Spring 2024

This course provides an introductory exploration of varying special topics within the fashion industry's science and technology field. The topics of the course vary depending on instructor and semester. Each course will overview core concepts, foundational knowledge, and practical applications about the topics presented. The course will focus on contemporary issues in the field and those issues' contextual positioning within industry, community, and societal contexts.

A comprehensive overview of how the fashion business works. The course will feature topics covering the past and present in fashion personalities, fads, pop culture, product development and retail. The class will go through examples of people, principles, management practices, and retailer. In addition, we will examine fashions ethical awareness of the twenty first century.

A study of consumer behavior and fashion adoption processes in contemporary society, the nature of fashion theories, the life-cycle, social and cultural processes and evolution of fashion, and the role of fashion in the global economy in general and in the fashion business industry in particular. In addition, because of the size and reach of fashion we will recognize the cause and effects of this industry on the world's environment and inhabitants.

This course is intended to prepare students to use Adobe Creative Cloud applications in Fashion Studies. Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign will be used to create and manipulate digital images of apparel designs.

Students will practice using photo correction tools; layers, masks, and channels; selection tools; vector drawing and paint tools; and advanced layer techniques to create designs and mockups, learning to select the appropriate Adobe CC tools for each step, moving seamlessly between applications. Students will learn to create and publish completed designs in print or web formats with attention to layout designs in each medium.

Apparel Components is an introductory fashion drawing and flat pattern course that explores the connection between the design and the production of a sewn product. A sketch can be turned into a garment by the use of a pattern which interprets the design in the form of the garment components. Similar to puzzle pieces which are fitted together to create an image, the garment components are the puzzle pieces, when put together will create a sewn product which can be reproduced many times over. In this class students will learn the basics of fashion and technical drawing to communicate accurate garment proportions and be introduced to the manipulation of a basic fashion pattern block to create several different sewn product pieces.

Effective digital communication is integral to every facet of life. In this course, students will learn about current and emerging technology utilized to communicate within the fashion industry and applicable to many other career paths. Digital literacy and digital design skills will be at the forefront of the course through multi-disciplinary, hands-on experience using industry software. Students will develop and refine their abilities to become successful communicators in the digital world.

This capstone course bridges academic coursework with actual practice management, introducing students to the skills and tools needed for developing a comprehensive financial plan for a client. The first part of the course provides a review of the financial planning CFP Board topics, including ethics and principles of communication and counseling. Classes also review/apply the process and techniques for preparing and presenting a financial plan in an environment of non-liability.

Introduction to the FINRA-sponsored Security Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, a new introductory level exam for prospective financial services industry professionals. Its purpose is to assess a candidate's basic knowledge of products, rules, structure, and foundation of the securities industry and regulatory agencies, their functions, and prohibited practices.

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or government establishment.

This course provides an introduction to the retail financial services industry. The primary focus will be on firms and markets that provide retail credit (e.g., consumer loans, auto loans, credit cards, mortgages) and other banking services, with some occasional examples from the insurance and investment/retirement products sectors. The early weeks will cover determinants of consumer demand and market supply, trends in new product development, new account acquisition strategies, target-market supply, trends in new product development, new account acquisition strategies, target-marketing tools and cross-selling. The second half of the course will focus on public policy issues related to improving consumer access to credit and banking services. The focus will be on regulatory constraints, reputation risk, and ethical challenges that profoundly affect marketing in the financial services industry.