by This year, all incoming freshmen are required to take a course called College Success. Many freshmen this year have the same question: Why do we have to take a class that teaches us skills we already know?
“College is a way out of a path of being unsure, to make a better life for ourselves. Students don’t know how to take advantage of the school’s offerings and this class provides students with help in college and life. It helps transfer learning from the classroom to life,” Dr. Kenyatta Y. Dawson, college success professor.
Dr. Dawson explains that college success is a retention tool for students. For the past few years retention has gone down in students. Learners started to struggle with the ability to interact with their college and its resources, causing the school board to make college success required to all first year freshmen.
“This class is about self-analyzing ourselves, our careers and our families. It helps us be more tuned to being ourselves and giving more to others. It’s about gaining a better perspective of ourselves,” explains Dr. Dawson.
As a college success professor, Dawson hopes to reach out to her students and help them learn more about themselves in her class. Dawson understands when students say they aren’t happy about having to take the class.When asked about their college success class, students weren’t afraid to express their opinions of the class.
“The class is too easy and the information seems too obvious,” states Tyler Leeberkase, CIT security.
“I don’t like the class because it’s required and I feel like it’s a waste of my time. I could be taking another class instead, or focusing on other classes,” said Catherine Stephens, general studies.
Brooke Stern, general studies, also expresses her frustration; “I could be learning something important rather than hearing something I already know about.”
The class also lets students know about events happening on campus that can be beneficial to their studies, like workshops and visiting speakers.
