Imagine it’s your first day of school at iUPrep. You may be nervous, excited, overwhelmed, or confident, and you know that it might take some getting used to. After passing your entrance exam and going through flight school, you know what to expect. But who knows how this new year will end up going? When you click on that live lesson link, will you be ready?
You’ve already experienced it, whether that be a few months or several years ago. All students and staff have gone through that first year experience, but new students have their own opinions about the school. They’ve all had their own experiences, and their first years in iUPrep have all gone very differently.
I’ve had an eventful first year myself, filled with complications, accomplishments, and everything in between. For instance, my science kit was held up for months, and I never even realized it until I had to complete an experiment and didn’t have the materials. Thanks to assistance from my science teacher as well as some patience and collaboration, everything was resolved. Even though there have been other problems like that, they were always fixed with the help of iUP staff and teachers. As of now, my opinion of this school is 10/10.
Still, there are more new students than just me in this school, and we’re in the dark about their opinions. Recently, a survey was conducted to find out what other new students thought about iUP.
When asked what they would rate iUPrep on a scale of 1 to 10, the respondents had a
variety of opinions to share. One 11th grade student rated the school a 9/10, stating “I believe iUP has a great way of giving assignments and lessons!” “I chose my rating because I love the flexibility and being able to do classes at any time of day. I also love that I am still learning even though it’s online.” shared a 9th grade student who gave a 10/10 rating.
“I love iUP and I think it’s a great school,” says one 5th grader.
Out of the responses, the survey was also able to collect some recommendations from the new students. Some suggested more opportunities for socialization like VTN or spreading out in-person events to certain areas. “I wish I could attend more events, but since I travel I cannot. I wish there were more virtual events like the Back to School Bash. I can’t always make the commitment to a club, but some events would be nice. Then I could just drop in whenever I felt like it,” said a 7th grade student. Other recommendations included:
- Providing more time to complete assignments and lowering the intensity of incorrect answers on a grade if the mistake was minor.
- Updating the Canvas app for mobile devices.
- Changing the important dates tab to only show events for the day.
- Contacting professors to spread out lessons more or supervise students.
Even though there were a lot of recommendations, there were also a lot of students who didn’t have suggestions and were content with the school as it is. Some even said they loved the school, and that it was perfect. Despite the varied responses, opinions about the school remained positive overall.
New students can provide crucial information and feedback, even if they haven’t fully experienced everything yet. They can show iUPrep a perspective of itself from a new viewpoint, and that can help make iUP even better. As new and returning students alike, remember that you’re an important part of the school, and you can help perfect it.
