FAQ

• Why am I enrolled in a GEL 101 course?
  GEL 101 is a comprehensive college success course that assists first-year students with developing skills, motivation, and self-understanding necessary to meet the demands of CSUSM's undergraduate curriculum. It is required for all Freshmen. It fulfills the lower-division general education requirement in Area E, "Life Long Learning & Information Literacy." Students who complete GEL 101 are more likely to stay in college!
• What will I be learning in the GEL 101 course?

  Your GEL instructor will challenge you with a set of activities and assignments designed to strengthen self-understanding and motivation to be in college.

  You will work on: 

  • Understanding and developing your personal strengths and learning styles
  • Meeting campus partners
  • Strengthening your time management, study skills, and test taking strategies
  • Developing information literacy and skills for doing university level research
  • Developing your personal academic plan
  • Clarifying your career goals, researching career options and resume writing
  • Assessing personal wellness, values, and ethical decision making
  • Understanding and utilizing campus resources
  • Understanding campus life at CSUSM and exploring opportunities to become an active member of our diverse campus community outside the classroom
• Can I be in other support programs along with FIRST2STEM?
  Of course! FIRST2STEM is one of the many support programs available at CSUSM. There are programs like EOP, PASO, TRIO, and more that you can be involved in.
• Can FIRST2STEM help me purchase my textbooks?
  The FIRST2STEM program is able to buy your math and science textbooks for your first semester. As of now, we will be reaching out to those of you in math courses through your CSUSM email. Keep an eye out for any updates!
• Where can I get help on enrollment?

  You can visit the Enrollment Tutorial page or the Enrolling the Cougar Way page.

  We also held an Enrollment Workshop where we went over the process step-by-step.

  If you'd like one-on-one help or would like to speak to an advisor, please reach out to Sara Sandoval (ssandoval@csusm.edu) for an appointment.

• How do I log onto Microsoft Teams?

  For a visual, watch a video on how to log in

  Go to office365.csusm.edu and log in with your CSUSM account. Students sign in by using username@csusm.edu, without the Cougars part of the email. The password should be the same one you use for your email.

  Then click on the tab for Teams (it's a purple icon). Teams will be used this upcoming fall for a variety of things: advising, tutoring, events, and more. You can also download the Teams app on your phone and computer.

  Join our FIRST2STEM team and connect with us and other students by clicking on this link!

• I can't log into my email or MyCSUSM account, I keep getting an error. What do I do?

  There are two reasons why this would be:

  • You haven't set up your DUO authorization account.
  • You need to reset your password.

  Please contact IITS if you need help with either of these things.

• Where can I keep up with all that FIRST2STEM does?

  You can check this webpage OR follow our Instagram. We also send bi-weekly newsletter to your Cougars email, so be sure to read those when you recieve them.

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