By TROY HUTCHISON
Pima Post
Most Pima Community College students looking to earn their associate degrees must take a one-credit class called “College Success/Career Planning,” better known as STU 100.
What is STU 100? It is a class that prepares new incoming students for what to expect during their college experience and helps them understand how to prepare for their classes and get help in those classes if needed.
Depending on several factors, the class could be a valuable experience or a waste of time.
From my experience, it is a good class for new students going to college. It makes the transition from high school to college a smoother one and will provide the student a better understanding of the expectations and what is needed to succeed at Pima.
“This class has helped me develop better time management skills and gives me more of the keys I need for success,” freshman Seth Criger said. “We actually had an assignment on how to navigate the Pima website, which helped me a lot because I’m a new student to the college experience.”
The class will challenge incoming students to learn where they can receive help for their classes and how to get that help, whether from the online website or in person at one of the many PCC campuses.
STU 100 will help incoming students navigate the social side of college by having them work in groups with their peers.
During a student’s first year of college, life can be difficult if you don’t know many people. So, having someone force you to change groups and talk among your classmates can help students get out of their shells and meet new people from all different backgrounds.
See, it isn’t only a chance for students to meet new people; it is also an opportunity for them to realize that there are others going through similar issues.
However, for students that have been at Pima for a while and now need the class to graduate or transfer, the class can seem like a waste given that you know how things generally work on any campus.
Still, it gives some insight to those who have been around for a while that they would’ve never gained if they didn’t take this class. A key component to this class is seeing what others are going through when it comes to their majors or understanding what they want to do with their degrees.
Having that insight is valuable if you don’t know exactly what you want to do career-wise.
So, the class can be beneficial for those who already have been in school for a while. In fact, it might teach those students something new about the campus that they didn’t know or something new about their own decision-making when it comes to studying plans or organizing skills.