Last year, I took the First Year Integrated Core (FYIC) courses. It is an eight-credit hour program of four classes – BUS 101, BUS 102, ESP 103 and BUS 104 – and each focuses on introductions to the business world. These courses will have all the same classmates. The FYIC can be very stressful and difficult if you do not stay on top of your coursework.
The best way to succeed in these courses is to show up and avoid losing easy attendance points.
At the beginning of the semester, you will be assigned teammates to work with on major assignments. It is important to remember that your teammates are not all going to be your best friends. Your meetings don’t need to be a social gathering. When meeting with them, always make sure there is an agenda of what you want to accomplish.
For the BUS 101 course, you will be given your teammates and learn the basic concepts of business. Always make sure you complete the weekly assignments and communicate with your team to ensure you are on the right track to completing group tasks on time.
The BUS 102 course will teach you business communication and presentation skills. This course will be a lot of individual and group presentations. At first, this may seem daunting and nerve-racking, but by the end, you will be confident speaking in front of your classmates. For this class, read the rubrics fully. Otherwise, you might miss easy points.
In the entrepreneurship course, ESP 103, you will learn to embrace your creativity. This class will teach you how to use both the creative process and critical thinking skills to come up with unique solutions to problems.
In BUS 104, you will learn how to code in the most popular coding languages used in business. This is the most individualized course of the four; however, you should still work with your team to practice and learn these languages. This class has more individual assignments compared to the others, and they can be difficult.
Each of these courses will play a major role in your final project, which counts for each class. Your final project will involve solving a problem for a client. It is important to put all of your effort into each of these courses because, if you fail even one, you will have to retake all four.
The FYIC presents its challenges and difficulties. However, I learned a lot about working with others. This experience taught me that I cannot control how well others do their part, but I can encourage my teammates to do their best. These courses also taught me how to make connections with people I will need in the future. I am now more confident in how I interact with others in the business world.
Jamie Gowans is a sophomore in the Farmer School of Business. She is a marketing major with a history minor. She has been a writer for The Miami Student since her first year.
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