For freshmen majoring in engineering, college classes started a week early at Lamar University.

The LU College of Engineering hosted 135 incoming students for a week of math instruction, called “Smart Camp,” prior to the beginning of the fall semester. The purpose of the five-day intensive was to give students a chance to dust off their math skills in the college setting before beginning a full load of rigorous engineering coursework.

“This is our third year to offer Smart Camp,” said Erin Lovelady Lemoine, director of Outreach and Student Services for the College of Engineering. “We have found that students who attend have a higher rate of passing calculus one on the first attempt and are more often retained as engineering majors.”

Smart Camp is a part of the ongoing retention effort across the University, which is focused on giving students the tools they need to succeed in attaining a four-year degree.

For Blake Waugh, a graduate of Lumberton High School who plans to major in chemical engineering, Smart Camp, helped him prepare for what’s to come, including a refresher in his least favorite topic, fractions.

“It helped a lot,” said Waugh. “Each morning we completed worksheets with the professor and then were guided through an online course to help us better understand courses. I feel better prepared for college even for work in fractions.”

Students who attend Smart Camp are able to move into their dorm room a week early and enjoy the amenities of on-campus living, while receiving targeted instruction from LU Math Department faculty.

“Smart Camp is a great opportunity for students to meet their peers and get a head start on college life,” Lemoine said.