By Kelsie Carter
[email protected]
Published: Friday, August 10, 2012
Updated: Saturday, August 11, 2012 17:08
More than half of incoming freshmen enter the University of Memphis with undecided majors, but the ACAD program will apply changes this year that help students find their career path sooner.
ACAD, the shortened title that the freshman-level Introduction to the University course has come to be known as, has been offered since 1989 after a committee designated the course to increase the number of students who remain enrolled at the U of M.
Since that time, the University’s retention rate has increased more than 30 percent, according to Tom Nenon, vice provost for assessment, institutional research and reporting. The ACAD curriculum was evaluated last year to explore additional ways to increase student and academic success.
The result was a new program that shifted from college development to career preparation. Undecided students often spend years changing their majors before they discover the career path they want to pursue, Nenon said.
The objective of ACAD is to “increase student graduation numbers and reduce time-to-degree by providing an opportunity for students to identify their own academic and career goals,” said Shannon Blanton, vice provost for undergraduate programs.
“We know that in general the sooner that a student can identify their academic major and career goals, the more promptly they can progress toward degree completion,” she said.
Not everyone chooses to take the class, but professor Patsy Krech has had success stories from students who did.
Krech said she wished she had a course like ACAD when she was in college. In her classes she “focuses on what her students need most,” and surveys them throughout the year to find out if they are benefiting from the skills she is teaching.
ACAD’s smaller class sizes-- about 25 to 30 students-- were developed to encourage students within the class to interact with one another and to help students and their professors build relationships.
Elijah Wilson, sophomore German major, forged a bond with his professor after taking the course last year.
“I’ll head to the Honors Hall and just have a conversation with him sometimes just for fun,” Wilson said of his former professor Colton Cockrum. “He’s a cool guy.”
Cockrum, who is now interim director of the ACAD program, said he accepted his new position because of his “desire to work with programs that focus on the first year experience.”
Sophomore business management major Gregory Strong said he took ACAD last fall because he knew nothing about the University despite being from the Memphis area. He said that in the course he “learned a lot about the campus that can be used all four years.”
Coordinator Barbara Bekis has continued to work with ACAD since serving on the committee that sought out the program more than 20 years ago.
“To me, ACAD is about empowering students, and the more students are empowered the more it reduces the fear and stress of being a new student,” she said.
[email protected]
Published: Friday, August 10, 2012
Updated: Saturday, August 11, 2012 17:08
More than half of incoming freshmen enter the University of Memphis with undecided majors, but the ACAD program will apply changes this year that help students find their career path sooner.
ACAD, the shortened title that the freshman-level Introduction to the University course has come to be known as, has been offered since 1989 after a committee designated the course to increase the number of students who remain enrolled at the U of M.
Since that time, the University’s retention rate has increased more than 30 percent, according to Tom Nenon, vice provost for assessment, institutional research and reporting. The ACAD curriculum was evaluated last year to explore additional ways to increase student and academic success.
The result was a new program that shifted from college development to career preparation. Undecided students often spend years changing their majors before they discover the career path they want to pursue, Nenon said.
The objective of ACAD is to “increase student graduation numbers and reduce time-to-degree by providing an opportunity for students to identify their own academic and career goals,” said Shannon Blanton, vice provost for undergraduate programs.
“We know that in general the sooner that a student can identify their academic major and career goals, the more promptly they can progress toward degree completion,” she said.
Not everyone chooses to take the class, but professor Patsy Krech has had success stories from students who did.
Krech said she wished she had a course like ACAD when she was in college. In her classes she “focuses on what her students need most,” and surveys them throughout the year to find out if they are benefiting from the skills she is teaching.
ACAD’s smaller class sizes-- about 25 to 30 students-- were developed to encourage students within the class to interact with one another and to help students and their professors build relationships.
Elijah Wilson, sophomore German major, forged a bond with his professor after taking the course last year.
“I’ll head to the Honors Hall and just have a conversation with him sometimes just for fun,” Wilson said of his former professor Colton Cockrum. “He’s a cool guy.”
Cockrum, who is now interim director of the ACAD program, said he accepted his new position because of his “desire to work with programs that focus on the first year experience.”
Sophomore business management major Gregory Strong said he took ACAD last fall because he knew nothing about the University despite being from the Memphis area. He said that in the course he “learned a lot about the campus that can be used all four years.”
Coordinator Barbara Bekis has continued to work with ACAD since serving on the committee that sought out the program more than 20 years ago.
“To me, ACAD is about empowering students, and the more students are empowered the more it reduces the fear and stress of being a new student,” she said.