Andre Jackson

English 1102 Weaver

SAR Paper

3/9/2022

Summary

AIMS is a community college where the desired student is someone who seeks to get an introductory level of education in their respective fields or someone who wants to find their interests. With their wide variety of degrees and certificate programs going up to 200 and counting, AIMS has something for everyone. Their goal is to find the precise program for each student that enrolls at an affordable cost.

Analysis

The first words that are displayed on the AIMS community college website are “Small classes, big community” (AIMS) meaning they are targeting people who want a college experience that is a lot more personalized. They also emphasize how much they are willing to help through classes as well as making connections to better your college life. Interaction is a major aspect of this institution as “Aims goes well beyond academics,” (AIMS) they give their students an opportunity to “explore opportunities to meet others, gain experience and find support.” (AIMS) Under their student life section, they provide a wide variety of clubs and associations where someone can be their true self and not see the campus as just school. AIMS is looking for students who want a strong relationship with their peers as well as with their professors to create a healthy community.

AIMS main purpose is to build a stronger community. They make sure to take advantage of every opportunity to “ensure inclusivity, learning, and growth.” (AIMS) With their smaller than average class size, teachers can create a supportive and distinctive learning environment. This appeals to students who do not want to typical lecture classrooms, but instead would want more of an interactive approach to learning.

Another significant part, and perhaps the most important part, of the website is the fact that students can “choose from 200+ full accredited degree and certificate programs,” (AIMS) and this shows that AIMS the perfect college for anyone who wants to experiment with what they would like to do with their future. Some statistics that are in bold are the 82.7% employment after graduation, 847 full-time and part-time employees, with 52% instructional staff. This could potentially appeal to a student who is interested in joining the workforce immediately after college.

AIMS targets anyone who is looking for a deeper education in their respective field. High School graduates, adults and transfers are all welcomed because “Aims offers programs to help learners of all ages and backgrounds advance towards larger goals.” (AIMS) This is even further supported through the fact that there is no application deadline along with “no essays to write and no tests to take.” (AIMS) Along with the minimum requirements to get accepted, they provide programs to award grants to students, aid students in applying for scholarships, and provide students with opportunities to work on campus. AIMS also takes the time to educate its students on how exactly student loans work and when they need to be paid off. Affordable tuition and financial aid, a multitude of degrees and programs, and the light requirements make AIMS’ targeted audience anyone who has the drive to learn.

AIMS attempts to appeal to multiple audiences through their vast selection of degree programs and certifications. An example of this would be how they appeal to two completely different degree programs. The website goes on an in-depth analysis about the agricultural business program “teaches the key operating techniques and business skills used in the modern food and fiber industries.” (AIMS) The skills acquired in this program would be livestock breeding, cultivation of crops, applying principals of finance to farming etc. These skills would not intrigue a student who is more interested in a different degree program such as early child education but AIMS has a program for that as well. This program provides skill such as different teaching methods, curriculum development, advocacy for children and families etc. Even though these are two completely different degrees, AIMS tries to appeal to both audiences, and it does this for hundreds of degree programs.

With up-to-date news and event calendar, students who are fond of joining groups and attending gatherings of large groups of people may show interest with that. From theatre events to tech Tuesdays, there is something out there for all the social butterflies on campus. But for those who are more individualized, the smaller classrooms offered at the institution may peek those students’ interests. This is another example of how AIMS manipulate themselves to pique the interest of multiple audiences or engaging in social roles.

Response

I would go to this school given that all factors such as money and distance were not a problem. This institution appeals to me because there is ample opportunity to achieve a STEM degree with specialized teaching. This means that there is little opportunity to fall behind and teachers are focused on teaching thoroughly instead of quickly. I would not make this school a priority as I do believe that there are better schools out there, but this school would be a very good back up just in case the first plan doesn’t work. I value customary teaching and flexibility with what to do as a career and AIMS provides both of those. Lectures have also never been a strong point for me when it came to learning, so AIMS adapting more of an interactive approach to learning, I feel like it would be a great college option for me. AIMS appeals to all students who just want to develop a skill and further their education in almost any area of learning.

Community College, AIMS. “Small Classes, Big Community.” Aims Community College | Degrees, Certificates, Non-Credit | Greeley, CO, https://www.aims.edu/.

This essay is a summary of an interview I held with Angel Sabino about his academic self. We texted back and forth and talked some in class where we spoke on major goals and more personal information. Angel is a 16 year old doing dual enrollment as he attends DECA. During his k-12 career, he has moved from Car Reynolds in elementary, to Sequoyah in middle school, and now DECA. His plans after graduating high school are to go straight into college, but he is unsure of what college he would like to attend. Angel’s dream is to become an architect because he believes that is a job that will make him financially stable as well as happy. His reasoning for going to GSU was simple, but logical. He says “I chose GSU because of how easy it is to get to the campus.” Given he is still in high school, this makes sense for his dual enrollment program. His main point is to do something he loves so his main career goal is to become an architectural engineer.

    Angel describes his academic self as committed as he doesn’t plan on changing careers, organized, and focused. His biggest influence on his academic self is his grandfather because he spends a lot of time with him and the experiences that his grandpa has gone through helps Angel to do better for himself. His grandfather relays information to him on how to be successful while maintaining happiness. Defining your academic self can be relatively difficult, but Angel has seemed to grasp the understanding of it and that is something he is proud to acknowledge. He recognizes the differences between himself and his academic self and he is proud of his development to get to where he is now. 

    More about Angel is that he has been invested in a show that involves helping people find relationships. He also doesn’t have a favorite subject. He prefers to have a teacher with a good attitude about teaching and who loves their job as opposed to the subject they teach. Being a versatile learner has also helped him on his journey to accomplishing his life goals.

    Angel finds frustration is the lack of communication and selflessness of professors. He talked about the workload and how some classes have too much work. His classes choose to pile on all the work on the same days instead of evenly distributing the work out between days. Everything is due on the same day and it often piles up and can get stressful.

    Overall, Angel is someone who just wants to be happy and will get there by any means necessary. He is hardworking and dedicated to his dreams of becoming an architectural engineer.