Do you get to see the course schedule before you register?
During class registration, they'll be giving you the full schedule ahead of time - often there are several sessions (tracks) per class/term, so you may have options in terms of days/times and what not.
Is it possible to get two courses on the same day so that I can at least control one of my weekly days off?
It's possible, but it largely depends on the courses. Most courses have two to three different tracks per week, and it's possible you'll be able to coordinate your schedule so that all your classes fall on one day of the week.
If I take 2 courses do they overlap in terms of meeting the same weeks? Or do I take one in Aug/Sept and one Oct/Nov?
Your two classes last eleven weeks, meeting once a week, and run concurrently. Classes run approximately from September through early December (there are a couple exception weeks where class is not scheduled due to high resort attendance).
Since my undergrad was media, would that be close enough to get me into the Entertainment course?
I would think so, but your best bet is to email education operations to make sure. Their email address is wdw.disney.education.ops <at |nospam| > disney.com
Are there more networking opportunities in the Collegiate courses or Exploration courses?
The exploration courses offer a much greater opportunity to network with leaders from around the company. Whereas most of the collegiate courses have one instructor delivering all of the course material, the exploration series have a different speaker each week from a different sub-discipline of the topic being discussed. The nice thing about these classes is that these leaders normally go over their own career roadmap as part of their lectures, and often stick around afterwords for additional questions and networking.
College Program Practicum - I am really intrigued by this one, but there are a couple group projects. Is it hard to find time to work in the groups? Did you find that group members pulled their own weight or do you get a mix of different levels of education and therefore work ethic? Was this class interesting and enjoyable?
As of last year, the group project components were taken out of the course structure in favor of individual assignments. There's still one quasi-group project having to deal with case studies, but the point breakdown favors the individual work put forth over the collective group effort. This particular assignment has a written paper/question sheet, and the day you turn this in, you meet with your group for about 30-45 minutes to formulate a presentation based on the information you gathered. Since a very large portion of the points are attributed to your individual work, it's less of a big deal how functional the group is. Having said that, I never had any problems.
I liked the class a lot, but if you're a big fan of Disney, some of it may be repetitive.
Experiential Learning - I like the educational assignment of this class but I'm not sure how I feel about the activity modules. What are those like... I get the impression they are going to be a waste of my time?
Haven't taken this class, so I'm not sure.
Human Resource Management/Exploring People Management - It seems like these two are essentially the same topics, but one has homework and one doesn't. Besides the assignments, are there any other major differences between these two options?
I haven't taken either of these, but basically they're two different things. The collegiate HR course is an academically oriented course that focuses on the professional aspects and goings of that particular discipline - straight from a script that is approved by the American Council on Education. The DES course focuses a lot more on the management/people behind the role, their career paths, and what they do specifically at Disney to keep HR running smoothly - none of this being scripted.
I'm a Marketing major and plan to work at WDW full-time (in Marketing/Hospitality fields) once I graduate. Would you recommend this course for me to take? Can you give me more information on it? i.e. How long are the meetings? Is it mostly lecture style? Can I voice record the lectures? How often do they meet? What times? I won't be getting school credit for it, so do you think it'd be worthwhile for me?
Depends what you'd like out of your classes. I'm a big fan of the Disney Exploration Series, and I think that'd be a good thing for you to look into. The course is not collegiate and most institutions will not offer credit for these classes, but in terms of your own development, it could be very good to see how high ranking leaders do their jobs at Disney, as the course is primarily structured as a venue for them to deliver lectures about their own experience. DES courses last approximately two to three hours in length per week.
As far as recording goes, I wouldn't know. I have a feeling that it wouldn't be allowed, but ask the education department once you arrive to make sure.
. You'll need pens/pencils, but other than that, not so much. Disney's included course binder includes a good, letter-sized notepad. Most assignments must be typed, so a laptop and a flash disk may also be a good idea (so you can print assignments at the computer labs/Disney Learning Center). You'll also need the course text, which is "What Color is Your Parachute" as of this writing (this can change however, so hold off until you receive your syllabus).
