As the semester winds down and classes begin to wrap up many students are forced to reflect on the value of courses as a whole by student evaluations. Senior students breeze through these evaluations having filled out so many before. But there are certain classes that many seniors often take for granted, portfolio classes being one of them.
For many majors across campus these portfolio classes are required to be taken in the last semester of the undergraduate degree. It requires students to either compile work done over the course of undergraduate studies or do a final project or paper that will benefit a student after graduation. These courses are designed to help students prepare for graduation and become job market or graduate school ready.
Often times these classes can be seen as a hassle or a waste of time. But in the ending weeks of school and having to reflect on courses by way of student evaluations, the importance of these types of classes has been made clear. The professors at West Texas A&M University are truly invested in the success of seniors and want to help them with more than just a decent resume and cover letter. They want to spark thought on things that some seniors might not have considered before or pushed aside as an unimportant topic.
It is often asked of seniors to explain what they took away from their time at WT or what advice they would offer underclassman, and an answer heard repeatedly is the importance of working with professors. Underclassman can sometimes be wary of visiting with professors or swinging by their office at office hours. Students find the value of this in their upperclassmen years and learn that working with and getting to know professors is actually beneficial to the success of undergraduate studies. These professors are more willing to write letters of recommendations or help with resumes and cover letters for students they know well.
Professors that teach these classes know what students need to start thinking about even if they don’t want to or think it’s a pointless thing to address. By bringing topics like budgeting, interview tips and how to complete a successful job application to the forefront of a class makes students start planning for the future and can breeze through these applications because they are prepared and have all required material readily available.
Learning how to budget money is something that many students are already doing, but not necessarily in a long form way. It’s these types of classes that make students reevaluate methods they are already doing and approach them in a way that is more beneficial for life after graduation.
Professors have also been through many job interviews and graduate school applications. They’ve been there and they want to offer advice and help. They know how to handle issues such as asking about the salary at a certain job or what to think about when considering taking a job that requires a move. There are a lot of expenses that are unforeseen when planning for a move and these professors know how to ask for a larger salary or paid moving expenses to be able to accept job offers that require moving.
Some portfolio classes cause grumbles among senior students because they feel like they aren’t learning any new material. They have already been preparing mentally for graduation and know what kinds of jobs they want to apply for. But these classes aren’t designed for learning new material. It may take students an entire semester to recognize why they are required to take such courses, but they truly are beneficial for those graduating. They prepare students for life after graduation week by week. Assignments may become inconvenient for students juggling their last load of classes, but filling out applications becomes a lot easier when you have been required to revamp or create materials required. Even practice interviews go a long way in job preparation.
