Pierce College is offering a program that will make it easier for students to transfer to Cal. State University, Northridge (CSUN).
The General Education (GE) Paths program is an attempt to make transferring to CSUN more efficient and timely. Students who enroll in the program will take courses that are tailored to certain educational routes.
“The idea of the Paths program is for students to complete at least some of their transfer requirements in a thematic way, so the GE experience is not disconnected,” Mia Wood, an assessment coordinator for the program, said.
It will take a student about two years to complete a path, according to Dr. Raymond Lim, the lead faculty coordinator. Students can take more than one path at a time, however Lim discourages this because it is more time consuming.
Right now, these paths include: aesthetics and culture, global studies, health and wellness, social justice, and sustainability, according to the GE Paths webpage.
“By going through these paths, it will help students to appreciate what we offer because it will help make sense of the classes they take,” Lim said.
Anne Bruzzese, assessment coordinator of the GE Paths program, agreed with Lim’s statement.
“This kind of program encourages a deeper understanding of the complexity of real life issues, as well as unintended consequences of solutions offered from just one discipline’s perspective,” Bruzzese said.
Students enrolled in the program will take four classes along the same path at Pierce. For example, if a student enrolls in the global studies path, they would take four classes that related to global studies.
The exception is the sustainability path. Students will be required to take three courses at CSUN rather than two.
“This is because it is a different minor at CSUN, specifically in sustainability. The other four lead to a minor in civic engagement,” Bruzzese said.
Regardless of the path they take to get to CSUN, the GE Paths program guarantees students a seat in the class once they get there, according to Barbara Anderson, the dean and admin lead of the project.
Right now the program is exclusive to students at Pierce who intend to transfer to CSUN. Students will not be able to take other courses at other junior colleges to fulfill the requirements, according to Lim.
Students who do not intend to go to CSUN can still enroll in a path, but will not receive the minor. There is no reason why a student should not enroll in the GE Paths program, according to Wood.
More paths and more classes will be added to the program, according to Lim. The faculty is working on adding more classes in the immediate future, though he did not specify which classes will be added.
“It is up to the departments to decide which classes they want to add to the program,” Anderson said.
The faculty is working hard to promote the GE Paths program and encourage enrollment. There will be meetings and events throughout the semester for students to gain a better understanding including a documentary series shown in the Great Hall, the exact date is unknown, according to Anderson.
The next public meeting will take place Tuesday, May 21 from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. in the Great Hall. All students and faculty who are interested are invited to attend.