Student representatives and faculty met in the Ronnie Williams Student Center for the annual majors fair to discuss their programs with students with undeclared majors.
The event was hosted by Academic Advising, with 98% of departments in attendance.
The main goal of the majors fair is to give students the information they need from the departments they are interested in so they can decide on their major.
Senior Clinical Instructor Steve Ward from the Department of Teaching and Learning was one of the representatives for the Master of Arts in Teaching program, which is specifically reserved for students obtaining their teacher licensure.
“We currently have 230 active students,” Ward said. “They are all people that have a bachelor’s degree in something that’s not education. They either graduated recently from UCA with a noneducational bachelor’s and they’ve decided to become a teacher, or some of them have been working as accountants or they’ve been working for social services or anything else you can think of and now they’ve decided they want to become a teacher.”
The MAT program requires someone with a bachelor’s degree to pass the state Praxis exams for entry into the program, where they almost immediately enter into their own classroom.
“The large majority of that 230 are people that teach all over the state of Arkansas currently as they’re working on their undergraduate degree,” Ward said.
The MAT program at UCA is the state’s largest MAT program.
“We also have an undergraduate program in Middle Level Education that is ideal for people that are interested in teaching and maybe aren’t exactly sure what they want to teach,” Ward said. “Middle level allows students to choose any two from the four core subjects they like the best.”
UCA also has a K-6 education program, as well as special education for interested students.
“The Department of Teaching and Learning is full of well-educated, kind and graceful faculty who want nothing more than for anyone who’s interested in teaching or who’s been thinking about teaching to join us,” Ward said. “Let us help support you as you reach your dream.”
Nursing Education Counselor Taylor Nardi works closely with around 400 aspiring health care professionals and serves as the academic adviser for all nursing students, helping them find scholarships.
“I make sure they have all their prereqs before they can go into our nursing program,” Nardi said. “It’s strictly GPA-based, with 125 seats available and usually around 200 people apply. A lot of people are not getting in and then we try to help them find other alternatives because we know they want to be a nurse still.”
Nardi said the reason why the program for nursing isn’t any bigger is because there simply isn’t space for it.
“We don’t have a hospital attached like Baptist and Little Rock and stuff like that,” Nardi said. “But, we do have our SIM [simulation] lab and then we send all of them out to clinicals around at other hospitals like Baptist, Conway Regional and others.”
Nardi said that the programs don’t have to do a lot of recruitment due to the large demand.
“I would recommend looking into multiple programs,” Nardi said. “Not one program is going to be the best for you. There’s always other options you can have. Looking into the programs, not being afraid to ask questions and also doing your own research is very important because a lot of students know where they want to be in nursing, but they don’t know the levels of nursing or the education that’s required.”
The nursing application is open until Nov. 1. Students interested in the 2024 cohort should apply on the nursing website
Junior Micah Elpers is a part of UCA’s radiography program and was a student representative at the fair to promote the program.
“The Baptist Health system contributes a lot of money and things into the Baptist Health College and our goal is to get more people thinking about it,” Elpers said. “I think a lot of times when you think medical, you think nursing or doctors or maybe a pharmacist, you don’t really think about the people who take the scans or do the small things.”
Elpers said the radiography program is intense, but worth it if there is passion behind it.
“You definitely need to have a love for the body,” Elpers said. “If you don’t love anatomy and the skeletal structure, it’s not for you. That’s what we are focused on.”
Elpers said despite it being intense, once she learned how to study properly, it wasn’t too bad.
“Don’t be scared,” Elpers said. “I think it scares a lot of people. A lot of the world right now needs health care workers, and I think a lot of people are scared to get burnt out. But if you find the right job, the right people, you find the right group and program, you’ll love it.”
Director of Academic Advising Leigh Ann DenHartog helps students become successful through her advisers’ passion for getting students to choose the best route for their future.
“My advisers’ job is basically to be a resource to help students with their academic progress and also to just be a resource to help them if they need answers to any questions they have,” DenHartog said.
DenHartog said the majors fair has a large impact on students wanting to change or officially declare their major.
“We just had one student come in two seconds ago,” DenHartog said. “We have a QR code that they can get to the form in order to do that. If anyone wants to change their major, I would strongly suggest they talk to their advisers and help with the transition. We’ve helped them figure out who their extra adviser’s gonna be. Maybe even what classes they’re going to take. It’s like a partnership from one adviser to another adviser.”
DenHartog said she suggests students interested in changing their major should do research on it and look at the department’s specific websites.
“Talk to faculty or talk to other people in the major or even talk to the chair because everybody likes to brag on their department because they are passionate about it,” DenHartog said.
