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ORT 110 Strategies for College and Career

Course description

First time college students who want success and direction in their college experience gain practical skills that are directly applied to selection of a college major and future career paths. Students also gain effective learning strategies, and information on how to navigate and use college procedures and resources. Specific topics include promoting self knowledge through assessments, researching and obtaining career information, developing and practicing study and time management skills, and improving communication and decision making skills. Students integrate information about self, careers, and college through a final project in a Career/Life Plan (CAPS PLAN).
 Source: QCC 2003-04 Catalog Course Description

Philosophy/Rational/History

College Orientation courses first appeared on college campuses over 25 years ago as a result of the changing college population combined with an increased emphasis on the retention and successful completion of college students. As more “first generation” college continued to access higher education, greater attention was focused on identifying the specific factors that lead to student persistence and completion. Now over 70% of U.S. colleges and universities have college orientation courses.

Though we have utilized much of the very good content and information provided by 4-year residential colleges in the design of the course, the QCC college orientation course – Strategies for College and Career, has taken a slightly different approach that considers the following factors: we are not a residential campus; our students are busy and often have competing personal and work related agendas; we do not have access to comprehensive career services on campus; we have a very large percentage of “undecided” students who need accurate career information; the majority of our students begin in developmental courses and usually need to acquire solid study skills; and many of the students who should use learning resources at the college, do not. Taking the time constraints of our students into consideration, we designed a 3-credit course that addresses both study skills and career planning, so students would not have to take two separate courses to attain these necessary skills and information.


Course Content and Instructional Methodologies

The course content is constructed around three major themes that are directly related to both student needs and success: Connection to the College; Learning and Study Skills; and Comprehensive Career Development. Connection to the College combines class tours of campus resources and interactive activities, however, the majority of responsibility is placed on the student to utilize on campus resources, particularly the Learning Resource Center for tutoring in English, Math and/or other subjects. Emphasizing this connection early on in the semester is important, as students will need to access tutoring services. Knowledge of college terminology and procedures, as well as promoting the use of academic advising services are also included. Learning and Study Skills focuses on students understanding HOW they learn and applying this information to improve on a variety of basic study skills such as note-taking, reading comprehension, memory, and test-taking strategies. Comprehensive Career Development takes students through a series of career assessments, teaches students how to access current career information, requires students to interview professionals in their field of interest, and make preliminary career decisions related to college majors. Throughout the course students work on a final project called a CAPS Plan (career, academic, and personal success), that serves to guide the student through the next few semesters, whether they remain at QCC or transfer to another institution. The CAPS Plan is also a useful on-line document for academic advisors, as it provides information on the students learning styles, career assessments, as well as short and long-term academic goals.

There is no textbook for the course. Students build and organize their course binders from hand-outs and print outs of test results. Though this requires more work on the part of the faculty it is a valuable teaching tool and helps students to develop organizational skills. Students are also graded on the organization and completeness of their binder. Faculty is provided with a 3 ring binder that includes all information for the course on a week-by-week basis. The information is constructed in the form of a matrix that includes the following components:

The very nature of the course invites the use of varied instructional methodologies and technology. Learning activities are designed to meet the diverse learning styles and backgrounds of all students. From the onset of the class students are engaged in participatory activities that gradually build their level of confidence and ability to deliver presentations and report backs to the class. Most of the ORT 110 courses are taught in computer lab classrooms where students regularly use computers for class activities and projects. Faculty also use power point and other visual and learning aids, as well as assist students in computer usage while taking surveys, assessments, conducting career research, and in the formation of their CAPS Plans.

Resources
For additional information on College Orientation or First-Year Experience (FYE) courses and programs visit the FYE Web site at
http://www.sc.edu/fye .

The web site link on research and frequently asked questions
http://www.sc.edu/fye/research/faq.html
provides an insight into course outcomes and course content from colleges across the country.

The Policy Center on First Year of College at Brevard University has excellent resources and information as well -
http://www.brevard.edu/fyc/index.htm