Making It Happen: The School Side of It All
Let me preface this post by saying it’s going to be text heavy cause it’s all the boring school stuff. I’ll throw in some random photos for entertainment value.
Okay be really I think this is an important post for anyone who plans on doing to the Disney College Program or parent who’s student is going to be participating in the DCP.
So I go to a small liberal arts state school, and one day I was walking and saw a poster for the DCP on a big board of internship opportunities, I already had interest in the program because I’m a Disney lover and really have always wanted to do it, but seeing this poster instilled the idea in my head that my school had an affiliation with the program, like why would you have a poster promoting something if you don’t want students to do it, right?! Wrong.
I had mentioned to my advisor this was something I was thinking about doing and he’s a very free spirited opportunist and thought it was a great idea, an awesome experience, and that I should totally do it if I wanted to, BUT he didn’t know much about it, nothing actually. He knew nothing about it that I hadn’t told him. No one at my school had.
Now I thought this was a kind of big thing, like I know so many people who have done it that I just kind of assumed it was a well-known program.
So I had applied and been accepted and I was still trying to get answers about whether or not I could get credit for this program through my school. When I went to our office of registration and classes they were like, “Oh Disney University? No you don’t want to do that you don’t get any credit, it’s not through an accredited university so we don’t give credit for it.” First of all BUDDY, it’s the Disney College Program, and secondly then why do you have a big poster hanging up making it seem like you do give credit?! Huh? HUH!
Well anyway I filled out lots of forms and contacted lots of people trying to find out if I could get some credit for the 4.5 months I would be away.
For me, I am in my second year of college, fourth semester, but I have taken extra classes so I’m already a junior and I’m ahead of the rest of my class, so credit weren’t the biggest of my concerns but I wanted to see if I could at least get something.
My major is Communications so the chair of my department wasn’t going to give me 9-12 credits for working in gift shop, which I totally understand like that has nothing to do with my major, if I had done Photopass and been holding a camera all day he would’ve been able to justify it. Understandable.
I get that it’s a internship/program heavily focused for business, hospitality, and human service majors, but like I shouldn’t not do it just because I’m a communications major. It’s still a great program, and is going to look great on a resume and be an amazing experience.
So I talked to a friend who is there now and asked him if he was getting credits, he told me, “nope.” He was in the same boat as me, liberal arts state school, different school but same state. They won’t give him credit either because it’s not through an accredited university.
He told me he was talking three online classes through his school just to stay a student and get some credits.
So I decided to do that same, and in order to keep my scholarships and financial aid I had to remain a full time student of my university which meant taking 4 classes, no biggie I’ll just take them online!
I’m also taking one class through Disney, which is a Corporate Communication class. I got this approved all the way up the chain, through my advisor, then department chair, then dean of students, so it was going to be good to go. A 12-week class that is four hours a week plus intensive out of class work. Then when it got to the office of registration and classes, the woman who needed to put the information that it was approved on file made the comment along the lines of, “I don’t understand why we’re letting her do this, it’s not from an accredited university.” …… Ugh lady!
So no credits for little old me! But I’m still taking the class for funsies.
When I asked my roommates if they were getting credit, I found out that most of them we’re getting credit either. Only two are getting credit, one is getting 12 credits for the program and taking 1 of the classes through Disney. Another is getting 6 credits for the program and taking two online classes from her school.
So for anyone planning on doing the program, really check with your school before you do it! And online classes are always an option! You just don’t want to end up behind or off track because your school doesn’t accommodate the program! Or you could always wait until right after you graduate college too!
It really just depends on your school!
Continued in Next Post
Oh my does that bring back memories of Florida drives when I was a kid. Actually stayed there for a night. Wow.
Can't wait to hear more.
