A new freshman experience course has been introduced with the intent of getting students off on the right foot.
The course, called University Success, covers the topics of university culture, campus resources, academic advising, career exploration, time management, financial literacy, health and wellness, diversity, university policies and procedures, and study skills. All of the assignments are geared toward preparing students for university studies.
Similar courses are offered at University of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida Tampa, Miami University, Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. University administrators are considering making this a mandatory course for freshmen at USF St. Petersburg, but University Success is an elective for now.
“I wish there had been a course like this when I first started here,” said senior political science major Todd Matthews. “Even though I was a Junior, as a transfer student it would have been helpful for getting used to a new school.”
Deanna Bullard, an advising coordinator for the College of Education, hopes to see graduates become proud ambassadors of the USFSP community.
“It is my hope that they succeed, persist, and ultimately graduate in a timely manner,” Bullard said. “I want them to get involved, get the most from their classes, make connections, and leave here with a sense of satisfaction.”
She worked to develop the course with other colleagues at USFSP#Jennifer Carbon and Solitaire Kelly, academic advisors, and Dwayne Isaacs, assistant director of student affairs.
Bullard credits Carbon for pushing her to start the process, and calls the project a collaboration between her and her colleagues.
The strategic plan to increase student enrollment from 4,700 to 10,000 by 2024 didn’t factor in to the development of the course, Bullard said. Bullard foresees an increase in the number of course sections with added members of the student body.
The course is currently structured as a hybrid. It meets twice a week for 55 minutes and uses Canvas for other coursework. It is listed in the Oasis course catalog under Selected Topics in the College of Education, though Bullard hopes that the category will change by the spring semester.
