A Proposal to Increase Awareness of Unfamiliar Majors

Introduction
Students today often find it difficult selecting a major to guide them throughout
their college years. We can attribute a portion of this problem to the increased pace
of a higher educational system. At the start of a students college career, they are
given the opportunity to select from countless numbers of concentrations. This in
turn, leads into an issue of students being unaware of the variety of majors a
university has to offer. Moreover, as entering students often enter with a large goal
in mind, whether it is to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer, they neglect putting
into perspective the time and dedication required for such vigorous career paths. If
students have the opportunity to explore the field they are interested in and learn
about what careers can stem from those concentrations, students can follow their
college paths without questioning their decisions later on in their college years.
Problem
Ordinarily, students begin college with pre=requisite courses that they think will
supplement future courses. It is not until later, after completing a few of these
related courses, do students realize that they lack the passion and/or the motivation
to continue on. Choosing to change majors, or to transfer to a different college can
cause a setback for students such as the loss of necessary credits to earn a degree.
This is an issue for students today, as it can affect a students graduation time, their
money, and even a universitys graduation rate.
Objectives
To resolve the issue of students having difficulty selecting and retaining a major, the
following should be considered:
Restricting students from selecting a major until their second year, which will
allow students to broaden their decisions and allow them to recognize many of
the other majors that are available to them.
Requiring students to attend seminars held by college seniors and/or teaching
assistants, allowing younger students to understand the reasoning behind their
chosen paths.
Provide hands-on experience or job shadowing in the respective careers, giving
the students an idea of what the students can expect in their future.
Proposed Solution
I propose that students are restricted from choosing their majors before the
beginning of their second year in college, and requiring them to attend seminars
that will ultimately help them decide which majors they think are suitable for them.
First year students should not be forced to choose their majors right away, instead,
they should take the general core classes required for all majors first. These classes
can include the essential courses involving math, english, science, etc. Having
students attend seminars with seniors speaking, will offer students an opportunity
to listen to those who have been successful in the path they have selected; thus
reinforcing whether or not the student wants to explore deeper into the career path

they choose. In addition, I propose that students are required to have hands-on
experience with the career path of their choice. This exposure to the real world will
help students decide sooner, rather than waiting until they take on internships, if
they will enjoy their job from the major they choose. This proposed solution will give
students a sense of relief by knowing exactly what they are getting themselves into,
and knowing that they will be satisfied with the career path they choose.
Method
Students will not be given the opportunity to choose their major until their second
year of college. This will offer them an opportunity to explore other areas of study
that may be of interest to them. During this time, students will be required to attend
seminars which will have college seniors or teaching assistants in their respective
studies speaking about why they chose the major they did. This will not only help
reinforce why they have chosen the field they are in, but it will help new students
decide whether or not the major is right for them. Seniors that are at the top of their
class in their majors will be asked to speak and give their input as to why they
chose their majors. Their contributions will help guide the new students to
appropriately choose the majors that are best suited for them. Groups of students
will then be organized to shadow an employee in their respective career path. The
students will then be able to understand the basic environment that they will be
working in, and conclude if this career path is fit for them.
According to Liz Freedman who is the student employment coordinator at Butler
University, she believes that students normally choose a major based on influence
rather than what they truly want to do in the long run. This can be prevented by
educating students of the different majors there are beforehand, allowing them to
truly choose from a variety of majors that may be of interest to them. Freedman
also states that students have lived the majority of their lives under someones
guidance. Through the help of senior speakers, the students will be able learn to
take the next step in life on their own, choosing what they want to do rather than
being inclined to choose one by someone else. Allowing first year students to
carelessly choose their major could potentially leave the student conflicted, as
he/she does not know whether or not this major is right for them. The idea of
allowing students to obtain early hands-on experience with the career path they
choose will allow them to become more comfortable with their decisions and even
motivate them on the way. In a study done by Kamau, she noticed that people who
have experienced job shadowing can help performance, as well as lowering levels of
work-related stress. Students who take on job shadowing early on would be able to
expose themselves to the real world, preparing them for the future when they would
have to do the job on their own. This is beneficial, not only for students to
determine if they want to stick with the career path, but also for them to mentally
prepare themselves for the future.
In order to ensure that this proposal works, surveys will be handed out at the end of
each seminar to evaluate students individual opinions. The surveys will ask the
students if the seminars helped them reinforce their choice in which major they
chose, and if they thought the seminars were helpful at all. Also, I plan on
interviewing a few randomly selected individuals to have them give their feedback
of what they thought of the seminars. The interview will be short and straight

forward, questioning them if they had an original major in mind, and if the seminars
had made them think otherwise. Both the survey and interviews will be fashioned so
that they can give feedback as to what more the seminars can offer, and/or if they
are even effective in the first place.
Resources
To ensure that this process is carried out smoothly, I will require the cooperation of
staff members working within student services. In addition, I will require the
assistance of college seniors within every major to help me facilitate my goal.
Lastly, I will need the help of student services or even counselors to help organize
groups and find willing employers to show the new students their working
environments. Individuals from student services will help authorize the use of an
auditorium in order to hold such seminars. They will also help coordinate when
these seminars will be held, and how they will be advertised. The seniors will be
speakers in these seminars, informing new students about their respective major
and why they chose that major. Students will then attend a job shadowing session
which will be coordinated by student services by placing them into groups to
observe what it is like to work in the jobs that their major can lead to.
Qualifications
As a junior at Wayne State University, I am very familiar with changing majors and
the complications that arise with changing majors. Having attended a community
college beforehand, I had my classes originally tailored so that my pre-requisite
courses would be fulfilled; allowing me to take on the major required classes in
order for me to graduate within four years. However, when I decided to change
majors, some of the classes that I have taken from the community college do not
apply to the new major that I am currently working on. As an undergraduate, I can
relate to the frustration of many students who decide to change majors, experience,
realizing that I have prolonged my graduation time.
Conclusion
New students today are choosing their majors too quickly without putting enough
thought into what they want to do with the rest of their lives. With this method I
have proposed, the students will be given more time to elect a major. They will also
be given the opportunity to explore other possibilities and even acquire hands-on
experience with the majors they are interested in. I am very eager about the
possibility of implementing this method; to educate new students of other potential
career paths so they can choose the right one from the start.

Works Cited
Freedman, Liz. "The Mentor." The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major:
Why Institutions Should Prohobit Choice until Second Year (2013): Web.
Kamau, C. "Effects of Shadowing and Supervised On-the-job Inductions on Mental
Health Nurses." J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs Journal of Psychiatric and Mental
Health Nursing 21.4 (2014): 379-82. Web.