Academic Support: Navigating the Learning Plan

The information in this section is meant to alert you to some of the features of the CPCS learning plan that you will encounter along the way from the time you start up til you graduate. As you begin to develop your learning plan and think about how you will move through the CPCS curriculum, it can be helpful to have some sense of the things you need to pay attention to along the way. So. . . in thinking toward the future, here are some things to consider.

Where to start:

Completing the competencies at Level I Core Knowledge and Skills should be a first priority. This helps insure you have the foundation skills you need to progress through the other levels. Read up about the competencies that you're considering when you're making decisions about what to do. Competency statements can be accessed via the Red Book Degree Requirements and Competency Statement links or via the Student Support Homepage ( Competency Statements ).

When to select a major and concentration:

By the time you are mid-way through work on Level II Core competencies, we recommend that you select and start work on your major and concentration. Why? Competencies are offered in different cycles. If you wait too long to select a major and concentration, you may have a difficult time finding the competencies you need to graduate without having to wait for them to come around again in the cycle. If you start work on your major and concentration while you're still working at Level II, you should have enough variety in terms of what you need on your learning plan to keep going at a steady pace.

How do you select a major? What and where are the competency requirements for the different majors?

Descriptions, requirements and competency statements for the different majors can be found in the Red Book at http://www.cpcs.umb.edu/support/studentsupport/red_book/red_book_majors_concentrations.htm . During your first semester, we will also run information sessions for new students with representatives from the different majors and concentrations. These will be an opportunity for you to hear from faculty about what the different majors entail and the kinds of opportunities they afford students. You are also encouraged to speak with your advisor or a representative from any of the majors or concentrations to learn more about them and to see how well they fit with your learning goals. When you've picked a major and concentration, you will want to make sure to enter the requirements into the boxes on your learning plan so that you can account for them as you do your academic planning.

The Applied Technology Competency:

The ability to make effective use of today's technology is an essential requirement for most careers and for success in any academic program. Increasingly, strong computer skills have become a critical requirement for effective and purposeful communication within organizations and between organizations and constituencies. Employers and graduate students expect college graduates to have the skills they need to make effective use of technology for communication, research and presentation. Therefore, CPCS requires all students to develop and demonstrate basic proficiency in a range of applied technology skills.

Streams and Themes:

One way to make the most of the learning plan and your learning experience is to develop a stream of competencies that allows you to pursue a theme that you're really interested in. For example: If in Level II, you focus your work on Making Arguments around the USA Patriot Act and you get very interested in this subject, you may want to think about taking your work on that topic to the next level and you could do the "Influencing Policy" competency on the same topic, exploring how these policies came into being and how you could influence policy makers around this issue.

Sometimes you will find come up with a theme that interests you, and you can work with your advisor and/or with the Experiential Learning Team to develop a plan for doing a "stream" of competencies around the same topic. Sometimes, faculty may identify a theme and offer a series of instructional activities over the course of a few semesters that stream a number of competencies together on the same topic.

If you are interested or have some ideas, talk to your advisor during your first semester to get some help on mapping out a stream.

Capstones:

The Capstone is a chance for you to pull together the work that's most important to you that you've been doing at CPCS. Capstones are completed toward the end of a student's semester. Students are expected to have completed 25 competencies (through evaluation and/or transfer) before they take on the Capstone.

But, it's not too early to start thinking about the Capstone in your first semesters at CPCS. If there are some issues or skills that you want to focus on in your time at CPCS you can use the "themes and streams" approach in developing your learning plan and start moving in the right direction toward your Capstone.

There are four Capstone competencies. Each student selects one. Each Capstone has a set of competencies at the earlier levels that help students develop the skills they need to complete the Capstone. For example: If you are interested in the Public Advocacy Capstone because you want to be an advocate, the building blocks for that are Understanding Arguments, Making Arguments, Debating Policy Issues, Influencing Policy. When you are making decisions about what electives to do at Level III, working with an advisor to identify good building blocks to the Capstone is a really good idea.

When should you do the Capstone? Students are expected to have completed 25 competencies (through evaluation and/or transfer) before they take on the Capstone.You are strongly advised to start work on your Capstone at least one semester before you intend to file for graduation.

What if you have no idea what you want to do for a Capstone? Don't panic. Give yourself a little time. If you still have no idea by the time you start work at Level III, meet with one of the Capstone advisors to think about it together. Also, it's a really good idea to save all your work from other competencies. Looking that over with a Capstone advisor may help provide some focus for your Capstone project.

Portfolio Tips:

The Dimensions of Learning competency at Level I will help you to demonstrate your entry level writing skills. When you start working on Level II competencies, you should make it a habit to save all your papers, tapes from presentations, etc. for future submission for the Communications Portfolio. That way you won't have to scramble to find products for the Portfolio. Read through the Portfolio requirements during your first semester, so you'll have an idea about the different kinds of products that are required/accepted.

We strongly encourage students to attend the Portfolio Workshops, especially the Writing Across the Curriculum workshops to help prepare you for the Portfolio. In these workshops you will get assistance with getting the products for your Portfolio ready for submission. If you work on developing the products you need as you go, the Portfolio will not be a hurdle for you.

Don't wait until your last semester to submit your Portfolio. When you have five products ready for review, submit your Portfolio for evaluation. All students are strongly advised to submit their Portfolios no later than their second to last semester (i.e., if you're planning to graduate in May 2006, submit your Portfolio no later than Fall 2005).

Get in the habit of asking the faculty you're working with (in class or out) which assignments that you're completing for them are appropriate for the Portfolio. If will help you insure that you get the products you need and help the faculty know to pay special attention in providing feedback on your work.