WVU forms unit for undeclared majors - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

WVU forms unit for undeclared majors

Posted: Updated:
  • Education

  • Monday, June 17 2013 3:15 PM EDT2013-06-17 19:15:41 GMT
    The program is composed of five courses that introduce students to social media and digital tools and teach them how to use those skills to promote a business or organization.
    The program is composed of five courses that introduce students to social media and digital tools and teach them how to use those skills to promote a business or organization.
  • Monday, June 17 2013 12:27 PM EDT2013-06-17 16:27:27 GMT
    Students will take five three-hour courses, including three new online social media courses. They are social media strategy, social media applications and social media campaigns.
    Students will take five three-hour courses, including three new online social media courses. They are social media strategy, social media applications and social media campaigns.
  • Sunday, June 16 2013 6:30 PM EDT2013-06-16 22:30:12 GMT
    Mayor George Karos and Shepherd President Susanne Shipley signed an agreement Friday that allows city workers to get the discounts for classes that benefit the city.
    Mayor George Karos and Shepherd President Susanne Shipley signed an agreement Friday that allows city workers to get the discounts for classes that benefit the city.

West Virginia University is reorganizing its support system for undergraduate students who have not yet declared a major.

At the Board of Governors meeting on Nov. 16, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Elizabeth Dooley outlined WVU's newly proposed University College – a centralized support system/program to assist students who don't have an academic major when they start college.

University College will be an "academic home" for pre-majors, general studies students and nontraditional students and will launch in July 2013.

Currently, some 6,000 students are serviced by the academic advising center, which will be replaced with the University College, she said.

"It is our hope that these students will receive structured and coordinated academic services that will empower them to succeed and help them to make the transition into a major program," Dooley said in a WVU news release.
Academic and career advising will remain central components of the new college, but it will also encompass Blueprint for Student Success programs such as the First-year Experience, Center for Civic Engagement, the Resident Faculty Leader program, summer transition entry program, McNair Scholars program and  Associate Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Elizabeth Dooley outlined WVU's newly proposed University College – a centralized support system/program to assist students who don't have an academic major when they start college. This new unit will be an "academic home" for pre-majors, general studies students and nontraditional students, she said, and will be launched in July 2013.
Dooley will serve as dean of the University College.

Dooley said WVU's retention rate of 77.2 percent and graduation rate of 57 percent are both above national averages, but "we can do better."