By Larry Abele
Sample Narrative
Understanding Your Academic Map
This map is a term-by-term course schedule designed for you to graduate in two (or four) years. There are numerous advantages to graduating in four years, rather than extending your college education to five or six years. The cost savings to graduating in four years is an immediate $38,000 and up to $147,000 in lifetime savings (NerdWallet).
Note that you should register for 15 hours each term or plan on earning 30 hours a year in order to graduate in four years. There is lots of information showing that students who take 15 hours, regardless of their academic preparation, do better academically than those taking fewer than 15 hours, so don’t worry that 15 hours may be too much.
Earning a degree requires that you complete (1) the required General Education courses, (2) any requirements of your college, such as a foreign language and (3) the requirements of your major.
You will see that there is a course labelled Milestone almost every term. This means that you must register for and successfully complete the course in that term. Missing a Milestone course will require that you meet with your advisor to develop a plan for taking this course as soon as possible. Missing two Milestone courses will require a change of major. While this may seem harsh, it is unfair to take your time and money when you have little chance of graduating in that major while having an opportunity to graduate in another major.
There is a Minimum Recommended Grade listed for Milestone courses. This recommended grade is based on the experience of thousands of students, generating a probability of success in future related courses in the major based on the grade in this course. This means that the material in the course is critical for success in the future. For example, earning an A in the course may suggest a 90% chance of graduating in this major while earning a C may suggest a 30% of graduating in this major. If you feel you are struggling, you should immediately meet with your instructor and advisor to arrange tutoring and/or supplemental instruction. Do not wait. Remember that there are hundreds of people on campus in various offices who are there to help you in both academic and non-academic areas. Never hesitate to ask for help.
Pay close attention to your institution’s General Education requirements when meeting with your advisor. The General Education areas are listed but there is often as many as 20 different courses that will fulfill an area requirement. You and your advisor should be aware of courses that fulfill both a General Education requirement and a major requirement.
Where Elective is listed, it means that you may take a course of your choosing, perhaps a course in an area of interest outside of your major but be sure to discuss this with your advisor.
Describe the major here
Example Economics.
The Economics major is an excellent degree program that strives to make students aware of the critical issues in economics. Among the topics covered by the curriculum are the theory of markets and the price system, the organization of industries, labor supply and its uses, the commercial banking and credit system, government finance, the national income and its production and distribution, economic growth and development, and international trade and finance. The curriculum provides a basic understanding of the tools needed to analyze those issues; and to prepare students for (a) entry-level positions in financial, managerial and administrative areas of the public and private sector, or (b) entry into graduate and professional schools of law, business, economics, and social sciences. An internship program is available to qualified students.
Employment information
This information is available at the career center on campus as well as on the following websites: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/; https://www.onetonline.org/; https://www.mynextmove.org/.
