College Major Complexities

It seems that college majors are becoming more and more complex which can leave students spending more time and money obtaining a college degree. The reason these majors are becoming more and more complex is because there are more degree requirements added to program majors. For instance, there may be prerequisites added to the major that are poorly timed and/or are filled up before students are able to access them; this seems to happen more often in STEM fields, such as engineering (www.chronicle.com).

The purpose of these processes are not put in place to hinder students, instead professors tend to focus on their own courses and don’t see the big picture on what the students need to complete. Therefore, they may not be entirely aware of the impact they are creating on students. These complexities can be very upsetting to students who are already hesitant about pursuing college. Many of these students are questioning whether or not they are “college material” to begin with. If faced with this additional stress the likelihood of these students dropping out of college grows.

There has been a tool designed to help faculty members develop a map so they can visualize the path to a degree within their department, this tool is called Curricular Analytics. This tool helps identify courses that students are unable to enroll in, or how one required course can block the path to many other courses (www.chronicle.com). This tool can be very beneficial but I feel this is something that can be, and should be, investigated even if you don’t have access to the tool. As an Educational Consultant this is something I would love to help plan out for you to help you get the most out of your time and money.

When making decisions, whether it has to do with what major to pursue or what particular course is required, it is important to investigate the “why” behind it and see the impact the decision can have on future endeavors. This is where looking at the big picture is beneficial. If you can understand the why behind it, the more motivated you will be to reach your goal(s).

Reach out to me if you would like help creating a path and simplifying your major so you can get more out of your time and money - info@atozeducationalconsulting.com or 612-735-1261