Nevaeh Berenato

Simmons University enacted changes to Purpose Leadership ActioN (PLAN), the Simmons required curriculum model, specifically regarding the Simmons (SIM) courses.

Announced in 2024, Kelly Hager explained the change of taking two iterations rather than three (101, 201,301). This comes following a different previous PLAN change in 2023. Although announced earlier, changes first began in the 2025 spring semester. 

SIM 200 aims to eliminate the redundancy found between the previous SIM 201 and SIM 301 courses, said Senior Lab Manager and SIM 200 STEM section professor Dr. Jyl Collins. Dr. Collins also teaches the first-year SIM 100 course and taught SIM 301 during its last semester in the fall of 2024.

Hannah Bergeron, a third-year undergraduate student in the 3+3 Health and Exercise Science and Physical Therapy program, took SIM 200 with Dr. Collins last spring but said the course still seemed redundant. While Bergeron emphasized that Dr. Collins was a great professor, saying she “made that class as enjoyable as it could be,” she felt it did not prepare her for the future as intended. 

Dr. Collins mentioned that the current semester decreased the class time from 80 to 50 minutes. She also noted the reduced time, saying it made a “huge difference” and that the previously longer class times “just allow[ed] [professors] to extend the conversation and allows us to bring in outside speakers”

“I feel like [SIM 201] was made for internships and fellowships: things you would get while you’re still in undergraduate,” reflected fourth-year physics student Chyna Brown. “[SIM 301] was more postgraduate: applying to graduate school and looking at graduate programs.” 

The SIM 301 syllabus from Fall 2024 listed among its learning objectives that students would “engage in applied career preparation activities suited to [their] professional goals,” which aligned with Brown’s recollection of the course’s goal. The Voice was unable to obtain the SIM 201 course syllabus for comparison. 

Dean of Nursing and SIM 200 Nursing section professor Dr. Heather Shlosser highlighted what she thought to be the most important lesson for her SIM 200 cohort: “Preparing and talking about their ‘why’?”

“It’s such an important part of where you’re going and who you’re going to be,” Dr. Shlosser says. She continues to say that no matter what you’re going to be interviewing for, “knowing your why so you can be prepared to talk about it in a really authentic way is a huge part of what we revisit each week.” 

The SIM 200 course is still being revised on a semester-by-semester basis, according to Dr. Collins, so the feedback from students plays an important role in its success. 

Course evaluations opened Oct. 14 and will close on Oct. 29, as stated in previous emails from Dr. Hager.