|
The MP3
program is designed as a first-year experience for freshman or transfer
students. This program is a non-credit course that meets during
orientation and every non-LARP Thursday. It is a requirement for freshman, but the transfer
students do have the opportunity to participate in the program. According to
David Hoppe, instructor of psychology and campus counselor, the purpose of the
program is to introduce freshman to the services offered by Dana College and to
help freshman adjust to college life. In this program students will learn about
Dana and how to succeed in college. Some topics discussed in the MP3 program
are the mission statement, history, and policies at Dana. They also cover study
skills such as: time management, note-taking skills, test-taking skills, stress
management, and how to live a healthy lifestyle. Not only is information about
the school and how to study covered, but the program also goes over advising,
financial assistance, and LARP. With so much information presented in this
program to students, they now have the resources needed to succeed in college.
An interesting
feature of this program is the LARP aspect of the program. Instead of freshman
being integrated into groups with sophomores, juniors, or seniors, they have
their own group of just freshman. It is also different, in that they have the
same professor for all sessions. This is a big change, but according to Dr.
Clark, professor of chemistry, it is a way that we can teach LARP and give
students more feedback. In the MP3 program there is a practice session where
the students become familiar with the setup of LARP, the quizzes, and the
discussion of the book. With this process new students know what to expect and
how to obtain a good grade in LARP. It also provides a more comfortable
environment for students because they know each other from the other sessions
and they know their professor. This change in LARP will hopefully allow
students to get more out of LARP and improve students' grades.
It is hard to believe a no credit course that bases on the discussions of
different topics would have good attendance. In fact, the opposite is actually
true. “There are about 12 out 15 students showing up in most MP3 groups,”
according to Hoppe. Students may be going because it is required, but a lot of
students are attending the sessions in order to better prepare themselves for
college. Some benefits of the program are that students obtain the information
on how to study better, how to succeed in LARP and about the policies of the
college. According to Kelsey Koll, freshman at Dana, one of the biggest
benefits is setting up relationships with other freshman and another faculty
member. In the MP3 groups the students get to know other students and another
faculty member that they can go to for help. Another benefit is getting to know
other freshman right away when you arrive, according to Dana freshman, Andrea Koll..
There are a
lot of benefits with the program, but with all new programs there are some
aspects that need to be adjusted. According to Dr. Clark, we need to present
the information in a more creative way to get students more interested in the
topics discussed. Another change that Hoppe would like to see is to be able to
spend more time with the students during orientation and to end orientation with
the students going to a professor’s house for a dinner to make the students feel
welcome and provide a home-cooked meal. The program is in its first year and is
scheduled to be a part of the curriculum at Dana for at least one more year. As
with any change, it will take time to perfect the first year experience.
As of now
this program is just for a student’s first year at Dana, but in the future the
plan is to make this a requirement for all four years. Each year the curriculum
of the program will change to help students in each year of college. The
program was established to give new students the feeling that they are welcome
and that they belong. It was also to give students the information needed to
succeed at college and to learn where they can obtain information when they need
it throughout their college experience. The program will hopefully help
students be successful and help retain students at Dana College. The MP3
program is off to a great start, and hopefully in the future it will become a
great asset to Dana.
|
