Pine State University

Higher learning for tomorrow’s leaders!

At Pine State University, our goal is to produce citizens who have the business knowledge and experience to lead our community into the future. Our campus is located in the city of Arcadia, only thirty minutes from Pine Hollow.

Campus Life

We maintain two large learning residence halls, where up to eight students live together and study the skills needed for their degree fields. The learning residence halls are both equipped with a full size kitchen and on-site cook, as well as a game room and large study areas to complete coursework. Please check with Campus Housing to reserve space in one of our halls.

Activities

PSU offers a large library suitable for all of your study needs. We have shelves of all the books you could need, as well as a brand new computer lab with the latest technology.

Also on campus are a student gym with hot tubs and pool, a coffeeshop offering wi-fi connection, and the student quad, where students can relax between their studies and make new friends.

Degrees

Students may choose among the following degree fields currently offered at PSU:

• Art
• Biology
• Philosophy
• Literature
• Economics
• Mathematics
• History
• Physics
• Psychology
• Political Science

General Studies

At PSU, students in all degree fields are required to complete three general studies courses.

• Register Ready – Learn all the tricks of handling a cash register with ease.
• Filling the Shelves – Stocking and restocking is an art.
• Making the Sale – Learn how to convince your customers that only you can serve their needs.

Students must display at least a bronze level knowledge of each of the general studies in order to qualify for graduation.

Specialized Studies

Our curriculum also offers classes in specialized studies, each one focused on helping students in their chosen careers. Students must take one specialized study class in addition to their general studies.

• Sneeze-Free Flower Arranging – Learn how to think like a florist. (flower arranging)
• Toy Tinkering – Light up children’s faces with toys. (toy making)
• Crafty Ways – Whether your passion is fashion or art, you can explore to your heart’s content. (pottery or sewing)
• Robot Windup – For those who believe robots will take over the world, the future begins here. (robot making)
• Sweet Eats – Make your customers drool at the sight of your culinary masterpieces. (cooking and cleaning)
• Makeover Your Neighbor – Turn even the ugliest townie into a knockout. (cosmetology)
• Tell It Like It Is – Turn your natural nosiness into articles or books. (creativity and logic)
• Dirt Never Hurt – Grow vegetables in the campus greenhouse. (gardening)
• Get It Into Their Heads – Keeping students’ attention takes skill. Luckily, you can learn it here before you get to the classroom. (charisma and logic)
• Taking Control of Germs – Doctors and nurses are made here. Handwashing required. (mechanical and logic)
• Highest Learning – Find your religious path and teach others. (charisma and cleaning)
• Sweating It Out – Encourage fitness by keeping yourself in shape. (body and charisma)

Students are required to demonstrate at least a bronze level or skill level 5 for specialized classes in order to qualify for graduation. Students may qualify for early graduation by submitting proof of required knowledge levels and most recent semester’s grade to the main office and earning at least a C GPA.

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I have to say a big THANK YOU to Jade for sharing her custom college with her readers on her blog. I was inspired by Jade’s custom university in Isle of Thyme to try to work out my own that would suit my needs and playing style, and I’m very happy with PSU. After playing with a custom public school, I had been wishing for a custom college where I could have control over what my students are learning and help them get the skills they need to run Pine Hollow’s economy. I didn’t think it was possible, but Jade’s setup helped me see that it was and so I set about figuring out how I wanted my college to work and finding the mods that would help me accomplish this.

I don’t use the Maxis classes, assignments, or term papers. There are Maxis professors that were automatically generated by the game, but my students never attend their classes.

I wanted more control over what my students were learning at college, so I use a couple of hacks to help me accomplish this. First, I use the University Break statue from Simlogical to stop my students from going to the Maxis classes. Instead, I have classrooms set up within the dorm for the various things they’ll learn. (I had originally set up a separate community lot for the skilling, but decided while playing that using a “learning residence hall”–a place where students would live and study–worked better for me.) I modified Apples Plaza to have a learning area upstairs. There is a computer lab with Monique’s hacked computers and a few rooms with different skill and badge building items. The students can study for badges at the computers and build skills on the items if they need to. (Thanks to my custom Pine Hollow Public School, my students are likely to already have the skill levels they need for their field of study.) Flower arranging, toy making, robot building, pottery, and sewing badges can be earned on the workbenches themselves instead of through the computer so the students will have some items in their inventory that they can use in their stores when they graduate.

The problem with skill based classes is students won’t earn actual grades from the skill building. So I use TwoJeffs’ College Adjuster to give my students semester grades, GPAs, and move between semesters. Each semester lasts one Sim day. I originally planned to have a semester be two Sim days, but while playing I found that a one day semester was long enough for now. So, at 8:00AM, students go upstairs and get started on learning the skills they need. At 3:00PM, they stop and are allowed to do whatever they want for the rest of the day. At this time, I roll a die to determine each student’s final semester grade and GPA so that not everyone automatically gets an A+ every time. I determine grades by these rolls of the die:

• 1 = A+
• 2 = A
• 3 = B
• 4 = C
• 5 = D
• 6 = F

If a student rolls a D or F, I use the College Adjuster to put them on academic probation. They must roll a better grade in the next semester or they’ll be kicked out of school and won’t receive a diploma or other graduation bonuses. To be kicked out of school, a student must roll a D or F in two consecutive semesters. So they won’t be kicked out if they roll, for example, an F their first semester, then a B the next semester, and then an F again in the third semester. It must be two F’s or D’s right in a row in order to be kicked out of school.

College will be played at the end of a normal household round, and I’ll play four semesters at a time (two “years” of school) before continuing on to a new round of family houses.

Each of the graduates will receive a Maxis degree in a field that makes sense (to me, at least) with the career they’ll have.

• Art – Artist, fashion designer, florist
• Biology – Medicine
• Philosophy – Religion
• Literature – Writer
• Economics – Farmer, Toy maker, baker, restaurant owner
• Mathematics or History – Teacher
• Physics – Robot maker
• Psychology – Cosmetologist, Fitness trainer
• Political Science – law
  

Aside from a boost in skills/badges, college graduates also have an additional bonus over non-graduates because they receive $10,000 from the town council that does not have to be paid back to help them purchase a community lot.

A student can graduate before the rest of their class if they earn all of the skills and badges they need early in their schooling. I had to implement early graduation because with the first group of teens, I wouldn’t have been able to send William, Suzie, and Sarah to college in the next round unless some of the current students moved out of the dorm. I’m trying to avoid playing two dorms at the same time right now. A student must have a passing grade in order to graduate. If a student has all of their required skills and badges but rolls a D or F for that semester, they are put on academic probation and must remain for an additional semester and hope that they receive a better grade the next time.

I’m still play-testing the college, so things are likely to change as I figure out what works best. I’m currently trying to decide if my graduation requirements are too easy, so it is possible that the minimum skill/badge levels will go up some time for future students.