In the past, not every student has perceived First Year Experience to be as beneficial as the university would have hoped.

And the new changes to the FYE program may not necessarily change that.

For the last few years, the course has been a bi-weekly information session that crams too much extraneous information into half a semester.

Through an extensive re-evaluation process, however, the face of FYE has been molded into something almost unrecognizable.

In addition to covering the textbook, which will be on Campus Connect instead of overpriced in the bookstore, the new course is designed to focus on specific topics.

While the idea of giving each class section a specific theme makes the course more appealing, it does not solve the dilemma. It simply puts a Band-aid on the problem.

The course was originally designed to help students “make a successful academic, personal and social transition to college,” yet the content shies from this idealistic goal in a number of ways.

First, much of what was taught in past FYE classes was factual information that students rarely care about nor need to succeed in college. Though it builds a sense of community, it seems unlikely that an incoming freshman will see the need to know why the bridge on campus is named the Taft Bridge.

There are more pressing matters to address.

Though the topics may be interesting, faculty and students must remember the course’s true objective: to help incoming freshmen make the transition.

Forget forget about history, forget about teaching students to use a library card, forget about the computer labs. That will come with time.

What’s important is educating freshman students about topics that many of them will be confronted with throughout their college careers – what’s important is preparing students to handle tough issues, whether they be academic, personal or social, and showing students where to turn for help.

But the new changes don’t have to be complete failure. There is hope.

Extending the course to a full semester is a definite improvement. This idea allows students to form more meaningful relationships with a consistent group of people and provides students with an obvious support system.

Also, the expansion gives students the chance to discuss problems as they arise, whether they are about the enrollment process or more serious topics such as binge drinking or roommate problems; it permits a faculty member to be there throughout the duration of the freshman first semester when the transition is most difficult.

But it’s not enough.

To make the new and improved FYE a success, classes must be directed to focus on the issue at hand – life as a college student and the issues involved therein. Conversation must be engaging, poignant and relavent.

In the past, FYE hasn’t always been an incredibly beneficial course to incoming freshmen students. Let’s change that.