VIP offers a diverse and dynamic curriculum geared toward individual student success. The classroom experience helps each student maximize his or her potential for independence.

• During freshman year, students take classes that help them adjust to the collegiate experience, such as college study skills and managing a personal budget, along with core courses in health, social psychology, computers, and current events. Classwork and homework have an experiential focus. Students do much of their learning outside the classroom as part of the larger NYIT community, with field trips to surrounding areas of historically, culturally, and environmentally rich Long Island and New York City. VIP freshmen use class time to explore different avenues of independence in conjunction with their vocational training, as instructors help them discover and maximize their personal strengths. Each student is provided with personalized academic advisement, as well as access to a computer lab study hall for additional support.

• During their sophomore year, VIP students build on the growth they experienced as freshmen. Having identified a vocational area of interest, their classroom experiences continue to help them develop the skills essential to succeed in that area. VIP courses are fully integrated with the college social environment, helping students develop group cooperation and communication skills. VIP students team up to tackle large projects such as organizing and running a college fair or publishing a newsletter. Sophomore students also hone specific communications skills within classes designed particularly for that purpose. All classes are taught in a technology-rich environment, with computers, Smart Boards, and digital video all used as tools that foster learning.

• During the junior year, the VIP curriculum focuses on living independently. Food and nutrition, budgeting, and apartment living are all key topics.The last portion of spring semester is spent entirely in hands-on workshops geared toward specific topics that our students will face when they are ready to be fully independent. From interview techniques to dressing for success, students have the opportunity to dry-run many of the challenges they will face, all with the support and guidance of advisors. In all cases, students move at their own pace and with ample feedback from faculty and staff members who are intimately involved with their progress.