advising

ADVISING HANDBOOK FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
College of Education, Nursing
and Health Professions*
The College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions (ENHP)
takes a hands-on approach to career-oriented programs in education
and the health professions. Service learning and clinical experience
are essential components throughout the student’s undergraduate
degree program, and are required in a number of classes for
education and health professions majors. Service learning experiences
and specialization courses that begin during the first semester of
the first year help education students determine if their selected
major will move them toward the career that is appropriate for them.
Practical experiences help give students the confidence they will need
in entering the working world after graduation. Course requirements
include three components: general education courses (including All-
University Curriculum course requirements), specialization or major
course requirements, and electives.
Advising
ENHP faculty take pride in the college’s advising system. Students
work closely with their advisors, who take both an academic and a
personal interest in the professional development of each individual.
Advising begins in the first semester of the first year through
ENHP 140 Freshman Dialogue, a one-credit course designed to
meet the needs of first-year students as they transition to college life,
or for students in the Health Sciences program, HS 140 and HS
141. Students meet with their advisors one hour per week to explore
different aspects of the University, as well as their personal and
academic goals and professional competencies. (Following the first
semester, health professions students are assigned to a specific faculty
advisor within their major.)
Course Selections for First-Semester Students
Most first-semester students register for a total of 13–17 credits
if they are health professions majors, or 16–17 credits if they
are education majors. Students with declared, diagnosed, and
documented learning disabilities may wish to take the minimum 12
or 13 credits required for full-time status. They are also eligible to
take advantage of the services of Learning Plus, an office dedicated
specifically to the needs of learning-disabled students. Students
who take fewer credits a semester might not be able to graduate in
four years.
Department of Education
Early Childhood Education
Birth through kindergarten or preschool through grade 3
Elementary Education Grades 1 through 6
Integrated Special Education/Elementary Education
Students successfully completing this major and thereafter attaining
teaching certification are prepared to teach elementary school,
grades 1 through 6; and comprehensive special education, grades
kindergarten through 12, covering emotional disturbance, learning
disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.
General Education Majors (For those who have not yet decided on
a major within the Department of Education)
All students select the following courses: Dialogue, Introduction
to Education, Academic Writing I, and an All-University
Curriculum course from one of the following categories: AUCA,
AUCC, AUCW, or AUCT (see page 9). Students who plan to
teach should choose a course from the Discovering America series
when taking an AUCW. Students also select two courses from the
following: Contemporary Mathematics or Introduction to Modern
Mathematics; American Government; Introductory Psychology; and
Introduction to Sociology.
Subject-Area Majors and Concentration Areas
All students in the Department of Education who are pursuing an
education major leading to teacher certification are required to have a
second major outside of the education field, either in another major
offered at the University or in an interdisciplinary major, such as
the college’s state-approved behavioral studies major. This second
major requirement is the result of State of Connecticut regulations
for certification. The interdisciplinary major option is available to all
education majors who wish to teach, with the exception of secondary
education English or mathematics majors, whose second major is
English or mathematics, respectively.
Behavioral studies combines study in the fields of psychology,
sociology, political science, and communication. Students who plan
to take the behavioral studies major should take an introductory
course in one of these four areas. Students who wish to pursue a
second major other than behavioral studies may choose a course
recommended for Arts and Sciences majors in their chosen subjectarea
major. Students who wish to study a foreign language or sign
language may choose a modern language course during the first
semester.
* Nursing—Nursing is not available as an undergraduate major leading to a bachelor’s
degree and to licensure as an RN. Nursing offers an advanced program to licensed
and practicing registered nurses who wish to obtain a B.S.N. degree. This program
is not open to traditional first-year or transfer students but only to those who are
already RNs.
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