Semester at Sea Program - Research Paper Example

?Semester at Sea of the Executive Summary SAS programs have been popular among the college and for its practicality and effectiveness. The University of Sydney plans to introduce the program to its campus student which will help in developing the skills and also in improving the personality of the students. The author of the study will highlight the features and benefits of the SAS programs. The study will also highlight its effectiveness especially to the students studying Humanities, Social science and Environment. Finally, the study will also give an insight as to how the Semester At Sea program will help in imparting theoretical and practical knowledge to the students. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Target Market 5 SAS Education Program & Students of Sydney University 5 Market Potential 6 Regular & Mid Year Application Students 6 Advantages of SAS programs & its effectiveness 6 Specific Advantages to the students of Sydney University 7 Challenges in introducing the SAS program in Sydney University 8 Recommendations 9 Conclusion 9 Introduction Semester at Sea (SAS) is study based program which had originated in the year 1963 and is managed by Institute of Shipboard Education which is headquartered in Virginia (SAS, 2013f). The main objective of the study is to attract students from universities of varied nations and disseminate information related to humanities and other subjects. The main attraction of the SAS program is that it is a floating university which means that the courses are provided to the student while they are at sea and the teaching program stops while the students are at port (SAS, 2013g). The institute believes in providing informal and formal education to the students in a non-traditional format to attract their attention and make studies an enjoyable program. Sydney University (SU) is one of the leading universities of Australia and is located at Darlington at the outskirts of Sydney CBD. The university is renowned for its well designed courses and the flexibility of the course timings. However, the marketing director had reviewed the current academic course and was able to locate those certain elements in the humanities, social sciences, and environment. The marketing assistant believed that teaching guidance from external faculties would only enhance the developmental skills and the knowledge of the students of SU. The SAS teaching program are designed in such a way that not only will it help in imparting theoretical but also practical knowledge. It would also enhance the interpersonal and soft skills of the students which would pave their path of success. The marketing assistant will revaluate the current academic courses offered by SU and then assess the needs and requirements of the students studying humanities, social sciences, and environment courses for their betterment. Target Market SAS Education Program & Students of Sydney University SAS offers 75 courses related to varied disciplines including agriculture, shipping, environment etc. The courses are usually 100 day program which is mainly targeted for undergraduates and graduates travelling from North America to East or West Atlantic. The ship travel across 8 to 11 countries in Western Africa, Europe, South America and North America and offers a wide range of course related to various subjects. One can register for the summer, spring and fall course through online and offline methods. The summer programs are further designed and broken into short and long term courses which signify that flexibility of the courses is of utmost importance to the SAS program designers. The SAS programs are designed in such a way that it helps in filling the gaps of the courses and syllabuses designed by the regular colleges and universities. The students of SU studying humanities, social sciences and environment would be benefited by the courses because the existing syllabus at SU does not offer variation or any innovative topic has not been introduced in the current syllabus. Moreover, there is more flexibility in the SAS programs which allows students to enroll in the mid year application and regular programs as per their needs and requirements (University of Sydney, 2013a). Selective students enrolled in the humanities, social sciences and environment courses of the SU, will be allowed to register for the SA programs. This would allow the students not only to gain knowledge through intensive programs but would require them to impart the same knowledge to the remaining students in an effective way. Market Potential Regular & Mid Year Application Students A survey was conducted among the students of humanities, social sciences and environment studying in SU which focused on their opinion related to the structure of the existing courses and the tools used while teaching the course (University of Sydney, 2013b) The courses offered by SAS include additional credit points (SAS, 2013h). The student who have enrolled for the lower division courses were allocated with 1000 to 2000 points and the students enrolled in the upper division courses will be allocated 3000 level to 4000 level points. These points fetched by the students will be added to their regular courses of SU and will also help them to perform better in the field programs (SAS, 2013b). At present around 300 to 400 students will be selected studying in the regular and midyear courses of humanities, social sciences and environment in SU. The courses will be funded by the college authorities and the registration procedure will be assisted by the marketing assistant and the regular college authorities. Along with the students the teaching faculty will accompany the students to understand the course variations and also interact with voyage faculty to gain knowledge regarding the teaching methods of companion and regular courses (University of Sydney, 2013a). Advantages of SAS programs & its effectiveness To be specific the course itself has various benefits which help in enhancing the skills of the students which are as follows: The SAS program is flexible and would also require enrollment of students who have crossed past deadlines (SAS, 2013a). The global comparative lens series is also a distinctive feature and gives the student the opportunity to engage in comparative education Each voyage offers a distinctive course which helps the students to understand the various dynamic of the courses and also deepen their understanding about the specific features of the course and also the lifestyle that the students would be leading. Each course is designed to address their gaps and also teach the dynamics about the music, dance, voyage etc which can also enhance the personality and approach of the students. The floating voyage lessons would also include the state of the art library facilities, land based institution and access to online library resources and computer lab. The university would also include a traditional open house which would consist of academic sources and recreational facilities which would enhance the knowledge and intellectual skills of the students (SAS, 2013c). The shipping institute recruits 26 to 30 teachers from reputed institutions worldwide whose teaching method is unique, innovative, stimulating and flexible and they would help in imparting unique global education to the students (SAS, 2013e). Specific Advantages to the students of Sydney University The student would be imparted with innovative method of training and development like field lab programs, online transfer programs and extra credit earner programs. The shipping institute has also organized several programs which help in transferable credit to the regular course programs that would help the student in earning extra credit points. 98 percent of the students and the alumni have claimed that the SAS programs have proven to be significant for the students studying the regular courses in the universities (SAS, 2013d). World class faculty including Nobel Prize winner would be teaching courses of environment, social sciences and humanities to the SU students (SAS, 2013d). The SAS program would focus on the green initiatives that should be taken to improve the present environmental situation. The shipping institute offers a package that would include academic sources, recreational and accommodation facilities etc. Challenges in introducing the SAS program in Sydney University Only a handful of students have thorough knowledge about the specific SAS courses and their effectiveness The summer course registration procedure is predefined and the dates cannot be altered and the university has to adhere to the rules and regulations of the SAS program. The registration procedure can be done only through online method which not be suiting the needs and requirements of most of the students The introduction of the courses offered by the SAS program would require thorough knowledge about the courses and also about the institute. This would require the hiring of the teaching faculty of the shipping institute which would be expensive Recommendations The marketing director and assistant of SU need to focus on the successful advertisement of the various SAS programs. Firstly, the marketing assistant needs to acquire sufficient knowledge about the course details to impart it successfully to the student and the remaining faculty. Secondly, the course details should be matched with the specific requirements and the gaps of the existing courses. A special seminar should be conducted which would focus on the features of the courses. Thirdly, the marketing assistant should focus on the distributing flyers and customized mail to the students for garnering their attention. Since, social media is popular among the college and university students so information related to SAS program would be disseminated through popular social media websites to attract attention from the students. Conclusion Thus, it is observed that the SAS programs would help in addressing the specific education requirements of the college students and also help in enhancement of the knowledge and skills of the students. It would also help the teaching faculty to understand the various teaching dynamics and also gain knowledge about the interaction procedure with the students. References SAS. (2013a). Courses. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/summer-2013/courses/ SAS. (2013b). Field programs. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/summer-2013/field-programs/ SAS. (2013c). Open ship tours. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/undergraduate-ship-tours-open-ships/ SAS. (2013d). Why SAS? Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/why-sas/ SAS. (2013e). Faculty excellence. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/discover-sas/academics/faculty/ SAS. (2013f). Embracing our mission. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/discover-sas/our-organization/vision-mission-strategy/ SAS. (2013g). History. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/discover-sas/our-organization/our-history/ SAS. (2013h). Offering a world-class curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.semesteratsea.org/discover-sas/academics/courses-field-labs/ University of Sydney. (2013a). Midyear applications. Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au/ University of Sydney. (2013b). Find a course. Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au/courses/?utm_source=CWS&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=homepage Read More