In this Staff Spotlight, we speak with Nick Sano-Franchini, Program Manager and Senior Academic Advisor for the Eberly College’s Multidisciplinary Studies Programs! With the recent launch of the new online Integrated Studies, B.I.S. program, we wanted to gain insight into Multidisciplinary Studies, the students in these programs, and Nick’s pivotal role in guiding and advising them.
Photo: Nick Sano-Franchini posing in Hodges Hall
Could you give me a little bit of background in the Multidisciplinary Studies Department as a whole?
Our Multidisciplinary Studies Program’s structure is largely student-driven and based on students’ interests. They choose three minors, and that becomes their degree. So, they have a lot of freedom to pick and choose from minors at the institution. It’s a neat way for students who have an interest that is not reflected by an existing major, or who have a certain career interest that doesn't necessarily relate in a way that we might think. They can build their own major, so to speak, out of those minors.
We’ve also created a few courses that help connect those minors too, so it’s not just picking three things you think are cool and running with them! How do those disciplines come together and what kind of perspectives and viewpoints do those give you that are different from somebody who has a more traditional major? I think that it’s been pretty cool because sometimes students really come up with interesting ideas, and approaches to things that I would not have ever thought of myself.
Sometimes students are in a more traditional major and get to a point and say, “I really like what I'm doing in these classes, but the next step is to dig in and take some calculus, and to be honest, I don’t really want to take calculus. So, I'm going to find some related things.” It's a nice way sometimes for students to continue to do things they're interested in, even if some aspects of their original major don't appeal to them.
For the other programs that we have, we can start with the Regents Bachelor of Arts (R.B.A.) which has been around for a long time. Since the 1970s, some version of it has been offered. This program is unique to public universities in West Virginia, as all of the public schools offer an R.B.A. degree. This is more of a degree completion program than a traditional degree, and one of the really cool things about it is its flexibility. There are some general education requirements, like all of our degrees, that students will complete, and they're starting this upcoming fall. There are a couple of one- or two-credit courses that are required. But beyond that, students really can pick and choose from anything. It does allow the kind of flexibility that appeals to students who are finishing up their degree, whether they need it for a promotion at work, or they're trying to go to graduate school or just want to have earned the degree.
As for the Bachelor of Integrated Studies (B.I.S.), it's kind of in between those two. There are three required courses that help with integrating all of your prior coursework into your new plan of study, while still keeping a lot of the flexibility that students want.
The integrated studies major was designed for traditional- age college students who get to a point in their major where they say, “Well, I like what I’m doing, but I'm going to have a long way to go and I could finish this much faster!” or sometimes they get to a certain point in their program and say, “I don't want to take that physics class or that calculus class.” I don’t mean to keep picking on math. It’s not always math! These programs are grouped under Multidisciplinary Studies because they offer a certain amount of flexibility, and a student-centered approach. The student really does get to pick and choose from all of these opportunities. I think, as advisors and faculty, we also really do appreciate that flexibility and the ability to create a lot of interesting connections and dig in on those.
The flexibility or the ability to take those more unique classes can tie a lot of things together and benefit students. Some may get halfway through their degree and want to pivot to something that fits their goals to create their own degree.
They’ve had a great career and just want to finish up because they want to have that degree. It means something to them, personally. Nick Sano-Franchini - program manager and senior academic advisor
To step back a little bit, these programs are sometimes considered degree completion programs, while sometimes seen as traditional degrees. What are the differences between them?
Those are the kind of folks that I think of when we are talking about degree completion programs. That's what they're looking for. A lot of times students start college and then many, many different things may happen. I've had students who've come back after many years and say “Hey, you know what? Back when I started out, I was a so-so student, and I was just not fired up about it, I ended up leaving the University before finishing my degree. I've had this great career over the last 10-20 years, but now I’m ready to come back.” We've got students of all different ages. Sometimes students feel that they’re at a point in their lives where they don’t even need the degree. They’ve had a great career and just want to finish up because they want to have that degree. It means something to them, personally. This program is a good way to do it because of the flexibility. Other times, I've had students where a promotion riding on completing their degree and their job will help them pay for it.
One of the key things about degree completion programs is that they tend to be maximally flexible. Even a degree like the B.MdS., has specific requirements for each minor, and sometimes that can make it take a little bit longer because there may be a series of nested prerequisites. You’ve got to take this specific class before you can take a different class, and you need to take a different class before you can even take that one!
With something like the R.B.A. program, it's more focused on the total number of credits that you're taking. You need 120 credits and 30 of those have to be upper-division credits. What those are is up to the student. That gives that student that maximum flexibility to say, “Okay, this semester I'm going to take the Principles of Management course, the Business and Professional Communication course from the Communication Studies department, and I'll take Military History just because I think that's cool. That’s going to be my semester.” Degree completion programs lend themselves to that kind of flexibility. More traditional programs, just because of the way the requirements are set up, can definitely take longer.
Given how unique the different multidisciplinary studies programs are, I imagine the application process is no different. Can you give me some insight into how it works?
Let's say a student applies and is admitted. If they're coming in with a lot of credits, it really does depend on the type of credits, when and where they took them, and what kind of coursework they completed.
For something like R.B.A., the general education requirements are a little bit different than they are for B.MdS. They are very, very similar, but the way that they're set up is a little more flexible. So, getting an insight into their GEF-compliant credits is one of the first conversations I'll have with the students. Also, I want to give a shout out to my colleague Melissa Kelley in the Registrar's Office. I think she looks at every single one of our incoming students and she'll send them a big email with a welcome, a summary of what we see in their credits, and suggestions for some courses or other things you may want to speak with your advisor about.
Often, when I meet with a student, they have already read this great email from Melissa. We sit down and start to talk about those previous credits and how they might fit in with some of the requirements and start building the puzzle. Sometimes we need more information to review the courses before we can have them apply to GEF requirements, for example. That's when Melissa and her team come in handy because they handle the transfer equivalency review process. It sounds really complicated, but it’s not that complicated. It's definitely a few steps, though. A student will need to obtain a syllabus from their prior institution, so a lot of times if a student is coming in from another institution, I'll say, “Hey, do you have any of this stuff or do you still have access to that stuff from your last school?”
Once the student uploads the syllabus, it goes to the Registrar's Office and they begin their review. They're very good at what they do. I don't have enough nice things to say about the Registrar's Office. I’m always impressed with how quickly they process the reviews. Once reviewed, the information is entered into Degree Works and then we can jump in. What I'll do with those students is I'll say, “Hey, it looks like you may have credit for English 101 and/or English 102. I don't know if those credits will go through yet, but we'll see when this comes in. Let's avoid those classes for this upcoming semester because we don't want to duplicate that.”
With R.B.A., it's a whole other thing. The prior learning credit opportunity is really interesting. When we review students for the R.B.A. program, it's possible that with some of their professional certifications or training, we may be able to award credit. A student may have been working in real estate, so we start there. We can look in the handbook, and we can see how many credits a real estate license in the state of West Virginia is worth. If you have a real estate brokers license, it might be a few more. We build on their prior experiences, and it can get really interesting.
Some students come in with a pretty immense background of professional experience which results in a decent number of credits. Military students are another example of people with lots of relevant experience. They come in with a Joint Service Transcript, which is a record of their assignments in the military. We can go through those and apply some of the credit from that toward their degree.
It's a great opportunity for those students. Some of the things I see on those transcripts are really amazing. I’ll say, “Hey, I see this assignment. What kind of stuff are you doing there?” That’s a pretty interesting thing. It really does depend on the student and what their goals are with this degree, and how we might best use their prior coursework or experience, those sorts of things.
I knew the prior learning credit opportunity existed, but I didn’t realize that professional licenses or work experience could count too.
With students, I think it makes sense. You learn things on the job that are real things: real knowledge, real experience. To be able to take that and say, “Yeah, we can give you X number of credits for that” is really helpful and makes the previous experience more valuable.
The R.B.A. and B.I.S. programs also have a portfolio process, which is great because students can write about their professional experiences and put them in the context of actual learning outcomes. It's a kind of reflective process, and I've had students who have come back after they've earned credits and say “Gosh, I've done a lot. It’s really cool to reflect on that. I'm going to go update my resume because I’ve suddenly realized I've been doing a lot more than what I put out there” It is a great opportunity. It's pretty cool.
Are there any student success stories that stand out to you?
A number of folks and colleagues that are working here at WVU have an R.B.A. background! They say “I did that. I heard about it from a friend or heard about it from a colleague and thought that it sounds neat. Now I want to go back and finish that degree.” And then after that, they’ve said, “I've got this undergraduate degree now, I would like to do a master’s degree.” I have some advising colleagues that have gone through that process, which is really cool.
I had one online multidisciplinary studies student, who I think had started at WVU in person but found that things just weren’t clicking. She took a year or two off, and at some point, I think she started working in a law office. After spending some time working there, she decided to go back to school.
When I talked with her, she was very motivated. I think she only had about three or four semesters left and finished up really well. Sure enough, she’s now in law school here at WVU. That's awesome! It was cool to see that because she had been an okay student before, things kind of clicked for her. It was like a switch turned on. She was just so motivated, even when things were difficult with the coursework, she’d tell me “This is a heavy- duty semester, but I've got this.”
I have had great conversations with students that say, “My son or my daughter is starting at WVU next fall. I want to be able to have that degree as well, so I'm going to come back and finish.” There have been a couple of students who have finished in the same semester as their children and are at graduation together and can celebrate together. Those kinds of things.
I’ve also heard personal stories from some folks who have been their own boss for a while. They've got their own business, and they say “I've got the time to do it now and to come back in to just finish this. I want to hang that WVU diploma on the wall and be proud of it.” So yeah, some pretty neat things.
Many students have asked about creating a major based around specific courses and interests. It’s so cool that students get to do that, especially if it’s something they would want to do on their own anyway, but they happen to earn credit for it. Nick Sano-Franchini
What stands out to me about these programs is the flexibility to explore unique and exciting courses, things like Film Appreciation or niche history classes. Are there any standout courses that Multidisciplinary Studies students can take?
Intro to Appalachian Music is such an awesome course! I mean, you can go out and hear it, you know? I've seen performances on-campus for folks that were connected with that class. It’s such a cool part of our own backyard that we may or may not know about, so it's cool to hear and see that.
There's a religious studies course called Apocalypse, which looks at end times prophecy and the theology surrounding that. Full disclosure: I was a religious studies major myself. I never had an Apocalypse class, so I got to ask my students about that and how that's going. Like you pointed out, I think it’s now COMM 205, which is Motion Picture Appreciation, then there's COMM 315, American Diversity Through Film. So, you're watching films and you're also looking at how diversity is (or isn’t) exemplified through film. I think that one is super cool.
I often see course titles that I like. Those are the couple that I’ve looked at recently. I've had some students who get to choose their own electives, but I'll suggest a few, saying, “You need an elective. You could take Intro to Appalachian Music or History of Jazz could be interesting.” Sometimes students cheer for that and sometimes they go in a different direction.
A lot of times, it starts with a student being really fired up about something. That's another kind of success story. I've had a student who, whether it's an elective or satisfying a general requirement, has come in and makes that connection and finds courses they didn’t even know existed. Many students have asked about creating a major based around specific courses and interests. It’s so cool that students get to do that, especially if it’s something they would want to do on their own anyway, but they happen to earn credit for it.
Making those connections is really neat. I think that's a big part of what underlies many of our programs. My colleagues, other advisors, and faculty are here to help students make connections between ideas and topics, both inside and outside the classroom. I think that's a lot of what we rely on.
Thank you so much for your time and answers to the questions! Before we go, any final words for any prospective or current students?
I would just encourage students to think big and ask questions. I meet with a lot of students and I answer a lot of questions. Sometimes students will call or send me an email, and they often preface it by saying, “I don't want to bother you!” or “This is a dumb question.” Every time they say that the question is never dumb or a bother, it's really a significant question. I always say, “That's a great question!” I encourage students to be curious and to follow up if they have any questions.
I don't want to over promise. Not every idea will go through quickly or easily. But there are lots of ways to make things work, to explore, and to put things together. Even if it's not your first plan, if you're willing to be a little bit flexible, we can fit a lot of things under the umbrella of our programs. We've had students do some cool things and, and come up with some really interesting ideas, and that's exciting for us. Keep it up and ask away!