EDU101GraduationPlan

Part of being successful at UMF is having a plan of action for what you want and how you're going to get it. Completing a liberal arts degree is tricky enough but if you are hoping to complete all the requirements for teacher certification in the same time frame, you just increased the complexity of your plan. A good "graduation plan" will serve as a guide at each pre-registration/registration period. It's an outline or listing of what courses you plan to take and in which semesters you plan to take them. A good graduation plan is not set in concrete, it's meant to serve as a guide. And when changes are made (a course is full, you decide to go abroad, you need to re-take a class, . . . ), you will be able to make the appropriate adjustments.

There are several resources to help you make a graduation plan:


 * 1) The myCampus planning tool (M.A.P.--My Academic Plan). The planner is easy to use and very helpful.
 * 2) The patent-pending, "Dr. Theresa 4-year plan maker" --take a piece of plain paper, fold it in half, then in half the other way and in half again. (Did you get that?) Hopefully, you'll end up with 8 rectangles. Label each with a semester (fall 2010, spring 2011, fall 2011, spring 2012, etc.). Use pencil to start putting your courses into the semester you think you might take something. Be ready to erase and move stuff around. You don't have to use all the rectangles if you're graduating in less than 4 years and you can feel free to turn it over and use more rectangles on the back if your graduation plan takes more than 8 semesters, it's just nice to get everything on one piece of paper.
 * 3) For Secondary Education majors, you can use an analysis sheet (available from a peer mentor or from Kristin Hickey in Ed Center 219) and fill in all the blanks with which semester you plan to take which course.

EXCEPTIONS/VARIATIONS
 * 1) Still not sure what your major will be? Pick one and map out a plan for that one. Then map out a plan for the other major. Sometimes making the plans helps make it clear what major you will prefer or need. NOTE: for the sake of this assignment, you only need to bring one of your plans to class.
 * 2) Are you in (or will you be in) a major besides education in which your advisor has told you, "Don't make a 4-year plan."? If so, bring the printout of the degree requirements for your major to class. Consider it a "checklist" if not a plan.
 * 3) Are you going to take a semester or a year off? Still make the plan. You can just write in new semesters as labels when you get back.
 * 4) Are you transferring to another college/university? Make a plan for your new school. You'll need one there as much as you'll need one here.