, or a security situation, this app will send you a notification.
Click here to download!
Meet your Success Coach. Your coach is your go-to person for answers and assistance. Your Watermark account identifies this person and provides their contact information so that you can reach them quickly and easily.
Meet your Advisor. Your advisor is the person who will help you navigate through the requirements of your program and provide mentoring. Your Watermark account identifies this person and provides their contact information so that you can reach them quickly and easily.
Get your free planner, a key time management tool. See your Success Coach or go to Student Services.
Review key strategies for successfully completing courses that are only 8 weeks long. Click here to view Navigating the 8 Week Academic Journey at WPCC.
Our Goals
Starting college is a significant undertaking. Experience WPCC, our first-year experience program, will help you start your Western Piedmont career on the right path. We have four primary goals:
- Connect – You will connect with College personnel, resources, and peers to build a campus community and support system.
- Engage – You will be active in the College community and responsible for your own learning and development.
- Plan – You will explore your own personal and career interests and plot out a course sequence for degree completion. Additionally, you will reflect on what it means to be a student and develop a success plan that will help you balance school and personal demands.
- Success – You will acquire the necessary skills, habits, and resources to help you achieve your goals.
Our Vision
Experience WPCC is designed to foster an inclusive and vibrant community where every student feels connected, supported, and inspired. We envision a transformative environment that empowers students to thrive academically, develop meaningful relationships, and embark on a lifelong journey of personal and professional growth.
What We Do
Collaborate: Western Piedmont offers a wide range of programs and activities to support and enhance your academic journey. Experience WPCC provides a venue for those who offer services for new students to collaborate under our shared vision. The Experience WPCC steering committee includes key personnel from: Advising, Success Coaching, Student Support Services, Faculty, Personal and Career Development, Marketing, Administration, Orientation, Outreach, Recruitment, and Student Activities, Student Government
Education: Depending on your program of study, Western Piedmont offers two Experience WPCC first-year seminar courses to aid in your transition to college life and to prepare you to either transfer to a four-year institution or start a new career. Both courses are grounded in CliftonStrengths and positive psychology to ensure your ongoing development and success.
Questions?
Rusty Harrison
First Year Experience Coordinator
Email: rharrison@wpcc.edu
Phone: 828.448.3179
Office: E Building, Room 135
ACA-122
This course is for students pursuing an AA, AS, or AFA degree. It provides information and strategies necessary to develop clear academic and professional goals beyond the community college experience. Topics include the CAA, college culture, career exploration, gathering information on senior institutions, strategic planning, critical thinking, and communications skills for a successful academic transition.
“The ACA-122 class has immensely helped me find a path to find my purpose in life and understand what job I’d like.”
ACA-115
This course is for students pursuing an AAS degree, a diploma, or a certificate. It provides an orientation to the campus resources and academic skills necessary to achieve educational objectives. Emphasis is placed on an exploration of facilities and services, study skills, library skills, self-assessment, wellness, goal-setting, and critical thinking.
“ACA-115 has opened me up to see myself in a new light, and I really value the things that I am learning about myself.”