Alternative Scheduling

Course Meeting Dates: 08.25.2025-12.202025

Course Format: In Person or Asynchronous Online 

Full-semester courses are offered as a traditional 15-week course, taken during the fall semester.

Full semester courses are identified as:

Discipline Specific - These courses cover a wide range of topics related to a field of study or meta-major.

Themed - These courses cover a wide range of topics related to a theme.

These courses do NOT participate in Gateway Days. 

ONLINE 

Please Note: This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Welcome to "Nature and the Arts: A Creative Exploration," an engaging online course designed to orient you to college life while immersing you in the beauty of nature as expressed through various artistic mediums. Over the course of 16 weeks, we will explore the intersection of nature and the arts, delving into music, visual art, photography, film, and self-care practices. This class will also introduce you to essential campus resources, helping you navigate your college journey with confidence. Through a combination of lectures, interactive discussions, and creative assignments, you will gain a deeper appreciation for how nature influences and inspires artistic expression.

ONLINE / Section OL3 / Instructors: Michelle Prose / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

ONLINE 

Please Note: This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

This interactive course investigates the potential of fine arts as a catalyst to expand individual creative thinking and introduces art strategies as tools of grounding, connecting, reflecting, and opening one's own creative potentials. We will take a hands-on approach as we work through select art methods used to unlock the subconscious. Utilizing a process for process's sake, for the experience of the process itself rather than as a means to an end, unlocks a world of possibilities. We will examine artworks known to be transformative and consider them through lenses of self, participation, community, culture, and paradigm (current and potential).

ONLINE / Section OL4 / Instructors: Amy Anderson / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION A: ONLINE 

Please Note: This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

This course surveys and critically analyzes a major popular culture influencer, Disney. Beginning with the origins of Walt Disney and Disney Pixar and ending with Banksy’s 2015 critical theme park, Disneyland, this course enlightens multiple perspectives and interpretations of Disney and Disney’s sociocultural influence since the 1930s. This course allows learners to engage and analyze with Disney films through a historical perspective. Using fairy tales, myths, and literature, the true origins of Disney’s inspirations are revealed, and some are quite different than the story Disney animated for mass American consumption.

ONLINE / Section OL5 / Instructors: Sydney Pearson / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION A: ONLINE 

Please Note: This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Quicksand can be hard to spot and can trap and hold the unsuspecting. What are the moments in your life when you have felt stuck? Caught in a narrative that does not work for you? Through an interactive and dialogue-based approach, this class will challenge you to explore social power dynamics in America. This class looks at how societal norms are created and maintained in this culture. Students will use their personal voice and story to make meaning on the ways dominant narrative shapes their lives.

ONLINE / Section OL7 / Instructors: Claire Ami / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION A: ONLINE 

Please Note: This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Looking for something to do this weekend? How about a trip with friends next summer? This course will explore fun things to do in Colorado Springs but also along the Front Range corridor of Colorado. This area has so much to offer, from hiking, biking, camping and white water rafting to museums, art galleries, amusement parks and entertaining festivals. This class will explore things to do with friends, family or even by yourself. Through research opportunities, group activities, service learning projects and sharing personal experiences you will discover how to LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE!!!!!

ONLINE / Section OL8 / Instructors: Rhea Taylor / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION A: IN PERSON 

Please Note: This course is recommended for non-traditional students, including military. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

This course is designed to help you transition smoothly into college, adjust gradually to the demands and rigor of university life, stay in college and succeed not only as a student, but also as you transition into a career field. As we approach our topic from many vantage points and speakers’ varied expertise and experiences, the emphasis is on holistic learning about higher education and UCCS.

THURSDAY: 10:50 AM - 1:30 PM / GPS 3010/ Section 002/ Instructors: DeLyn Winters, Paige Koster/ 8/25/2025 - 12/20/2025

SESSION A: ONLINE

Please Note: This course is recommended for non-traditional students, including military. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

This course is designed to help you transition smoothly into college, adjust gradually to the demands and rigor of university life, stay in college and succeed not only as a student, but also as you transition into a career field. As we approach our topic from many vantage points and speakers’ varied expertise and experiences, the emphasis is on holistic learning about higher education and UCCS.

ONLINE / Section 3010 OL1 / Instructors: Rhea Taylor / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION A: IN PERSON 

Please Note: This course is recommended for students who have already completed GPS, transfer students, or students with concurrent enrollment or dual credit. This is a 1-credit elective course. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

TBD 

ONLINE / Section 1110 002 / Instructors: Corlea Keeney / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION A: IN PERSON 

Please Note: This course is recommended for students who have already completed GPS, transfer students, or students with concurrent enrollment or dual credit. This is a 1-credit elective course. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

TBD 

ONLINE / Section 1110 001 / Instructors: Catherine Barrios / 08/25/25 - 12/20/25

Course Meeting Dates: 10.22.2025-12.20.2025

Course Format: In Person Hybrid or Asynchronous Online

Session B courses are offered as an intensive eight-week course, taken during the second half of the fall semester. 

Session B semester courses are identified as:

Discipline Specific - These courses cover a wide range of topics related to a field of study or meta-major.

Themed - These courses cover a wide range of topics related to a theme.

These courses do NOT participate in Gateway Days. 

SESSION B: IN PERSON

Please Note: This course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Course description coming soon!

THURSDAY: 4:45 PM - 7:20 PM /Section HO1/ Instructors: Cody Parish, Deka Spears / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: IN PERSON

Please Note: This online course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Description:  This GPS course will introduce career exploration for students, helping them to navigate the process of resume and cover letter writing, virtual and in-person interviewing, career exploration, and other initiatives used to mitigate bias in the hiring process. Students will map a more efficient job search process through direct instruction, reflection, practical application, and peer/instructor feedback. By the end of the course, students will have a portfolio and experiences to reference as they navigate the job market.

MONDAY: 10:50 AM - 1:30 PM / Section HO2 / Instructors: Nicole Simmons, Paul Manka / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: IN PERSON

Please Note: This course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

University life can be overwhelming, especially as personal and academic responsibilities begin to pile up. Fortunately, you have what it takes to achieve success. This course prepares you for success within and beyond university by exposing you to habits, skills, and resources you can begin utilizing immediately. You will learn habits of mind that support stress reduction and time management; key academic skills related to reading, note taking, studying, and test taking; how to use campus resources to guide your academic and overall wellbeing; and functional ways to improve life skills, including financial, career, and culinary literacy

MONDAY: 4:45 PM - 7:20 PM / Section HO3 / Instructors: Zachary Barker, Sara Kettlekamp / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: ONLINE

Please Note: This online course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Starting college is the beginning of a new adventure for you and those around you. The Gateway Program Seminar’s aim is to help prepare you for some expectations that this new adventure will have for you so that you can be as successful in achieving your objectives as possible. This course’s theme is a metaphor we are using to help you discover the possibilities and opportunities of an as yet unexplored territory called “college.” This includes preparing for this new experience by gathering some new tools such as the technologies you’ll need and learning about the requirements of the course. Then you’ll start practicing for your adventure by plotting your path forward at UCCS: you will establish personal and academic goals and find the people that you’ll need to help you throughout your time at UCCS. Finally, you’ll explore the wilderness! You’ll locate a place that’s new to you (a hike, a museum, a local spot) and use all of your new skills, tools, and resources to craft a researched paper and reflective presentation. 

ONLINE / Section OL1 / Instructors: Leslie Rapparlie / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: ONLINE

Please Note: This online course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

In this course students will learn about the resources that UCCS has to support you through the lens of Stranger Things. We will analyze the characters from the show, put them in hypothetical UCCS situations, and discuss how they would react based on their personalities from the show. We will also discuss who your Demagorgon is at UCCS and how you can become Eleven and defeat it.

ONLINE / Section OL2 / Instructors: Karla Arzuza / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: ONLINE

Please Note: This online course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Course description coming soon!

ONLINE / Section OL6 / Instructors: Donna Bruder / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: ONLINE

Please Note: This course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

Stories shape the human experience. We are constantly telling and receiving stories. We will examine this important art form in the realm of film and television. What makes a good story? How do you tell a story for film or TV? Besides writing a story of their own creation, students will study two American classics: Casablanca and Star Wars from a storytelling perspective. Students will then work on their own "Storyboard" and use software called "Storyboardthis" to create and voice their original short stories. This process will introduce students to principles, concepts and elements of storytelling and the writing process for film and TV. They will learn how to pitch stories to a group and how to write using screenplay format and traditional narrative format, as well as how to work cohesively in a small group setting.

ONLINE / Section OL9 / Instructors: Marcelle Hureau / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25

SESSION B: ONLINE

Please Note: This course is a late start Session B course and begins mid-semester. This course does not participate in Gateway Days.

The purpose of this course is to guide students with major, college, career, and life exploration. This asynchronous course is comprised of practical resources, activities, and information to help students explore who they are and strategically uncover how they want to show up in the world. By the end of this course, students will feel confident - and prepared - to start college, embark on their career interests, and get the most out of their next chapter in life.

ONLINE / Section OL10 / Instructors: Brianna Escobedo / 10/22/25 - 12/20/25