Enrollment drives HEV designator changes


Students looking for classes under Human Environmental Studies - the HEV designator - will not be able to find them for class registration this fall.

The HEV department has added four designators to replace HEV to better direct students to classes.

The new designators will be Apparel Merchandise & Design (AMD), Interior Design (IND), Human Development and Family studies (HDF), which includes child development, and Foods and Nutrition (FNS).

Phame Camarena, chair of the HEV department, said the changes came about because of the rapid increase in the program's enrollment.

Camarena said there are 1,350 majors and 650 minors in the HEV department.

"It started from a program review," he said. "It became clear that our programs grew so large in size that sharing the same designators didn't make sense anymore."

All classes in the HEV designator was like having all science classes under a 'SCI' designator, Camarena said.

"Students will not have to make any changes with the Registrar," Camarena said. "The Registrar is aware of it."

The process for changing the designators started more than a year ago.

"We did send e-mails, discussing the changes to students already part of the program," Camarena said.

Kathryn Koch, associate dean of the College of Education and Human Services, said the designator change will definitely help students.

"Careers through our program are in high demand," Koch said. "That's also appealing to our program."

When it comes to clearing the confusion during class registration, Koch said the departments will have to do a good job of advising. She views the first year as being the hardest to help transition students to the change.

"(The HEV program) is among the biggest in the college," she said. "Because it has such a broad appeal, we can reach more students than other programs."

Camarena said another appeal to students is the Applied Professional Program structure of courses.

university@cm-life.com

Share: