written by Mandee Heller Adler, founder and CEO of International College Counselors
University of Florida has radically changed the undergraduate college experience.
New to the college is Innovation Academy (IA), a new enrollment model that operates on a spring-summer calendar. IA lets the popular UF admit more students than current capacity will allow.
Students enrolled in IA will take UF courses on campus during the spring and summer terms. They will not be allowed to take fall classes on campus for the entire undergraduate degree program.
By limiting students to spring and summer classes only, the University of Florida hopes to take advantage of the classroom space that becomes available when students graduate or drop out after fall semester or leave campus to study abroad.
During the fall, IA students are encouraged to take advantage of online courses, study abroad programs, internships, research, community service and/or employment.
IA students will be able to participate in fall semester activities available to all UF students. This includes access to all UF services and activities, all year long, including football and other events. In addition, IA students can live on campus, belong to any club, participate in student government and participate in Rush.
IA students will meet the same requirements and standards for their majors as all UF students. They will also receive the same academic advising as other UF students.
Students in IA will share the same undergraduate experience. UF describes this as a way to provide a small-college experience in combination with the opportunities available at a large, comprehensive research university.
Who is Eligible to Participate?
Initially, the program will be limited to 500-800 freshmen and transfer students admitted to select majors. The long-term goal is a mix of 2000 students.
When Will the Program Begin?
The first group of students admitted to IA will enroll Spring 2013.
For more information about UF’s Innovation Academy, click here or contact an expert college counselor at International College Counselors, if you are a client or interested in becoming one.
International College Counselors
954-414-9986
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each student. Our college advising company works with domestic and international students. Let us help you make the best decisions in choosing, getting into, and paying for college
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I'm currently a freshman in the Innovation Academy, and for people researching this program, I would like to say STAY AWAY FROM IA. My schedule, college experience, and academics have been turned upside down because of IA. My very first semester, I ran into issues immediately with having to wait until *next year* to take my first major-related critical tracking course because my major did not offer that class during the summer. When I went to the advisor of my major, I was told that they too were very confused about being put in IA, since they did not have enough staff or classes to support being in IA.
ReplyDeleteI just started my Summer semester, and I started crying out of frustration today. My required IA class does not fit in my schedule, and you can only take each class during the semester they are assigned in. This means my schedule has been thrown off by a YEAR. The only way to remedy this is if I give up my major related critical tracking course. Oh and did I mention that because, while dealing with this, the drop/add deadline for classes passed and now I might end up with a hold on my account because I don't have the necessary full-time credits?
In addition to this, IA seems to promise that the 'Innovation Major' does not replace any credits (which literally cannot be possible). In fact, if you're in IA, it is literally impossible to double major or minor in anything else.
What's more is that when I expressed that I wanted to switch out of this program and arguing with them for a while, one of the staff that was of high position pulled me aside from my parents and told me that I was placed in this program because I probably didn't make it into UF itself. Unless you feel like being treated like a second-class UF student, don't bother applying.
When we complained that we were misled even though we researched IA to click the button on the application, we were told that *everyone* knew what they were signing up for and wanted to be in this program. So far, out of the 30+ people I have talked to, not one person has said that they knew what they were getting into.