ISearch Introduction:
I’ve attended 2 community colleges since my high school graduation in 1981. The first was in Greenville, North Carolina. Pitt Technical Institute became Pitt Community College the semester before I started classes. We got letters with our entrance packages explaining that they had just made this transition and were working to make it as seamless as possible especially for liberal studies students. They were careful when we signed up to make certain that they understood what our plans were and that our courses would work towards our ultimate goals. At 18, I probably did little more than skim over the letter and tuck it back into the packet. After three semesters, as far as I could tell the transition was smooth. I never felt any resentment from the technical side of the college nor did I take any courses that wouldn’t follow me into my future.
The second was in Columbus, Ohio a few years later. They were right smack in the middle of their transition. I was one of the first liberal studies students to enroll. Again, the courses were transferable and advise relevant to my intended course of study. Granted, I attended only one semester but as far as I was concerned we were all students of the community college whether our courses of study were in the liberal or technical end of the halls.
I expected when I started Eastern Maine Community College that it would be the same. I knew that the school had been a technical college for a long time. I also knew that they had been a community college for a few years. The transition, based on my experience should have been long since acclimated and the wrinkles, if any being ironed out. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. It only took a few weeks of the semester to see that their transition was still anything but smooth and we're 3 years into it.
When I enrolled at EMCC I had no idea what the process was; what courses I needed and which I could do without. I know what I want to do; I want to be a physicist but had no idea how to get there. My advisor, well intended though she may have been knew absolutely nothing about what courses I needed. My interaction with my advisor was more about the process than the usefulness of the courses. I went through the online catalogue and signed up for courses that I thought would transfer nicely to the University of Maine. I was 3 weeks into the semester, past the add/drop period when I found out that most of the courses wouldn’t transfer fully and some wouldn’t transfer at all.
I was excited about the AdvantageU program until I found out that there weren’t two years worth of courses that I could take that would do me any good for my desired course of study. There simply aren't enough courses that transfer to any useful degree. Mostly, aside from the learning process about the learning process, my time at EMCC is to be a waste.
The second was in Columbus, Ohio a few years later. They were right smack in the middle of their transition. I was one of the first liberal studies students to enroll. Again, the courses were transferable and advise relevant to my intended course of study. Granted, I attended only one semester but as far as I was concerned we were all students of the community college whether our courses of study were in the liberal or technical end of the halls.
I expected when I started Eastern Maine Community College that it would be the same. I knew that the school had been a technical college for a long time. I also knew that they had been a community college for a few years. The transition, based on my experience should have been long since acclimated and the wrinkles, if any being ironed out. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. It only took a few weeks of the semester to see that their transition was still anything but smooth and we're 3 years into it.
When I enrolled at EMCC I had no idea what the process was; what courses I needed and which I could do without. I know what I want to do; I want to be a physicist but had no idea how to get there. My advisor, well intended though she may have been knew absolutely nothing about what courses I needed. My interaction with my advisor was more about the process than the usefulness of the courses. I went through the online catalogue and signed up for courses that I thought would transfer nicely to the University of Maine. I was 3 weeks into the semester, past the add/drop period when I found out that most of the courses wouldn’t transfer fully and some wouldn’t transfer at all.
I was excited about the AdvantageU program until I found out that there weren’t two years worth of courses that I could take that would do me any good for my desired course of study. There simply aren't enough courses that transfer to any useful degree. Mostly, aside from the learning process about the learning process, my time at EMCC is to be a waste.
posted by millay at 8:01 PM
3 Comments:
And so, what happened?--we're in suspense here, you're killing us. Whatever happened, I suspect it still belongs in the intro.
Yeah I suppose I just sorta dropped off there. I'll add to it and repost.
I think that stands alone now, but it's hard to say it's done until the questions are laid out--then we find out if the questions are adequately grounded in the intro.
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