During an OU Polytechnic Institute (OUPI) panel, OUPI students, staff, and faculty answered frequently asked questions about the academic experience. Read their answers below.
During an OU Polytechnic Institute (OUPI) panel, OUPI students, staff, and faculty answered frequently asked questions about the academic experience. Read their answers below.
How can students find support beyond the classroom?
“When students reach a challenge in their academic journey at OUPI, we want them to reach out,” said Eric Saulnier, OUPI’s Student Success Administrator. “If you have a question, a concern, a need, we have built a system of support where you feel comfortable to reach out when you need help. I want students to reach out to me and to the faculty, who are all very supportive. We want students to learn what they need to know to succeed in the classroom. That’s what we’re all about at OUPI.”
How does OUPI prepare students to be industry-ready?
“I imitate my assignments to look like the workload the students might encounter during their first jobs,” said John Hassell, associate professor of software development and integration. “I think about a job’s workflow, the necessity for deadlines, the need to be on time, and the need to communicate with your partners to get the work done. We also use a lot of modern-day tools, like GitHub to manage assignment submissions. The goal is for the students to be able to circumvent two to three years of onboarding time by the time they are hired for their jobs after earning a degree from OUPI.”
What advice would you give to a prospective student interested in OUPI?
“Take a leap of faith,” said Sanaa Byron, a first-year cybersecurity major. “I was so hesitant because it was a new program. I didn’t know anyone, and the entire process of transferring can seem overwhelming. But when I look back and see where I am now, I’m so thankful I took that leap of faith. If you had asked me a year ago where I thought I would be, I wouldn’t have told you I would be the vice president of a student organization. This program is so great, from faculty to the curriculum to my classmates.”
What can students expect inside the classroom?
"Most of our classes use a flipped model, where students engage with instructional materials before class to build foundational knowledge," Hassell said. "In class, we focus on hands-on, real-world problem-solving through practical applications and collaborative projects. Our lectures are intentionally brief, allowing students to explore new concepts through active learning. They consistently exceed my expectations, tackling new technologies and projects with impressive skill and creativity."
How is OUPI integrating artificial intelligence into the curriculum?
“We try to embrace it,” Hassell said. "We’re realizing it’s going to be a tool open on students’ desks all the time. We are adjusting our curriculum, so the students have access to A.I. to help solve their problems. It’s about how they can use and leverage A.I. to solve their homework and their technology problems. It’s an almost A.I.-first mentality when it comes to curriculum.”
