Course Catalogue

REACH Core Courses*

All REACH students will enroll in the REACH core courses during the two year program.

Academic Success: This course provides useful tools to students to succeed in college courses. Activities will begin with basic organization and also include efficient note taking, study and test-taking skills. Students engage in individual and group activities to increase awareness of classroom dynamics. This course, taught in seminar fashion, assists students with test anxiety while providing students with methods of approaching diverse learning experiences.

Awareness of Issues in Society: America has a strong history of social, cultural, and religious unity, celebration, and conflict. This course includes a general exploration of diversity and social justice issues, along with an investigation of the some of the social implications associated with being a person with a disability. Students are guided on these issues to be empowered in self-advocacy in work, school, and community life. This course will also provide review and application for assertive communication skills.

Career Exploration: This course is designed to allow students to explore, enhance or broaden their work interests, skills, and potential career opportunities. Course topics include interest inventories, a review of vocational experiences, interactive employer presentations, informational interviews, and job site experiences. This foundation course emphasizes the self-assessment of a student’s individual vocational strengths in order for the student to make informed career decisions.

Computers and Technology I: This foundations course provides essential training on computer parts and functions, the Windows operating system, and computer applications. The course seeks to improve computer literacy and practical skills for computer use in everyday life. This course encourages the use of a personal computer as a tool to improve personal, academic, and workplace productivity.

Computers and Technology II: This course builds on skills learned in Computers and Technology I to reinforce fundamental computer competencies and strategies to simplify everyday life and enhance workplace performance. The course seeks to improve practical skills that benefit students in the workplace, communication with others, and daily life utility. Alternative technology tools are explored that are designed to improve one’s organization, communication, academic, entertainment, and work place needs and abilities.

Current Events and Citizenship: This course provides a forum to increase knowledge of and the ability to comment on current events. In addition this course will study the voting and political process and discuss civic responsibilities in the local and federal elections process with instruction on how students can participate. Use of various forms of media such as print, broadcast, or internet to develop critical thinking skills related to awareness of current events and how they impact the student. The course emphasizes personal safety issues, and effective communication skills for interacting with peers and college personnel.

Daily Living I: This course focuses on the components of successful living away from home. Topics include taking care of one’s living space, basic self-care, and living with a roommate in a residence hall. The course includes a student-developed plan for personal daily routines. Instruction will be individualized according to student skill levels.

Daily Living III: This course is centered upon experiential learning and application of skills learned in the previous semester. Activities occur primarily on campus, in the community and in the residence hall, and will be based on individual student functional levels. Expanding on the students’ familiarity with the campus and local community, this course seeks to build confidence in skills for independent living and leisure.

Fitness Series: This series of experiences is designed to improve the understanding and personal commitment to establishing and maintaining an active lifestyle. Course instruction focuses on benefits of physical activity, explores fitness experiences, informs students about weight management strategies, and leads to the development of individual fitness goals.

Health/Wellness I—Wellness Exploration: This introductory course in health and personal wellness will explore the dimensions of wellness. This seminar provides an overview of topics including: nutrition; responsible sexual behavior; consequences of substance use; and disease prevention. This information will help students become more knowledgeable about their own emotional, mental, and physical health. The course provides a framework for further exploration in health and wellness in everyday life.

Health and Wellness II—Healthy Lifestyles: This course personalizes health and wellness for the students. This second course, in a series, assists students in assessing their individual health and wellness decisions and behaviors to improve their current and long-term health and wellness.

Human Relationships and Sexuality: This course assists students in maintaining current and establishing new relationships with family, friends, co-workers, teachers, significant others, and strangers. This course focuses on emotions, interpersonal communication skills, social cues, appropriate workplace relationships, risk prevention, and responsible sexual behavior. The course also explores the influence of family values, culture, peer pressure and other factors that impact one’s decisions about sexual behavior.

Internship I: Part 1 of 3 consecutive internships, this beginning course introduces the student to the functional skills, job expectations and environments of the workplace. Each student will complete an internship in their identified career area of emphasis. Employers and mentors will provide direct support to the student in the workplace.

Internship II: Part 2 of 3, students obtain additional workplace skills in an internship in their identified career area of emphasis. Employers and mentors will guide students in their job responsibilities. Students will focus on skills involving more independent operation of equipment, socialization, workplace safety, problem solving and conflict management.

Internship III: Part 3 of 3, this internship focuses on more independent communication, problem solving, and workplace performance. The student obtains workplace experience in their identified career area of emphasis. Employers and mentors will observe the student in the workplace. Students are required to take a concurrent job seeking skills course. Topics focus on workplace policies, employee rights/responsibilities, and appropriate operations and procedure demonstration.

Interpersonal Communications: This course was compiled to provide useful tools to communicate effectively. Activities will begin with defining basic types of communication which include passive, aggressive and assertive methods. This class, taught in seminar fashion, will assist students in identifying their own communication styles, and adapting current behaviors to better communicate their needs. Students will move into the community and workplace to observe and practice new communication methods.

Job Search Strategies:
A concurrent course with Internship III, this course focuses on the fundamental tools and techniques to obtain a job. Students will create a resume, including references and an updated work history. Students explore interview techniques, gather information in thank you letters and become knowledgeable of appropriate behaviors and attitudes for a successful job search.

Personal Finances and Math I: First of a 2 part series, this course examines the student’s understanding of numbers, their operations and relationship to managing personal finances. Course topics include: computation strategies, problem solving strategies, and skills to be good consumers. The student will practice these math skills as needed in the community and the workplace.

Personal Finances and Math II: Part 2 of 2. This course focuses on the skills and knowledge needed to manage personal finances. Topics include: banking, budgeting, insurance, and being a good consumer. Students receive assistance in planning for their financial future by studying paycheck information, actual income, and tax responsibility. This course includes preventing consumer fraud.

Practical Writing: This course provides useful writing tools to help students succeed in daily living. Activities begin with short organizational writing such as a to do list and a shopping list.  The focus expands to family correspondence and business letter writing. This class, taught in seminar fashion, assists students in expressing themselves in a written format to organize them and communicate to others. Students practice their writing techniques in class, in their residence halls and in the community.

Personal Leadership: This course encourages the application of individual strengths to become leaders in the community. Students will explore the impact of leadership and service learning. Students are also taught elements of work-life balance and encouraged to incorporate these strategies in their personal development plans. Finally, students learn about opportunities to participate in life-long service learning and leadership in their community.

Lifetime Reading: This course provides enhancement of leisure reading to allow students to enjoy reading as a lifetime activity. Activities begin with a trip to the library to acquire library cards and to discover genres of intersets. They will also learn to discuss components of books such as plot and characters. Students will integrate lifetime reading into their leisure activities.

Literature and the Arts: This course provides exposure to literature and the arts to allow students to enjoy the connection and life enhancement of engaging in activities involving the arts. Activities include reading and discussing literature and field trips to museums, music and plays. Students will have the opportunity to enjoy and review activities. Students explore these activities to identify leisure activities to enjoy throughout their lives.

Sciences of Life: This course is designed to teach students scientific skills as they relate to everyday life. Data based decision making, understanding the environment and chemistry are examples of course topics. Students will focus on skills involving independent operation of tools and equipment, working in a group and learning appropriate strategies to make decisions and solve problems based on the use of the scientific method .

Social Skills and Conflict Management: This course was compiled to provide useful tools to succeed in college classes, campus life, and employment environments. Activities begin with learning about positive interactions with others, effective ways to handle frustration/anger, and acceptable ways to resolve conflict with others. This class includes practical activities to assist students in getting along with others in the classroom, job internship sites, and community living experiences.

Tools for Life I: Problem Solving: This course is designed to introduce students to strategies and methods of problem solving. Scenarios from academic, social and work environments will be presented, studied and evaluated. This course assists students in developing their interpersonal communication skills, their relationship building, independence, and selection of a career.

Tools for Life II: Critical Thinking: This course is designed to introduce students to strategies, key elements of, and resources to utilize when thinking critically. This course, combined with other Tools for Life courses, prepares students to independently make informed choices in their personal lives, workplace areas, and community activities.

Tools for Life III: Decision Making and Goal Setting: This course is designed to integrate the strategies and skills learned in problem solving and critical thinking to make responsible, independent decision-making in personal, university, career, and community contexts. This course, combined with other Tools for Life courses, prepares students to make informed choices on their own in social, work, and academic environments.

Tools for Life IV: Situational Awareness and Stress-based Decision-Making:
This course, combined with other Tools for Life courses, prepares students to respond to and manage anxiety-related situations. Students explore real-world experiences to identify different perspectives within various environments. This course, combined with other Tools for Life courses, prepares students to make informed choices and to have effective interactions with others.

REACH CAREER SEMINARS*

Students will select seminars based on their career focus areas to enhance their on-the-job training and experience.

Business Support Seminar: This seminar will offer students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in business support. Topics covered include: office procedures, word processing skills, oral and written communication, records management and business terminology.

Creative Arts Seminar: This seminar will offer students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in creative arts. Topics covered include: availability of employment, professional association memberships, and vocabulary used in this work environment.

Education Career Seminar: This seminar offers students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in education. Topics covered include: additional training typically required of a career working in education, child/student needs and lesson planning.

Entrepreneurialism Seminar: This elective course assists the student in identifying the characteristics, pros and cons of self employment, legal aspects of forming a business, marketing and accessing start up resources. Students will write a business plan and gain an understanding of the financial obligations and monitoring of funds required for a successful business.

Health Services Seminar: This seminar offer students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in health services. Topics covered include: office procedures and equipment, customer service skills and terminology used in a health care environment.

Hospitality Seminar: This seminar offers students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in hospitality. Topics covered include: customer service skills, phone and counter etiquette, and hospitality environment vocabulary.

Human Services Seminar: This seminar offers students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in human services. Topics covered include: types of environments, interpersonal relationships and boundaries, paperwork requirements, and terminology commonly used in human service environments.

Industrial/Production Seminar: This seminar will offer students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in an industrial/production environment. Topics include: identification of occupational skill standards required, knowledge of typical equipment operated while working, safety and vocabulary typically utilized in this type of work environment.

Information Technology Seminar: This seminar will offer students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in information technology. Topics include: identification of occupational skill standards required, knowledge of typical equipment operated while working, safety and vocabulary typically utilized in this type of work environment.

Parks and Natural Resources Seminar: This seminar offers students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in parks and natural resources management. Topics include: operation and maintenance of equipment, safety procedures, customer service skills and the vocabulary used in many positions requiring care of shrubs, trees, flowers and turf management.

Marketing/Sales Seminar: This seminar offers students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to a career in marketing and/or sales. Topics covered include: customer service skills, use of retail equipment, marketing techniques including product appearance, pricing and advertising, and vocabulary used in a retail environment.

Skilled Trades Seminar: This seminar will offer students an opportunity to study subject matter specific to work in an industrial/production career. Topics covered include: occupational skill standards in an identified career area, apprenticeship or further training required, safety and vocabulary typically utilized in this type of work environment.

*These are subject to change as courses and curriculum are finalized.