“Large universities changing freshman experience” says the Associated Press headline. (Thank you to friend, mentor and Come Recommended sponsor Lisa Orrell for bringing this article to my attention!) The article outlines how several universities–including my alma mater, Mizzou–are making the transition from high school to college easier for incoming freshmen.
I find several things about this article extremely interesting–or rather disheartening. First, AP is reporting on a program at Mizzou that’s nearly 15 years old, which was apparently modeled after the even older (36 years) South Carolina program. Having been part of Mizzou’s freshman interest group (FIG), it seems they haven’t changed a thing since I graduated other than adding additional FIGs.
Second, and more importantly, none of the universities mentioned in the article include career exploration as part of the freshman experience. While I realize there’s this idea that an undergraduate degree has become the new high school diploma, don’t you attend college with the hope of securing employment after graduation? I’m not saying the entire program should be about your career, but if universities want to fight this notion that they are indeed doing enough to not only help the transition from high school to college but also college to career, why wouldn’t they use this opportunity to get you started down the “right” path?
What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a missed opportunity for colleges to reach out to you early regarding your future career?
