By Harley Keene
The First Year Experience two-part classes were set to roll out this semester as a trial for freshmen students. However, after only 10 students total across all the Volunteer State Community College campuses signed up, the courses were postponed until the fall.
The classes this semester were supposed to be a trial, before officially requiring the courses for certain majors in the fall. This semester the classes would have been shortened, and taken place over one semester, rather than two. Several professors were trained and ready to teach the courses this semester, including Len Assante, who said he found out he would not be teaching the courses this Spring “just a couple days before we started the semester,” said Assante.
However, these same professors will still get a chance to teach the courses in the fall when they will become a requirement for 13 majors that are struggling with excelling after graduation. These majors will serve as a trial as well, and if there is improvement, the classes will become required for all freshmen.
The First Year Experience courses are designed to help college students excel not only in the transition from high school to college, but also their career fields afterward. The courses include things like, “teaching students skill articulation, written communication, verbal communication, having cultural competencies, and how to build a resume,” said Krista Mazza Carter, associate professor of psychology and director of the FYEX.
These courses are designed to help students avoid being underemployed after obtaining a college degree. They will help build skill sets that future employers will look for, as well as help students find future employers through advanced job searches and prepare for interviews with a mock-interview portion of the course. The overall goal of these classes is to increase success levels during and after college by helping to provide students with the resources and tools they need to achieve their goals.
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