BEACON FOUNDATIONS
Real-Time College Courses to Build Your College Future
Imagine being able to focus on college success without the added pressures of adjusting to learning, living and socializing on campus. Beacon Foundations is a great way to test drive, start or stay on track with your college plans.
Beacon Foundations is for high school graduates who:
• Are interested in college, but not ready to enroll full-time
• Want to begin earning college credit, but aren’t ready to live on campus
• Have decided to delay on-campus enrollment due to housing limitations or waitlisting
Our goal is to get you ready for the next step on your academic journey — whether that’s joining our on-campus learning community at Beacon, enrolling at another college or university, or doing remote learning at an online university or program.
How We Do It
100% LIVE — not self-paced — classes.
We know that self-paced asynchronous classes aren’t the best way for students who learn differently to learn. Online classes that lack interaction with your professors and peers (that
you can take whenever you feel like it) can be challenging and unsatisfying.
All Beacon Foundations classes are 100% live. These are engaging, small, online classes
taught in “real time” by Beacon College faculty who are skilled in online instruction.
Best of all, you have the opportunity to interact with fellow students and get essential feedback on your academic performance from your professors — as opposed to just sitting and watching prerecorded classes, then posting comments and waiting for feedback.
Our core courses are BUILDING BLOCKS for future college success.
Classes in Beacon Foundations feature the same basic coursework required of most first-year students — including composition, math and technology — plus several introductory electives. The credits you earn are transferable to most colleges and universities, wherever you choose to further your education. Each semester you can earn as few as 3 or as many as 12 college credits, depending on your readiness and goals.
SUPPORT is all around you.
In addition to your professors, you are supported by learning skills professionals and a counselor. They’ll help you evaluate your needs and guide you to select the best courses for your goals.
Live coaching gives you feedback and support to develop your executive function skills. You’ll also participate in weekly 1-to-1 meetings to review your progress and ensure you’re staying on track — or figure out how to get back on track.
You and your family also will work with a Beacon transition counselor who will help you plan for your next steps after completing the Beacon Foundations program.
(Click each block for more information.)
Spring 2024 Online Courses
One size does not fit all — especially when it comes to learning. Before starting Beacon Foundations, a placement exam helps put you on the best path. Our admission committee will review your application and placement exam results. That information determines which track — developmental or standard — will help you be most successful.
Click on course names below for full descriptions of each.
Developmental Track Required Courses
Instructor: Rose DeJarnett
This course focuses on critical thinking skills required to read, analyze, and synthesize written information, including the expansion of vocabulary and grammatical/mechanical skills required to successfully negotiate the writing process in preparation for reading and writing at the college level.
Instructor: Ashley Milito
In this course, you will explore how your choices directly impact your opportunities for greater success in college and life. Topics include: accepting personal responsibility, discovering self-motivation, mastering self-management, employing interdependence, gaining self-awareness, adopting lifelong learning, developing emotional intelligence, believing in oneself, and identifying individual learning styles and effective learning strategies. You’ll develop your critical thinking skills through self-assessments, case studies, guided journaling and an individual research project.
Standard Track Course Options
Instructor: Nicole Casillas
Provides an overview of the principles of human behavior and the scope and methods of psychology. Topics include human development, intelligence, emotion, motivation, personality, social psychology, and abnormal behavior.
Instructor: Brenda Newkirk
The course will focus on Internet-based services and how they support applications such as e-mail services, FTP, list servers,
etc. Students will research areas such as Web services and networking principles involved. Students will be given the basics
of HTML to better understand Web services. The course will also cover web-based databases and transaction processes.
Instructor: Nicki Nance
In this course, you will explore how your choices directly impact your opportunities for greater success in college and life. Topics include: accepting personal responsibility, discovering self-motivation, mastering self-management, employing interdependence, gaining self-awareness, adopting lifelong learning, developing emotional intelligence, believing in oneself, and identifying individual learning styles and effective learning strategies. You’ll develop your critical thinking skills through self-assessments, case studies, guided journaling and an individual research project.
Instructor: Rick Davidson
This class is designed to develop skills in writing multi-paragraph essays with emphasis on exposition, including the selection, restriction, organization, and development of topics. Students examine selected writing samples as models of form and sources of ideas for their own writing.
Instructor: Angel Maldonado
Computational review and practice prepare you for the demands of college-level math through a focus on whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, proportions, practical applications, and word problems. You will learn to use a basic scientific calculator to facilitate learning and provide assistive technology.
Instructor: Angel Maldonado
A general education course that offers a solid foundation in the basics of college mathematics. Real-life applications, conceptual understanding, problem-solving, using technology appropriately, and critical thinking are emphasized and integrated throughout the course.
Instructor: Brittany Strozzo
This course is an introduction to current technologies on a global scale. Students acquire computer/mobile learning skills and build a stronger foundation in word processing, presentation software, and web communities. Students gain experience with business applications in a PC environment that will be used in the educational environment to be applied later to the professional world. Classwork focuses on productivity and creative projects. The goal of this course is to ensure cross-platform computer literacy for academic and work environments.
Instructor: Bryan Cushing
This course is designed to familiarize students to the changing roles of animals in human society along with the
complex relationship between humans and animals.
Meet Your Instructors
Rose DeJarnett
Assistant Chair General Education & Distance Learning
B.S., Elementary Education
M.Ed., Reading Education
16 years working with students who learn differently and 5 years teaching online courses.
Mike Fallon
Business & Technology Department Coordinator
B.S., Business Administration
M.A., Marketing
M.A., Management & Leadership
M.S., Environmental Management
10 years working with students who learn differently and 8 years teaching online courses.
Nicki Nance
Associate Professor of Human Services & Psychology
B.A., Psychology
MS.Ed., Counseling
Ph.D., Human Services
12 years working with students who learn differently and 14 years teaching online courses.
Rick Davidson
Director of the Writing Center
A.A., English/Education
B.A., English Advanced Literary Studies
M.A., English Education
Jim Borden
Director of Student Citizenship
Adjunct Instructor: Criminal Justice
B.A., History and Education
M.A., Criminal Justice
7 years working with students who learn differently and 3 years teaching online courses.
Brittany Strozzo
Assistant Professor/Assistant Chair
CIS Web & Digital Media
M.F.A., Graphic Design M.A., Graphic Design & Visual Experience M.A., Design Management B.F.A., Graphic Design
4 years working with students who learn differently and 4 years teaching online courses.
Angel Maldonado
Mathematics Instructor
M.Ed., K-8 Mathematics & Science
Ph.D. in progress, Mathematics Education
2 years working with students who learn differently and 2 years teaching online courses.
More Information
To apply, complete the Beacon Foundations application online.
Then submit proof of your learning difference, two letters of recommendation and your high school transcript.To participate in Beacon Foundations, you must have a diagnosed learning disability such as dyslexia, AD/HD or related condition.
If you have already applied and been accepted to Beacon College, you only need to complete the Beacon Foundations application. If you have plans to attend another college or university but feel you’ll benefit from the support and structure of Beacon Foundations, you will need to be provisionally admitted to Beacon College to receive college credits.
1 Course |
2 Courses |
3 Courses |
4 Courses |
||
| Tuition | $4,851 | $9,702 | $14,553 | $19,404 | |
| Technology | $205.00 | $205.00 | $205.00 | $205.00 | |
| Transition Fee | $1,500.00 | $1,500.00 | $1,500.00 | $1,500.00 | |
| TOTAL COST | $6,556 | $11,407 | $16,258 | $21,109 |
Beacon College also offers generous College-funded need-based awards and scholarships for students enrolling in Beacon Foundations. The FAFSA is required to be considered for these awards. After you have applied for admission and completed the FAFSA, you will be automatically considered for need-based financial aid.
And because Beacon’s programs serve students with diagnosed learning differences, our tuition and fees may qualify your family to receive valuable medical tax benefits. For more information on ways to offset your tuition, visit our financial aid information online.
Credits earned at Beacon College are transferable to most colleges and universities. If you plan to transfer credits to another school, be sure to check with an enrollment or transfer counselor at that college or university to ensure your course selections are appropriate and transferable.
Take the Next Step
Apply Online
We’re accepting rolling applications for the spring 2024 Foundations semester beginning on Jan. 29, 2024. Apply early to secure your course selections!
Attend an Info Session
Learn more about the program through a live virtual information session. Our next event is Dec. 5, 2023 at 6 p.m. Eastern and you can register online to join us:
Schedule a Meeting
Meet one-on-one with a Beacon College transition counselor to discuss if Foundations is right for you.