We're now past the halfway point of the semester at both colleges where I teach. Those of you who are on the quarter system should be just about at that point as well. It's time to take a close look at how you are doing in all of your classes.
Hopefully, you have been diligently tracking your own grades throughout the semester or quarter and have a good idea of where you stand. Whether you have done so or not, I strongly suggest checking in with your professors or instructors as to what your present overall grade is in each of your classes now that you are near or at the midpoint of your classes.
First of all, even if you've kept your own grade records carefully, you could have made a mistake. Guess what? Your instructors or professors may have made mistakes, too. It's definitely worth it to make sure both sets of grade records match up.
Knowing what your current grade is in each class can provide you with valuable information as to how to approach the rest of the term. Some instructors or professors post grades on Blackboard or other course management software; some want you to come to their offices in person; some will provide you the information via email. It depends on their individual preferences and policies.
If you are on track with what grade you want to achieve with a particular class, keep doing what you're doing - it seems to be working. Don't get lazy though -- keep up the same level of effort and the same kinds of activities you've been doing all along. A good grade at midterm is no reason to sit back and take a break.
If your present grade is somewhat lower than you want, it's time to explore your options for doing better. Be honest with yourself. If you simply have not been putting in the appropriate effort with reading, studying, reviewing, completing assignments, and working on projects, get it in gear. Map out a battle plan for the rest of the term that has scheduled times for reading, studying, writing, research, and whatever else it takes to complete the class successfully. Ask for help from the instructor, other students, and tutors if you need it. If study groups work well for you, organize one with other students in your class and share study techniques and energy.
If your present grade is a lot lower than you want, be realistic about what your chances are for finishing with an acceptable or even passing grade. Keep in mind that in college, any final grade lower than a C is a tremendous weight pulling your GPA down. In core classes in your major, a C for your final grade may also be unacceptable for your long term plans.
In my teaching experience, I have noted that the majority of students who are earning anything lower than a solid C (at least 75%) at the midpoint of a class do not tend to finish with final grades above a C. Many of them finish with even lower grades. Have there been exceptions? Absolutely! Have there been many exceptions? No. So what's the answer in this situation?
If you honestly feel you can put forth the concentrated extra effort to do exceptionally well in all the remaining gradable tasks for the class, make a plan and go for it. You should first definitely check with your instructor as to whether it is possible for you to attain the final grade you want before committing to this course of action.
If the final grade outlook is not favorable, see whether you are still able to withdraw from the class. At the colleges where I teach, students can drop with a W on their records between the 6th and 12th weeks of a 16 week semester. After the 12th week, students can no longer drop, instructors can no longer drop students, and the students must receive a grade for the class. Every college and university has different policies, of course, but I have never encountered an institution that does not have something similar in place.
The main advantage to withdrawing and having a W on your transcript is that a withdrawal has no effect on your GPA. If you simply stay in the class past the withdrawal deadline, you will wind up with a grade for that class even if you stop showing up. Granted, it's not a good idea to be toting up too many withdrawals on your record as it may give an unfavorable impression about your commitment levels to future employers or grad school evaluators, but a couple Ws on your transcript is much better that racking up GPA-destroying Fs.
If the withdrawal deadline has passed, you will need to plan to re-take the class. Visit your academic counselor immediately. However, do remember than when you re-take a class, the first grade you received for it and the second grade you received for it are averaged together on your transcript. For example, if you take a class and initially receive an F, then you re-take it and receive an A, it will affect your GPA as if you took it once and received a C. Also keep in mind that individual colleges and universities have policies about how many times you can re-take a particular class and how many re-takes are allowable in your time at their institutions. Planning to re-take a class is a last ditch strategy that should be avoided and can be avoided if you track your grades closely throughout the term and opt to withdraw from a class in a timely manner if necessary.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Should You Stay or Should You Go?
It’s the first day of classes. You’ve had two classes so far and feel pretty good about what you will need to do during the semester and your ability to learn from the instructors involved. You go to your third class of the day hoping for more of the same. But as that first class meeting goes on, you are a bit uneasy. Maybe it’s something about the instructor’s teaching style. Maybe it’s all those out of class group assignments that won’t fit well with your busy work schedule. Regardless of what particular aspect of this class makes you unsure that you should continue with it, it is important to think carefully about whether you should stay (keep the class) or whether you should go (drop the class). Here are some steps to take in making that decision.
Look at the syllabi for all of your classes and assess what your academic workload will be for the semester and also consider your non-academic obligations (family, work, faith activities, etc.). Be realistic about the time it will take you to study and complete assignments. If your schedule seems to be mind-blowingly full, you may want to consider dropping a class.
If you cannot drop a class without compromising your financial aid award, be prepared to immediately add another class to replace the units of the one you will be dropping. That means having an add code/permission to register in hand and ready to go. If you are doing the drop and add on paper, submit them simultaneously to registration personnel. Even if you can do the drop and add over the computer, I would still recommend going in person in case there is something that needs an override by registration personnel.
If you decide to drop the class, do it the right way and do it promptly. You enrolled yourself for the class, so it’s your responsibility to unenroll yourself. While some instructors will drop students if they stop showing up for class, they are not obligated to do so. You could wind up with a nasty F slamming your GPA down at the end of the semester just because you didn’t bother to formally drop a class. Going through the proper procedure to drop a class may also free up a space for another student who really needs it. Be mindful of drop and add deadlines and how they might affect how much of your money will be refunded. If you’ve held off on your decision to drop a class until you won’t be getting any of your money back, you might want to reconsider.
There also can be some compelling reasons to keep a class even if you’re feeling uncomfortable about it. Here are a few:
Are you close to transferring or graduating? If this is a class you need to accomplish either of those, you might be better off hanging in there so you can finish up on time.
Is the class not offered every semester? This is quite common, especially at the university upper-division level. It can be a nightmare for seniors to get into these classes, so dropping a capstone class can set you back significantly.
Is it a class that serves as a prerequisite to other classes? Dropping a prerequisite class will limit your ability to enroll in some other classes in the future, including required classes in your major.
Is the class only taught by one instructor? If you are uneasy about the instructor’s teaching style and he/she is the only faculty member who teaches that class, you might as well keep the class and find ways to get through it.
Look at the syllabi for all of your classes and assess what your academic workload will be for the semester and also consider your non-academic obligations (family, work, faith activities, etc.). Be realistic about the time it will take you to study and complete assignments. If your schedule seems to be mind-blowingly full, you may want to consider dropping a class.
If you cannot drop a class without compromising your financial aid award, be prepared to immediately add another class to replace the units of the one you will be dropping. That means having an add code/permission to register in hand and ready to go. If you are doing the drop and add on paper, submit them simultaneously to registration personnel. Even if you can do the drop and add over the computer, I would still recommend going in person in case there is something that needs an override by registration personnel.
If you decide to drop the class, do it the right way and do it promptly. You enrolled yourself for the class, so it’s your responsibility to unenroll yourself. While some instructors will drop students if they stop showing up for class, they are not obligated to do so. You could wind up with a nasty F slamming your GPA down at the end of the semester just because you didn’t bother to formally drop a class. Going through the proper procedure to drop a class may also free up a space for another student who really needs it. Be mindful of drop and add deadlines and how they might affect how much of your money will be refunded. If you’ve held off on your decision to drop a class until you won’t be getting any of your money back, you might want to reconsider.
There also can be some compelling reasons to keep a class even if you’re feeling uncomfortable about it. Here are a few:
Are you close to transferring or graduating? If this is a class you need to accomplish either of those, you might be better off hanging in there so you can finish up on time.
Is the class not offered every semester? This is quite common, especially at the university upper-division level. It can be a nightmare for seniors to get into these classes, so dropping a capstone class can set you back significantly.
Is it a class that serves as a prerequisite to other classes? Dropping a prerequisite class will limit your ability to enroll in some other classes in the future, including required classes in your major.
Is the class only taught by one instructor? If you are uneasy about the instructor’s teaching style and he/she is the only faculty member who teaches that class, you might as well keep the class and find ways to get through it.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Parking Maze
Parking lots at colleges and universities are some of the craziest places on earth. You have an extremely large number of people traveling in and out of campus at set times all vying for what seems to be very few decent parking spaces. As an undergraduate at Western Michigan University, I remember driving around at 3:30 pm with my lowly W sticker (commuter student permit) looking for a halfway reasonable parking spot near Sangren Hall. I would barely make it to my 4:15 pm class on time. (If any Broncos past or present are reading this, you know exactly what I mean.) I even left work extra early on class days to allow for hunting down a parking space so I could try to make it to class on time. Ah, memories.
Nothing can completely eliminate the pain of parking on campus, but here are some tips to make it a little easier.
Include time to look for a parking space in your travel time to campus. Some days you will hit it lucky and find a perfect space right away; other days will not go so well. If you plan ahead, you are saving yourself from the frustration of running late to class, which can be particularly stressful on exam days or if you have an instructor who is strict about late arrivals.
Do not park in restricted spaces. You will get busted. Maybe not the first time, maybe not the tenth time, but believe me, your luck will run out and you will have a hefty parking fine on your hands. It is true that faculty and staff parking spaces are often more convenient to campus buildings than student spaces, but there are good reasons for that. Their time deadlines to be someplace on campus are much more stringent than students' time deadlines. If you've ever complained because an instructor was late to class, consider that a possible reason was a student was unfairly taking a faculty parking space.
Many campuses give a one week grace period after the start of classes for parking permits. It's a good idea to get your parking permit as soon as possible. It is all too easy to let the grace period slide by and then get the unpleasant surprise of a ticket on your window. I am in the habit of obtaining my campus parking permits on the first or second day of class. Contrary to what many students believe, faculty and staff generally have to pay for parking permits too.
If possible, try to carpool or use public transportation to get to campus. This is not a good solution for everyone, but in some cases, it works great. Most of the campuses I have worked at have nice incentive programs to encourage people who carpool or use public transportation. Even if you do it part of the time, it helps lessen the parking crunch.
If money is a concern, do a little math to see whether you truly need to buy a full semester parking pass. For instance, if your campus daily permit rate is $1.50, you are only on a campus two days per week, and the full semester parking permit is $60.00, you will save $12.00 in a 16 week semester by using daily permit. Buying daily permits will also save you money if you are carpooling or using public transportation part of the time.
Nothing can completely eliminate the pain of parking on campus, but here are some tips to make it a little easier.
Include time to look for a parking space in your travel time to campus. Some days you will hit it lucky and find a perfect space right away; other days will not go so well. If you plan ahead, you are saving yourself from the frustration of running late to class, which can be particularly stressful on exam days or if you have an instructor who is strict about late arrivals.
Do not park in restricted spaces. You will get busted. Maybe not the first time, maybe not the tenth time, but believe me, your luck will run out and you will have a hefty parking fine on your hands. It is true that faculty and staff parking spaces are often more convenient to campus buildings than student spaces, but there are good reasons for that. Their time deadlines to be someplace on campus are much more stringent than students' time deadlines. If you've ever complained because an instructor was late to class, consider that a possible reason was a student was unfairly taking a faculty parking space.
Many campuses give a one week grace period after the start of classes for parking permits. It's a good idea to get your parking permit as soon as possible. It is all too easy to let the grace period slide by and then get the unpleasant surprise of a ticket on your window. I am in the habit of obtaining my campus parking permits on the first or second day of class. Contrary to what many students believe, faculty and staff generally have to pay for parking permits too.
If possible, try to carpool or use public transportation to get to campus. This is not a good solution for everyone, but in some cases, it works great. Most of the campuses I have worked at have nice incentive programs to encourage people who carpool or use public transportation. Even if you do it part of the time, it helps lessen the parking crunch.
If money is a concern, do a little math to see whether you truly need to buy a full semester parking pass. For instance, if your campus daily permit rate is $1.50, you are only on a campus two days per week, and the full semester parking permit is $60.00, you will save $12.00 in a 16 week semester by using daily permit. Buying daily permits will also save you money if you are carpooling or using public transportation part of the time.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The First Day of Class - Don't Miss It
Has another college student ever told you something like this?
I never bother going to the first day of classes. Nothing happens. The instructor hands out the syllabus and then lets us leave, or drones on and on about the syllabus and other unimportant things. No real material gets covered at all. No, I never bother going to the first day of a class. It's a waste of my time.
Wrong, wrong, so wrong. The first day of a class is essential in numerous ways. Here are a few major ones.
The syllabus sets forth the expectations you need to meet in order to do well in a class, and a review of the syllabus clarifies any questions you may have about those expectations. It gives you an overall feel for how much and what type of work you will need to do during the semester. This can be very important to maintaining your grades at a level you desire. For instance, if you will be balancing a hectic work schedule with your classes, you might find that a class that requires a lot of group work scheduled outside of class hours is not the best idea.
A syllabus, along with the instructor's overview of it, can also give you other valuable information in deciding whether this is a class you want to keep in your schedule. Not only will you get an idea of what the work for this class will be like, you also get a taste of the individual instructor's style and approach to teaching and learning. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, the way a specific instructor teaches and the way a specific student learns is not a good match. It is better to find this out right away while there is a possibility of successfully adding another class to replace the one you feel won't work for you. There is no one perfect way to teach material, nor is there one perfect way to learn material.
Much important information that is not on the syllabus is often provided the first day of class. For example, I routinely demonstrate how to log into the course management system and access the student areas of my website during the first session. I will often have a college procedures question and answer session. I often talk about specific features of the textbook and give suggestions on how to best use it to maximize success. When time allows, I show the students how to search for and obtain a scholarly journal article online. So much of what happens in class, not just on the first day but during any class session, consists of non-repeatable events.
While some instructors may simply hand out syllabi and dismiss class on the first day, many of us are going to dig right into introductory material that lays the foundation for the rest of the semester. Time in the classroom is precious, and I for one firmly believe in getting the learning underway as soon as possible.
I saved the most compelling reason to attend the first day of class for last. Quite a few instructors will immediately drop students who do not show up on the first day and immediately take adds to fill in their places. In today's climate of an increased number of students trying to register for a smaller number of classes, keeping a seat in a class is becoming more competitive. It has become routine for full classes to also have a waitlist of 20, 30, or more students. While it's nearly impossible to get everyone on the waitlist into an already full section, many instructors will try to reasonably accommodate at least some of them. Therefore, if you choose not to go to the first day of a class, don't be too surprised if someone else has taken your place when you finally show up.
I never bother going to the first day of classes. Nothing happens. The instructor hands out the syllabus and then lets us leave, or drones on and on about the syllabus and other unimportant things. No real material gets covered at all. No, I never bother going to the first day of a class. It's a waste of my time.
Wrong, wrong, so wrong. The first day of a class is essential in numerous ways. Here are a few major ones.
The syllabus sets forth the expectations you need to meet in order to do well in a class, and a review of the syllabus clarifies any questions you may have about those expectations. It gives you an overall feel for how much and what type of work you will need to do during the semester. This can be very important to maintaining your grades at a level you desire. For instance, if you will be balancing a hectic work schedule with your classes, you might find that a class that requires a lot of group work scheduled outside of class hours is not the best idea.
A syllabus, along with the instructor's overview of it, can also give you other valuable information in deciding whether this is a class you want to keep in your schedule. Not only will you get an idea of what the work for this class will be like, you also get a taste of the individual instructor's style and approach to teaching and learning. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, the way a specific instructor teaches and the way a specific student learns is not a good match. It is better to find this out right away while there is a possibility of successfully adding another class to replace the one you feel won't work for you. There is no one perfect way to teach material, nor is there one perfect way to learn material.
Much important information that is not on the syllabus is often provided the first day of class. For example, I routinely demonstrate how to log into the course management system and access the student areas of my website during the first session. I will often have a college procedures question and answer session. I often talk about specific features of the textbook and give suggestions on how to best use it to maximize success. When time allows, I show the students how to search for and obtain a scholarly journal article online. So much of what happens in class, not just on the first day but during any class session, consists of non-repeatable events.
While some instructors may simply hand out syllabi and dismiss class on the first day, many of us are going to dig right into introductory material that lays the foundation for the rest of the semester. Time in the classroom is precious, and I for one firmly believe in getting the learning underway as soon as possible.
I saved the most compelling reason to attend the first day of class for last. Quite a few instructors will immediately drop students who do not show up on the first day and immediately take adds to fill in their places. In today's climate of an increased number of students trying to register for a smaller number of classes, keeping a seat in a class is becoming more competitive. It has become routine for full classes to also have a waitlist of 20, 30, or more students. While it's nearly impossible to get everyone on the waitlist into an already full section, many instructors will try to reasonably accommodate at least some of them. Therefore, if you choose not to go to the first day of a class, don't be too surprised if someone else has taken your place when you finally show up.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
So You're On A Waitlist
Signing up for the classes you need can be a confusing and frustrating process. Even if you registered for classes on the very first day you were eligible to do so, you may find that some (hopefully not all) of the classes you want are already full. Most colleges and universities use a waitlist as a backup system for students who also want the class. Although you should check with your specific school as to how your waitlist works, here are some basic facts about how waitlists work.
When you try to register online or by phone for a class that is already full, you will be given the option to be put on the waitlist. It's a good idea to do so, even if you are told you are some dismal place way down on the list. Students frequently change their schedules before classes start, and when an already enrolled student drops from a full class, the student who is next in line on the waitlist automatically takes his or her place on the roster. Therefore, a student who is placed moderately far down the waitlist may find himself or herself surprised to be enrolled on the first day of class. Save yourself from that kind of surprise, however, by logging into your college’s registration system and monitoring your waitlist position every day. You may move rapidly up some waitlists and have an excellent chance of making it into the class; other waitlists, however, may not change much at all. As the first day of class gets closer, you may have to make a decision whether to stay on a waitlist or try to get into other classes.
If you’re unsure whether to give up your place on a waitlist, you may want to find out whether your instructor will be accepting additional students over the official class limit. You can do this by asking other students who’ve taken classes with that instructor, asking an academic advisor, or, the best choice of all, contacting the instructor and asking him or her directly. There will be a wide variety of responses to this question and you need to respect the answer you receive. Some instructors never take extra students. They stick with the roster of enrolled students from the first day of class and that is that. Other instructors may take extra students in anticipation that a percentage of enrolled students will either drop the class or not show up at all. Another group of instructors do not mind having a few students over the limit in their classes and will automatically provide add codes to a certain number of students that were on the waitlist the day before classes started. Keep in mind that instructors are not obligated to take any extra students at all. Begging, pleading, getting sarcastic, or otherwise putting pressure on an instructor to add you when he or she has already said no will rarely have good results and may wind up with you making a negative impression on someone who you will have to deal with later in your college career.
Waitlists no longer automatically roll students into the regular roster after the first day of class, and the waitlist will even disappear from some schools’ registration systems. If you are fairly high on the waitlist (my suggestion would be no lower than 15th), show up on the first day of class with an add card in hand if your campus requires one. Even though individual instructors’ policies vary, many of them will immediately drop students who do not show up for the first day of class and that may make room for you. This is especially true in today’s higher education climate where budget constraints have limited colleges from being able to offer as many classes to accommodate the number of students who want to take them.
Make sure that you pay your registration and tuition fees on time to keep your class schedule, including your place on any waitlists. If your schedule is cancelled for non-payment of fees, you lose both your place in classes you successfully enrolled in and your place on any waitlists for classes. If you re-register for a full class after you’ve already been dropped from the waitlist, you will be placed at the bottom of the list. Even worse, if you were already enrolled in a class then dropped, you may find yourself at the bottom of a waitlist when you re-register.
Three of the four classes I am scheduled to begin teaching in 3½ weeks already have waitlists. Right now they are short, and those students stand an excellent chance of getting into my classes because they registered in a timely manner and are choosing to exercise a little patience. Waitlists are a great thing, but always have a backup plan for other classes you can take. This may mean monitoring your college’s registration system quite closely as the first day of classes approaches, but if your diligence results in you getting a good class schedule, it is all worth it.
When you try to register online or by phone for a class that is already full, you will be given the option to be put on the waitlist. It's a good idea to do so, even if you are told you are some dismal place way down on the list. Students frequently change their schedules before classes start, and when an already enrolled student drops from a full class, the student who is next in line on the waitlist automatically takes his or her place on the roster. Therefore, a student who is placed moderately far down the waitlist may find himself or herself surprised to be enrolled on the first day of class. Save yourself from that kind of surprise, however, by logging into your college’s registration system and monitoring your waitlist position every day. You may move rapidly up some waitlists and have an excellent chance of making it into the class; other waitlists, however, may not change much at all. As the first day of class gets closer, you may have to make a decision whether to stay on a waitlist or try to get into other classes.
If you’re unsure whether to give up your place on a waitlist, you may want to find out whether your instructor will be accepting additional students over the official class limit. You can do this by asking other students who’ve taken classes with that instructor, asking an academic advisor, or, the best choice of all, contacting the instructor and asking him or her directly. There will be a wide variety of responses to this question and you need to respect the answer you receive. Some instructors never take extra students. They stick with the roster of enrolled students from the first day of class and that is that. Other instructors may take extra students in anticipation that a percentage of enrolled students will either drop the class or not show up at all. Another group of instructors do not mind having a few students over the limit in their classes and will automatically provide add codes to a certain number of students that were on the waitlist the day before classes started. Keep in mind that instructors are not obligated to take any extra students at all. Begging, pleading, getting sarcastic, or otherwise putting pressure on an instructor to add you when he or she has already said no will rarely have good results and may wind up with you making a negative impression on someone who you will have to deal with later in your college career.
Waitlists no longer automatically roll students into the regular roster after the first day of class, and the waitlist will even disappear from some schools’ registration systems. If you are fairly high on the waitlist (my suggestion would be no lower than 15th), show up on the first day of class with an add card in hand if your campus requires one. Even though individual instructors’ policies vary, many of them will immediately drop students who do not show up for the first day of class and that may make room for you. This is especially true in today’s higher education climate where budget constraints have limited colleges from being able to offer as many classes to accommodate the number of students who want to take them.
Make sure that you pay your registration and tuition fees on time to keep your class schedule, including your place on any waitlists. If your schedule is cancelled for non-payment of fees, you lose both your place in classes you successfully enrolled in and your place on any waitlists for classes. If you re-register for a full class after you’ve already been dropped from the waitlist, you will be placed at the bottom of the list. Even worse, if you were already enrolled in a class then dropped, you may find yourself at the bottom of a waitlist when you re-register.
Three of the four classes I am scheduled to begin teaching in 3½ weeks already have waitlists. Right now they are short, and those students stand an excellent chance of getting into my classes because they registered in a timely manner and are choosing to exercise a little patience. Waitlists are a great thing, but always have a backup plan for other classes you can take. This may mean monitoring your college’s registration system quite closely as the first day of classes approaches, but if your diligence results in you getting a good class schedule, it is all worth it.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Get Textbook Smart
Fall semester at my college begins over a month from now, but yesterday I received an email from a newly registered student inquiring about textbooks. What a good move on his part! Thinking ahead about this significant chunk of your college budget can save you plenty of money, prevent lots of headaches, and help you be as prepared as possible for the first day of class.
It’s very wise to check into your textbooks as soon as you have registered for classes. Many students say “I never buy my textbooks until the first week of class, because I might want to drop the class.” While this does make sense on one level, it is probably not the best long-term strategy.
If you wait until classes have started to buy books, you don’t have the luxury of time to search down the best price for your textbook. By then, you will need the book immediately and risk falling behind in class if you’re waiting for your bargain to arrive.
You also will greatly reduce your chances of saving money by buying a used book. Used textbooks move quickly out of campus bookstores, and you may be left with a considerably more expensive new book as your only choice. Even worse, you may find that the book is entirely out of stock. While instructors direct bookstores to purchase an adequate number of texts to cover their enrollments, things do happen such as ordering and delivery mistakes, understocks at the publisher’s end, and additional students added to classes.
If you get your textbooks early, you can even read the first couple of chapters before the first day of class. Every little extra edge helps.
After you’ve registered for classes, check textbook information at your campus bookstore, either online or in person. There you should find the title, edition number, author, and ISBN (the unique identification number) of each book you need for your classes. It is very important to know the section number and instructor for each of your classes. For example, your campus may offer ten different sections of Introduction to Psychology taught by five different instructors. While some colleges do use the same textbook for all sections of a class, you will probably see several different introductory psychology textbooks on the shelf. Different instructors have different textbook preferences, and you really want to make sure you have the same textbook as your instructor is using. If you plan to shop elsewhere than your campus bookstore, write down the title, edition number, author, and ISBN carefully.
If your campus bookstore does not have or does not share textbook information, look up your instructor’s email on and drop him/her a note asking for the title, edition number, author, and ISBN of the text. Believe it or not, your instructors and professors remember what it is like to be a student facing down an ugly textbook bill. You may also want to ask if using the next older edition of the book would be okay. For instance, if the instructor tells you the 4th edition is being used, ask if the 3rd edition would work. Keep in mind, however, that not just any textbook in the subject will do. In a developmental psychology class, I once had a student bring me a 10 year old textbook by an obscure author and ask me if it would work for the class. Unfortunately, the answer was no. Textbooks, on average, are updated every three years or so. Sometimes there are small changes; sometimes there are big changes. Expect textbooks in the sciences (unfortunately some of the most expensive ones) and other rapidly developing fields to be only acceptable in the current edition.
The internet is invaluable in finding textbooks and getting them at the best price. I did ten minutes of casual online research on a text for my upcoming personality psychology class and turned up an array of choices (buy new, buy used, rent, online only) with a wide range of prices (buy new at $162.00 at a campus bookstore, buy used for $94.83 at another online site, online only access for $60.75, rent for $48.66 from a book rental service). I was able to look up most of these options all at once using DirectTextbook.Com. I am not at all affiliated with them, but I was quite impressed with seeing about 25 sources for the textbook with one click.
Before deciding which textbook format to use, think about the pluses and minuses of each of them and the logistics in ordering them. New textbooks are expensive, but they are more likely to be immediately available for pickup or shipping if you’ve cut yourself short for time. Used textbooks online may be a one copy only deal, so order quickly and have a backup plan in place in case something goes awry, like an indefinite backorder. On book rental websites, note very carefully the period for which you would be renting a book. Quarters will rent for less than semesters, but if you’re taking semester-length classes, only renting for a quarter could be problematic. Online only books might work well for you if you have a fast and reliable internet connection and are comfortable doing the intensive reading required for a textbook on screen.
Unless clearly stated otherwise in the registration information or at the bookstore, textbooks are required. One of the most common gripes I hear from newly entered college students in my psychology classes is “I paid all this money for this textbook and we don’t even use it in class!” That’s right. This does not work like high school where students are using the book every day as part of class activities. You’re supposed to be reading and using the textbook on your own to form a basis of knowledge that will allow you to come to class better prepared to absorb the lecture materials and apply your knowledge in practical ways. The majority of college level learning takes place outside of the classroom and at the student’s own direction. Textbooks play an essential part in that process. Read and use your textbooks on a regular basis and you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.
It’s very wise to check into your textbooks as soon as you have registered for classes. Many students say “I never buy my textbooks until the first week of class, because I might want to drop the class.” While this does make sense on one level, it is probably not the best long-term strategy.
If you wait until classes have started to buy books, you don’t have the luxury of time to search down the best price for your textbook. By then, you will need the book immediately and risk falling behind in class if you’re waiting for your bargain to arrive.
You also will greatly reduce your chances of saving money by buying a used book. Used textbooks move quickly out of campus bookstores, and you may be left with a considerably more expensive new book as your only choice. Even worse, you may find that the book is entirely out of stock. While instructors direct bookstores to purchase an adequate number of texts to cover their enrollments, things do happen such as ordering and delivery mistakes, understocks at the publisher’s end, and additional students added to classes.
If you get your textbooks early, you can even read the first couple of chapters before the first day of class. Every little extra edge helps.
After you’ve registered for classes, check textbook information at your campus bookstore, either online or in person. There you should find the title, edition number, author, and ISBN (the unique identification number) of each book you need for your classes. It is very important to know the section number and instructor for each of your classes. For example, your campus may offer ten different sections of Introduction to Psychology taught by five different instructors. While some colleges do use the same textbook for all sections of a class, you will probably see several different introductory psychology textbooks on the shelf. Different instructors have different textbook preferences, and you really want to make sure you have the same textbook as your instructor is using. If you plan to shop elsewhere than your campus bookstore, write down the title, edition number, author, and ISBN carefully.
If your campus bookstore does not have or does not share textbook information, look up your instructor’s email on and drop him/her a note asking for the title, edition number, author, and ISBN of the text. Believe it or not, your instructors and professors remember what it is like to be a student facing down an ugly textbook bill. You may also want to ask if using the next older edition of the book would be okay. For instance, if the instructor tells you the 4th edition is being used, ask if the 3rd edition would work. Keep in mind, however, that not just any textbook in the subject will do. In a developmental psychology class, I once had a student bring me a 10 year old textbook by an obscure author and ask me if it would work for the class. Unfortunately, the answer was no. Textbooks, on average, are updated every three years or so. Sometimes there are small changes; sometimes there are big changes. Expect textbooks in the sciences (unfortunately some of the most expensive ones) and other rapidly developing fields to be only acceptable in the current edition.
The internet is invaluable in finding textbooks and getting them at the best price. I did ten minutes of casual online research on a text for my upcoming personality psychology class and turned up an array of choices (buy new, buy used, rent, online only) with a wide range of prices (buy new at $162.00 at a campus bookstore, buy used for $94.83 at another online site, online only access for $60.75, rent for $48.66 from a book rental service). I was able to look up most of these options all at once using DirectTextbook.Com. I am not at all affiliated with them, but I was quite impressed with seeing about 25 sources for the textbook with one click.
Before deciding which textbook format to use, think about the pluses and minuses of each of them and the logistics in ordering them. New textbooks are expensive, but they are more likely to be immediately available for pickup or shipping if you’ve cut yourself short for time. Used textbooks online may be a one copy only deal, so order quickly and have a backup plan in place in case something goes awry, like an indefinite backorder. On book rental websites, note very carefully the period for which you would be renting a book. Quarters will rent for less than semesters, but if you’re taking semester-length classes, only renting for a quarter could be problematic. Online only books might work well for you if you have a fast and reliable internet connection and are comfortable doing the intensive reading required for a textbook on screen.
Unless clearly stated otherwise in the registration information or at the bookstore, textbooks are required. One of the most common gripes I hear from newly entered college students in my psychology classes is “I paid all this money for this textbook and we don’t even use it in class!” That’s right. This does not work like high school where students are using the book every day as part of class activities. You’re supposed to be reading and using the textbook on your own to form a basis of knowledge that will allow you to come to class better prepared to absorb the lecture materials and apply your knowledge in practical ways. The majority of college level learning takes place outside of the classroom and at the student’s own direction. Textbooks play an essential part in that process. Read and use your textbooks on a regular basis and you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Making the Most of Your General Education Classes
Many college students wince when they think of their general education classes. Once you get beyond the basics of the required math, English, speech, and critical thinking offerings, then you have to plow through a bunch of boring stuff that has no applicability to real life until you can dig into the classes in your major. Right?
No. The idea that general education (GE) classes have to be dry and pointless is a mistaken one. In fact, at many colleges and universities, there is a quite of variety of subjects to fulfill each section of the general education requirements. Of course, the more courses your institution offers overall, the more likely you are to find a course that it is a good fit for you. There will be times where your choices are several classes that don’t thrill you, but at least then you can do some informed research into which one is most likely to work best for you.
Let’s look at the general education pattern for California State University, San Bernardino, a university of roughly 18,000 students in southern California. The broad GE categories are basic skills, natural science, humanities, social and behavioral science, and lifelong understanding. The titles will be different but the concepts are similar among most colleges and universities.
Basic skills are just that – math, English, speech, and critical thinking. There is not a large choice of classes for this category. These are meant to be the baseline skills that every college student must possess in order to proceed successfully with the rest of his or her education. It is a wise plan to take care of basic skills classes first.
Natural science contains areas like biology, astronomy, chemistry, geography, geology, physics, and higher math. At CSUSB, there are even specialized classes in genetics, sexually transmitted diseases, and earthquakes.
The area of humanities covers art, music, theatre, literature, and foreign languages. It also delves into the relationship of art, music, theatre, and literature with specific cultures.
Social and behavioral science spans fields such as history, world cultures, anthropology, human evolution, race and ethnicity, psychology, and sociology. There is a rich array of classes about what makes people tick in this section.
Lifelong understanding has to do with physical, psychological, and social wellness and encompasses classes about making positive life choices as well as a variety of physical education classes.
Colleges and universities provide a comprehensive list of GE classes in their paper catalogs or or online. It is also common for references to the GE pattern to appear in class schedules so you can see which requirement you will be fulfilling if you take a particular class.
Too often students will just pick a GE course simply based on whether it fits the rest of their schedule. It is also common for students to choose a GE course based on the name of the class in the schedule without reading the description of what the class is about in the catalog or bulletin. This can be a recipe for disaster. However, if you put some thought into it and plan ahead, you can find choices to satisfy your general education requirements that will satisfy you, too. Checking in with your academic advisor can be especially helpful, as he/she may have information on which classes will be offered in future semesters.
Taking GE classes that interest you or at least don’t have you stupefied with boredom increases the likelihood of getting good grades as well as learning about subjects that make you a more fully educated person.
No. The idea that general education (GE) classes have to be dry and pointless is a mistaken one. In fact, at many colleges and universities, there is a quite of variety of subjects to fulfill each section of the general education requirements. Of course, the more courses your institution offers overall, the more likely you are to find a course that it is a good fit for you. There will be times where your choices are several classes that don’t thrill you, but at least then you can do some informed research into which one is most likely to work best for you.
Let’s look at the general education pattern for California State University, San Bernardino, a university of roughly 18,000 students in southern California. The broad GE categories are basic skills, natural science, humanities, social and behavioral science, and lifelong understanding. The titles will be different but the concepts are similar among most colleges and universities.
Basic skills are just that – math, English, speech, and critical thinking. There is not a large choice of classes for this category. These are meant to be the baseline skills that every college student must possess in order to proceed successfully with the rest of his or her education. It is a wise plan to take care of basic skills classes first.
Natural science contains areas like biology, astronomy, chemistry, geography, geology, physics, and higher math. At CSUSB, there are even specialized classes in genetics, sexually transmitted diseases, and earthquakes.
The area of humanities covers art, music, theatre, literature, and foreign languages. It also delves into the relationship of art, music, theatre, and literature with specific cultures.
Social and behavioral science spans fields such as history, world cultures, anthropology, human evolution, race and ethnicity, psychology, and sociology. There is a rich array of classes about what makes people tick in this section.
Lifelong understanding has to do with physical, psychological, and social wellness and encompasses classes about making positive life choices as well as a variety of physical education classes.
Colleges and universities provide a comprehensive list of GE classes in their paper catalogs or or online. It is also common for references to the GE pattern to appear in class schedules so you can see which requirement you will be fulfilling if you take a particular class.
Too often students will just pick a GE course simply based on whether it fits the rest of their schedule. It is also common for students to choose a GE course based on the name of the class in the schedule without reading the description of what the class is about in the catalog or bulletin. This can be a recipe for disaster. However, if you put some thought into it and plan ahead, you can find choices to satisfy your general education requirements that will satisfy you, too. Checking in with your academic advisor can be especially helpful, as he/she may have information on which classes will be offered in future semesters.
Taking GE classes that interest you or at least don’t have you stupefied with boredom increases the likelihood of getting good grades as well as learning about subjects that make you a more fully educated person.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
That Major Decision
Choosing a major is one of the most difficult things students face in college. There are two main factors that most students consider when making this decision. First is their desire to study what interests them. Second is the fear that a particular major will render them penniless after graduation . . .
Read the rest of recent Stanford graduate Scott Keyes' reflection on choosing a major courtesy of the Chronicle of Higher Education here.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
A Blog to Check Out: Think Psych
I've just started Think Psych, a blog for the psychologist in all of us. Since it's summertime and many students are not in college right now, my posts on College Success Insider will be a bit less frequent for a month or so. Think Psych, however, will be alive and kicking with the latest in psychology applied to everyday life. Come on over and have a look!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Hot Off The Press: A Good Reason to Register for Classes Early
Students sometimes don't take registration deadlines as seriously as they should. I often tell my students to get online or on the phone to register the minute they are eligible, even if it means setting an alarm for a minute after midnight to do so. Many of them will laugh, but I'm 100% serious.
Back a million years ago when I registered for my last semester of community college (okay, it was 1993), you couldn't register by internet or even by phone. You had to stand in line. I literally missed an entire day of work because I had to stand in line for 6 hours to register for the classes I needed to finish my AA. I hated missing work because I sure needed the money, but I needed those few classes more.
The dysfunctional economy has hit public higher education hard nationwide. There are more students wanting to take classes than ever before, but cutbacks in funding have severely reduced the number of classes available. For instance, here in Southern California, numerous colleges and universities have entirely eliminated their summer sessions. Those that still have summer sessions have only a fraction of what has been normally available in the past. This trend of offering fewer classes has also affected regular semesters and is likely to continue for a couple of years.
So, was a Craiglist posting offering to buy a seat in a class at Columbia Basin College real or not? Read the article at Inside Higher Ed to decide for yourself. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was legitimate.
Oh, and double check your registration date for fall and plan ahead accordingly. :-)
Back a million years ago when I registered for my last semester of community college (okay, it was 1993), you couldn't register by internet or even by phone. You had to stand in line. I literally missed an entire day of work because I had to stand in line for 6 hours to register for the classes I needed to finish my AA. I hated missing work because I sure needed the money, but I needed those few classes more.
The dysfunctional economy has hit public higher education hard nationwide. There are more students wanting to take classes than ever before, but cutbacks in funding have severely reduced the number of classes available. For instance, here in Southern California, numerous colleges and universities have entirely eliminated their summer sessions. Those that still have summer sessions have only a fraction of what has been normally available in the past. This trend of offering fewer classes has also affected regular semesters and is likely to continue for a couple of years.
So, was a Craiglist posting offering to buy a seat in a class at Columbia Basin College real or not? Read the article at Inside Higher Ed to decide for yourself. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was legitimate.
Oh, and double check your registration date for fall and plan ahead accordingly. :-)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Higher Education Pays Off - Financial and Employment
It's almost summer. Another semester done, and, unless you're graduating (congratulations!), another one looms on the horizon. Perhaps you're scheduled for summer session classes and are tempted to drop them. Perhaps you're re-thinking the whole college thing altogether and are questioning whether it's worth it. Hang in there - attaining a college degree is very much worth it.
Here are some facts to encourage you straight from the National Center for Education Statistics (with some emphasis added by me):
The full scoop is available at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/section2/indicator17.asp.
May 2010 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the employment status of the United States civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment. Here are the national unemployment rates for non-seasonal employees:
You can check out the full table at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm.
More information about other ways that higher education pays off is soon to come.
Here are some facts to encourage you straight from the National Center for Education Statistics (with some emphasis added by me):
In 2008, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned 28 percent more than young adults with an associate's degree, 53 percent more than young adult high school completers, and 96 percent more than young adults who did not earn a high school diploma. . .
In 2008, the median of the earnings of young adults with a bachelor's degree was $46,000, while the median was $36,000 for those with an associate's degree, $30,000 for those with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and $23,500 for those who did not earn a high school diploma or its equivalent.
The full scoop is available at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/section2/indicator17.asp.
May 2010 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the employment status of the United States civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment. Here are the national unemployment rates for non-seasonal employees:
13.6% of those with less than a high school diploma
10.3% of those with a high school diploma but no college
7.8% of those with some college or an associate's degree
4.7% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher
You can check out the full table at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm.
More information about other ways that higher education pays off is soon to come.
Friday, June 4, 2010
A Few Thoughts About Personal Success
Everyone has his/her own unique definition of personal success. Your ideas of success, by necessity, will grow and change with time. The world around us is constantly changing and we need to be able to adapt ourselves to it.
Luckily, personal growth is a lifelong process and human beings have an endless capacity to change, grow, and learn. Regardless of what success means to you today and what it may mean to you in the future, coping well with failures and setbacks and having the determination and persistence to overcome challenges are key factors in any definition of success.
► Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. - Dale Carnegie
► Action is the foundational key to all success. - Pablo Picasso
► Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it. - Author Unknown
► A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. - Bob Dylan
► Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. - Robert Collier
► Success is a journey, not a destination. – Me, but I’m sure many others have said this before me.
Choose your journey -- choose your success.
Luckily, personal growth is a lifelong process and human beings have an endless capacity to change, grow, and learn. Regardless of what success means to you today and what it may mean to you in the future, coping well with failures and setbacks and having the determination and persistence to overcome challenges are key factors in any definition of success.
► Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. - Dale Carnegie
► Action is the foundational key to all success. - Pablo Picasso
► Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it. - Author Unknown
► A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. - Bob Dylan
► Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. - Robert Collier
► Success is a journey, not a destination. – Me, but I’m sure many others have said this before me.
Choose your journey -- choose your success.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Day of the Final Exam
No, it's not the title of an obscure horror movie, although it may seem so to some students. Here is a checklist to make the day of your final exam go more smoothly. Of course, repeat as needed depending on how many classes you're taking. :-)
First of all, be well-prepared from a study standpoint. If you really know your stuff, final exam day jitters are much less troublesome.
Come with a battle plan for the type of exam you will be taking. Different types of exams require different approaches.
Multiple choice exam? Answer all the questions you know first, mark the ones you don't know, and go back and answer those after everything else is done. If you truly don't know the answer, take a wild guess. Multiple choice exams give you the best chance of guessing and getting it right. Make sure that you answer all multiple choice questions. If you don't answer it, you have 0% chance of getting it right. If you make a guess on a four-choice question, at least you have a 25% chance of getting it right.
Short answer exam? Brief and precise answers in full sentences are the key. If you don't know the answer, make a brief and precise guess. Endless streams of BS in response to short answer questions just tend to dig the hole deeper and lessen your chances of getting any points for your attempt.
Essay exam? Some essay tests consist of responding at length to one question; others have multiple questions. When you're really lucky, the instructor will provide multiple essay questions and have you pick your favorites to answer. It is helpful to have some blank scratch paper on hand when answering essay questions, but make sure you have your instructor's approval first.
Obviously answers to essay questions will need to be developed more fully than short answer questions, but you can use the short answer approach to build the structure of your essay. Read the question carefully, use your scratch paper or the margin of your test to jot down your short answer response to each part of the question, and then develop explanatory material to flesh out the short answer responses. Using examples to illustrate that you understand the concepts is an excellent idea.
Just as with short answer questions, trying to BS your way through an essay question is usually not very productive. Believe it or not, your instructors were once college students themselves and they recognize that edge of desperation in answers that go on and on and on but never quite say anything. Concentrate on providing the best possible answers to the questions you know best.
A mix of question types? Look at the exam carefully before you start to see how the points are allocated among the questions. Generally, do the multiple choice questions as quickly yet carefully as you can, take on the short answer questions next, and save the bulk of your time and energy for the essay questions.
Bring everything you will need. Don't pump up your adrenaline unnecessarily on exam day by forgetting essentials and having to rush out to get them at the last minute or hoping that someone else has an extra. You might even want to pack a special exam bag with supplies, just as if you were going on a trip.
Writing and erasing utensils and supplies such as pens, pencils, erasers, white out tape, and paper. Make sure you have multiple pens in case one runs out of ink. Multiple pencils are good so you can help out other classmates in need. Separate erasers really help make clean erasures on scantrons, and white out tape is the tidiest way to cover up errors in pen. If you are supplying your own paper for the exam, bring at least twice as much as you think you will need.
Scantrons. Oh boy. These are, in my experience, the biggest source of sitting down for the exam frenzy. Your instructor and/or syllabus will indicate what form you need well ahead of time. Make sure you have the right one in front of you on final exam day. If you are unsure which form is needed, ask, preferably before the day of the final exam.
Do not assume that you can use whatever scantron form you happen to have on hand -- the scoring machines do not work that way at all. I have had students complete the exam on the inappropriate scantron and try to hand it in. I make them acquire the correct scantron and redo all of their answers onto it.
If you don't have the scantron, don't ask your instructor if you can just write your answers on the test form. Ask if a classmate has an extra you could have, or take yourself to the campus bookstore to buy one. Keep in mind that if you are taking a night class, the campus bookstore may not be open if you need a last minute scantron. Be ready well ahead of time, and buying a couple extras to possibly share with less-organized classmates is a kind thing to do.
Follow directions about how to fill out the scantrons carefully. Bubble the spaces in completely and erase very thoroughly, not only on your answers but for things like your name, student ID, test code, etc. Automated scoring systems are extremely sensitive and errors can occur if you don't mark the scantron appropriately.
Comfort items like water, gum, mints, pain relievers, and antacids. Depending on your instructor, you may not be able to have these on your desk while you take the exam, but I wouldn't say no to any of my students, especially to the pain relievers, antacids and water. :-) If you are allowed to chew gum, please do so politely.
Come early and get comfortable. Rushing in late or at the last minute just loads unnecessary stress onto yourself. Make sure your chair and writing surface aren't squeaky or wobbly. Sit where you have a good view of the clock so you can keep track of time. Put away all of your electronics and make sure they are off. You would be surprised how loud and disruptive a device on vibrate can be in a quiet testing environment. I've seen whole classrooms of intensely concentrating students jump in annoyance when it happens. Engage in some relaxation techniques. Although you may be keyed up enough about the exam to fidget, twitch, joggle your legs under the table, etc., all those activities do feed more adrenaline into your system and make you more nervous. Relax - close your eyes - take deep breaths. Do a last minute scan over your notes and think positive thoughts. Even if other students around you are proclaiming gloom and doom, keep your energy focused quietly on the task to come.
First of all, be well-prepared from a study standpoint. If you really know your stuff, final exam day jitters are much less troublesome.
Come with a battle plan for the type of exam you will be taking. Different types of exams require different approaches.
Multiple choice exam? Answer all the questions you know first, mark the ones you don't know, and go back and answer those after everything else is done. If you truly don't know the answer, take a wild guess. Multiple choice exams give you the best chance of guessing and getting it right. Make sure that you answer all multiple choice questions. If you don't answer it, you have 0% chance of getting it right. If you make a guess on a four-choice question, at least you have a 25% chance of getting it right.
Short answer exam? Brief and precise answers in full sentences are the key. If you don't know the answer, make a brief and precise guess. Endless streams of BS in response to short answer questions just tend to dig the hole deeper and lessen your chances of getting any points for your attempt.
Essay exam? Some essay tests consist of responding at length to one question; others have multiple questions. When you're really lucky, the instructor will provide multiple essay questions and have you pick your favorites to answer. It is helpful to have some blank scratch paper on hand when answering essay questions, but make sure you have your instructor's approval first.
Obviously answers to essay questions will need to be developed more fully than short answer questions, but you can use the short answer approach to build the structure of your essay. Read the question carefully, use your scratch paper or the margin of your test to jot down your short answer response to each part of the question, and then develop explanatory material to flesh out the short answer responses. Using examples to illustrate that you understand the concepts is an excellent idea.
Just as with short answer questions, trying to BS your way through an essay question is usually not very productive. Believe it or not, your instructors were once college students themselves and they recognize that edge of desperation in answers that go on and on and on but never quite say anything. Concentrate on providing the best possible answers to the questions you know best.
A mix of question types? Look at the exam carefully before you start to see how the points are allocated among the questions. Generally, do the multiple choice questions as quickly yet carefully as you can, take on the short answer questions next, and save the bulk of your time and energy for the essay questions.
Bring everything you will need. Don't pump up your adrenaline unnecessarily on exam day by forgetting essentials and having to rush out to get them at the last minute or hoping that someone else has an extra. You might even want to pack a special exam bag with supplies, just as if you were going on a trip.
Writing and erasing utensils and supplies such as pens, pencils, erasers, white out tape, and paper. Make sure you have multiple pens in case one runs out of ink. Multiple pencils are good so you can help out other classmates in need. Separate erasers really help make clean erasures on scantrons, and white out tape is the tidiest way to cover up errors in pen. If you are supplying your own paper for the exam, bring at least twice as much as you think you will need.
Scantrons. Oh boy. These are, in my experience, the biggest source of sitting down for the exam frenzy. Your instructor and/or syllabus will indicate what form you need well ahead of time. Make sure you have the right one in front of you on final exam day. If you are unsure which form is needed, ask, preferably before the day of the final exam.
Do not assume that you can use whatever scantron form you happen to have on hand -- the scoring machines do not work that way at all. I have had students complete the exam on the inappropriate scantron and try to hand it in. I make them acquire the correct scantron and redo all of their answers onto it.
If you don't have the scantron, don't ask your instructor if you can just write your answers on the test form. Ask if a classmate has an extra you could have, or take yourself to the campus bookstore to buy one. Keep in mind that if you are taking a night class, the campus bookstore may not be open if you need a last minute scantron. Be ready well ahead of time, and buying a couple extras to possibly share with less-organized classmates is a kind thing to do.
Follow directions about how to fill out the scantrons carefully. Bubble the spaces in completely and erase very thoroughly, not only on your answers but for things like your name, student ID, test code, etc. Automated scoring systems are extremely sensitive and errors can occur if you don't mark the scantron appropriately.
Comfort items like water, gum, mints, pain relievers, and antacids. Depending on your instructor, you may not be able to have these on your desk while you take the exam, but I wouldn't say no to any of my students, especially to the pain relievers, antacids and water. :-) If you are allowed to chew gum, please do so politely.
Come early and get comfortable. Rushing in late or at the last minute just loads unnecessary stress onto yourself. Make sure your chair and writing surface aren't squeaky or wobbly. Sit where you have a good view of the clock so you can keep track of time. Put away all of your electronics and make sure they are off. You would be surprised how loud and disruptive a device on vibrate can be in a quiet testing environment. I've seen whole classrooms of intensely concentrating students jump in annoyance when it happens. Engage in some relaxation techniques. Although you may be keyed up enough about the exam to fidget, twitch, joggle your legs under the table, etc., all those activities do feed more adrenaline into your system and make you more nervous. Relax - close your eyes - take deep breaths. Do a last minute scan over your notes and think positive thoughts. Even if other students around you are proclaiming gloom and doom, keep your energy focused quietly on the task to come.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Extra Credit - Do It. You'll Be Glad You Did.
As I sit here grading papers close to the end of my college's semester, I'm noticing how few students have turned in the extra credit I offered to them shortly after the wake-up call of midterms. (It's about 7% at present, for those of you who like stats.)
Here are a few musings about extra credit for you to ponder.
Extra credit is a gift! Extra credit opportunities are relatively rare at the college level - take advantage of them.
Never, ever pass up extra credit points. Even if you are sailing along acing the class, wouldn't you rather have a cushion of points in case life happens and messes up your performance for the rest of the class? What if you have a migraine when you take the final exam? What if a traffic jam causes you to turn in that important research paper late and your instructor deducts 10%? What if you simply forget that a quiz was moved to a different date and didn't prepare? Extra credit points can help shield against these nasty contingencies.
Extra credit points, however, are unlikely to save your seriously sinking grade ship. In most cases, extra credit points are only a modest percentage of the total points offered in a class. If you've finished the rest of the class work with 62% (a D), an extra credit assignment worth 5% of the total class points will bring you up to 67%, but that's still a D.
If you're absolutely sure the extra credit won't help you, you may not want to bother doing it. How many students are absolutely sure where their grade stands right now? Hmmm, I thought so. :-)
On the other hand, consider this. If you've finished with 69% and do the 5% extra credit, you can breathe a sigh of relief for a solid C at 74%. This works across all grade dividing lines.
If you attend an institution where pluses and minuses are shown in final grades, extra credit can give you that nice boost upward, regardless of where your grade stands.
Extra credit is offered on an equal opportunity basis. In college, there is not going to be any specific special extra credit offered only for you to pull yourself out of the hole you're in for whatever reason. This will not happen regardless of how many sad emails you send or desperate voicemails you leave. If you've had a serious reason to miss points, you should be dealing with that at the time that it is occurring.
Don't procrastinate on doing extra credit. Turn it in early or on time. It's not good to procrastinate on anything you do for college, but it can be a really bad idea for extra credit assignments.
For example, I provide information on extra credit to my students at the time I return their midterms (week 9 of a 16 week semester). The due date is the last class we have before the final, so there's over a 6 week window of opportunity to get it done.
Plenty of time, right?
Nonetheless, I can guarantee that on the due day, there will be several frazzled people coming late to class with partially completed extra credit because they were a few doors down in the computer lab trying to knock it out just before coming to class.
I can also guarantee that after the due date, I will receive numerous pleas to turn in extra credit late because of this, that, and the other thing. Some students may even try to work my sympathy on the day of the final.
To all latecomers, the answer is no. Due dates for everything should be taken seriously, but asking for extra time on something assigned over six weeks ago is pushing it.
Here are a few musings about extra credit for you to ponder.
Extra credit is a gift! Extra credit opportunities are relatively rare at the college level - take advantage of them.
Never, ever pass up extra credit points. Even if you are sailing along acing the class, wouldn't you rather have a cushion of points in case life happens and messes up your performance for the rest of the class? What if you have a migraine when you take the final exam? What if a traffic jam causes you to turn in that important research paper late and your instructor deducts 10%? What if you simply forget that a quiz was moved to a different date and didn't prepare? Extra credit points can help shield against these nasty contingencies.
Extra credit points, however, are unlikely to save your seriously sinking grade ship. In most cases, extra credit points are only a modest percentage of the total points offered in a class. If you've finished the rest of the class work with 62% (a D), an extra credit assignment worth 5% of the total class points will bring you up to 67%, but that's still a D.
If you're absolutely sure the extra credit won't help you, you may not want to bother doing it. How many students are absolutely sure where their grade stands right now? Hmmm, I thought so. :-)
On the other hand, consider this. If you've finished with 69% and do the 5% extra credit, you can breathe a sigh of relief for a solid C at 74%. This works across all grade dividing lines.
If you attend an institution where pluses and minuses are shown in final grades, extra credit can give you that nice boost upward, regardless of where your grade stands.
Extra credit is offered on an equal opportunity basis. In college, there is not going to be any specific special extra credit offered only for you to pull yourself out of the hole you're in for whatever reason. This will not happen regardless of how many sad emails you send or desperate voicemails you leave. If you've had a serious reason to miss points, you should be dealing with that at the time that it is occurring.
Don't procrastinate on doing extra credit. Turn it in early or on time. It's not good to procrastinate on anything you do for college, but it can be a really bad idea for extra credit assignments.
For example, I provide information on extra credit to my students at the time I return their midterms (week 9 of a 16 week semester). The due date is the last class we have before the final, so there's over a 6 week window of opportunity to get it done.
Plenty of time, right?
Nonetheless, I can guarantee that on the due day, there will be several frazzled people coming late to class with partially completed extra credit because they were a few doors down in the computer lab trying to knock it out just before coming to class.
I can also guarantee that after the due date, I will receive numerous pleas to turn in extra credit late because of this, that, and the other thing. Some students may even try to work my sympathy on the day of the final.
To all latecomers, the answer is no. Due dates for everything should be taken seriously, but asking for extra time on something assigned over six weeks ago is pushing it.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Dropping Classes
Very few college students make it through their educational careers without dropping at least one class. While the procedures for doing so vary among institutions, here are some pointers to keep in mind.
Consider carefully before dropping a class. Is it a class that is only offered once every academic year? Is it the only section of the class that fits your schedule? Are you thinking about dropping because a major test or paper is coming up quickly? If your dissatisfaction is with instruction, is the faculty member the only one who teaches that particular class? Did you just have a truly craptastic day and you're wanting to drop the class on an impulse? Is your grade past the point of no return late in the semester? There are good reasons and bad reasons to drop a class. It's worth taking the time to consider which category covers your reason.
If you need to keep the same number of units, make sure to have a new class to add all lined up before you drop the other class. Dropping a class affects your overall unit load and therefore causes issues with financial aid eligibility and other aspects of your enrollment.
If classes have not yet started, dropping and adding classes can be pretty straightforward, but keep in mind that competition for class registration is fierce. There are fewer classes available due to budget cutbacks, and there are more students vying for those classes because of the high rate of unemployment.
If classes have already started, things can be a bit more tricky. The drop and add period occurs near the beginning of the semester and only lasts for a short period of time (less than a week where I teach). To add a class after it's started, you will need the permission of the instructor to do so. Whether you will get that permission is solely at the discretion of the instructor, regardless of the number of seats available in the class. If you do get permission, get the drop and add processed immediately.
Although most colleges have computerized systems where you can do nearly everything regarding registration online, I strongly suggest dealing with drops and adds in person with admissions and records, especially if it's after classes have started. Make sure to get a printout documenting the drop and add in case there are problems later.
Once you've been to a class, don't just stop showing up and assume you'll be dropped. It's your responsibility to drop yourself from a class. Even though most syllabi warn that faculty retain the right to drop students from the class for poor attendance, that doesn't mean you'll automatically be dropped from the class if you just stop showing up. Some faculty are diligent about dropping students who unexplainedly disappear, and some refuse to drop them at all.
Look at it this way. You signed yourself up for the class. If you want out, then you should un-sign yourself up. Simple enough. If you are not proactive about dropping yourself from a class, you may wind up with an F for the class on your transcript.
Pay attention to drop deadlines and their effects on your transcript. During the drop and add period at the beginning of the semester, dropping a class will have no lasting effect on your transcript. In fact, there will be no trace of it. Dropping after the drop and add period, however, can be a different story.
Again, while specific rules will vary among colleges, the way my institution handles drops is fairly typical. If a class is dropped after the drop and add period but within the drop with no W (withdrawal) period, the transcript will not reflect that the student was enrolled in the class at all. If a class is dropped after the drop with no W period but before the end of the drop with W period (about two weeks before finals), then the class will be listed on the transcript with a W to indicate the student withdrew from the class. If a student wants to drop a class after the end of the drop with a W period, he or she is out of luck. Whatever grade that has been earned in the class will appear on the transcript, and almost always it's not a pretty sight.
Too many withdrawals on your transcript don't look good. Dropping classes at points in time that will leave a stain on your transcript should be done sparingly. While it is true that not all future employers will care what grades are on your transcripts, some will. Your academic performance might be used as a deciding factor in choosing you over some other candidate for a job. The content of your transcripts will definitely have an impact on your competitiveness for scholarships, internships, and admission to graduate school. Your transcript can serve as a representation of the commitment and effort you offer to a new employer or to a graduate program. Keep it as clean as possible.
Consider carefully before dropping a class. Is it a class that is only offered once every academic year? Is it the only section of the class that fits your schedule? Are you thinking about dropping because a major test or paper is coming up quickly? If your dissatisfaction is with instruction, is the faculty member the only one who teaches that particular class? Did you just have a truly craptastic day and you're wanting to drop the class on an impulse? Is your grade past the point of no return late in the semester? There are good reasons and bad reasons to drop a class. It's worth taking the time to consider which category covers your reason.
If you need to keep the same number of units, make sure to have a new class to add all lined up before you drop the other class. Dropping a class affects your overall unit load and therefore causes issues with financial aid eligibility and other aspects of your enrollment.
If classes have not yet started, dropping and adding classes can be pretty straightforward, but keep in mind that competition for class registration is fierce. There are fewer classes available due to budget cutbacks, and there are more students vying for those classes because of the high rate of unemployment.
If classes have already started, things can be a bit more tricky. The drop and add period occurs near the beginning of the semester and only lasts for a short period of time (less than a week where I teach). To add a class after it's started, you will need the permission of the instructor to do so. Whether you will get that permission is solely at the discretion of the instructor, regardless of the number of seats available in the class. If you do get permission, get the drop and add processed immediately.
Although most colleges have computerized systems where you can do nearly everything regarding registration online, I strongly suggest dealing with drops and adds in person with admissions and records, especially if it's after classes have started. Make sure to get a printout documenting the drop and add in case there are problems later.
Once you've been to a class, don't just stop showing up and assume you'll be dropped. It's your responsibility to drop yourself from a class. Even though most syllabi warn that faculty retain the right to drop students from the class for poor attendance, that doesn't mean you'll automatically be dropped from the class if you just stop showing up. Some faculty are diligent about dropping students who unexplainedly disappear, and some refuse to drop them at all.
Look at it this way. You signed yourself up for the class. If you want out, then you should un-sign yourself up. Simple enough. If you are not proactive about dropping yourself from a class, you may wind up with an F for the class on your transcript.
Pay attention to drop deadlines and their effects on your transcript. During the drop and add period at the beginning of the semester, dropping a class will have no lasting effect on your transcript. In fact, there will be no trace of it. Dropping after the drop and add period, however, can be a different story.
Again, while specific rules will vary among colleges, the way my institution handles drops is fairly typical. If a class is dropped after the drop and add period but within the drop with no W (withdrawal) period, the transcript will not reflect that the student was enrolled in the class at all. If a class is dropped after the drop with no W period but before the end of the drop with W period (about two weeks before finals), then the class will be listed on the transcript with a W to indicate the student withdrew from the class. If a student wants to drop a class after the end of the drop with a W period, he or she is out of luck. Whatever grade that has been earned in the class will appear on the transcript, and almost always it's not a pretty sight.
Too many withdrawals on your transcript don't look good. Dropping classes at points in time that will leave a stain on your transcript should be done sparingly. While it is true that not all future employers will care what grades are on your transcripts, some will. Your academic performance might be used as a deciding factor in choosing you over some other candidate for a job. The content of your transcripts will definitely have an impact on your competitiveness for scholarships, internships, and admission to graduate school. Your transcript can serve as a representation of the commitment and effort you offer to a new employer or to a graduate program. Keep it as clean as possible.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Staying On Track With Academic Advising
Whether you are a first time freshman or an experienced college student, getting academic advising is one of the smartest moves you can make. Here's a short list of what an academic advisor can do to save you time, money, and headaches.
Helping you select classes that keep you moving efficiently toward your goal. This is important whether you are working on general education classes or proceeding through classes in your major. Satisfying general ed requirements can be surprisingly complicated. Take a look at this document from Cal Poly Pomona as an example. The first page looks simple enough, but then all heck breaks loose on the following pages. When you move on to classes in your major, your academic advisor will know valuable stuff like whether a particular required class is only offered once every academic year. This is more common than you might think, so having that information can prevent you from wasting time and money waiting a whole year for the class to come around again.
Making sure you take classes in the right sequence. Not all classes in a discipline will have formal prerequisites in place to limit registration in non-introductory classes to those who have already taken the introductory class. For instance, my discipline is psychology. Students who register for the second-year personality psychology course without the benefit of taking introductory psychology tend to have a much harder time of it. This is something that a savvy academic advisor will point out to you.
Providing practical advice on creating a balanced class schedule that will give you the best shot at excelling. I once knew a student who put off taking four very work-intensive required classes until his last quarter before he planned to graduate. All of them were likely to require several major papers each. He registered for all of them at once, even though he was working two part-time jobs as well. I honestly don't know what the outcome was, but it was certainly not one of the better choices I've known a student to make. Academic advisors can help steer you away from self-defeating scheduling decisions.
Sharing information about other valuable campus resources and opportunities. Curious about study abroad? Need an on-campus job? Looking for an internship? Want to do some research with a professor in your major? Your academic advisor might have the inside scoop on these and other gems of campus information. At the very least, he or she should be able to accurately direct you where to go and who to ask.
Giving support, encouragement, and guidance when the going gets tough . . . or even if things are going great. Academic advisors are there to make your educational journey as smooth a trip as possible. They are great first points of contact when you hit bumps in the road, and they also enjoy hearing about when you passed that tough class, you were selected for the internship they suggested, and the award you earned.
It's an excellent idea to meet with your academic advisor at least once per semester just to make sure everything is on track. However, if things are not going as well as you like, don't hesitate to meet with your academic advisor more often.
Helping you select classes that keep you moving efficiently toward your goal. This is important whether you are working on general education classes or proceeding through classes in your major. Satisfying general ed requirements can be surprisingly complicated. Take a look at this document from Cal Poly Pomona as an example. The first page looks simple enough, but then all heck breaks loose on the following pages. When you move on to classes in your major, your academic advisor will know valuable stuff like whether a particular required class is only offered once every academic year. This is more common than you might think, so having that information can prevent you from wasting time and money waiting a whole year for the class to come around again.
Making sure you take classes in the right sequence. Not all classes in a discipline will have formal prerequisites in place to limit registration in non-introductory classes to those who have already taken the introductory class. For instance, my discipline is psychology. Students who register for the second-year personality psychology course without the benefit of taking introductory psychology tend to have a much harder time of it. This is something that a savvy academic advisor will point out to you.
Providing practical advice on creating a balanced class schedule that will give you the best shot at excelling. I once knew a student who put off taking four very work-intensive required classes until his last quarter before he planned to graduate. All of them were likely to require several major papers each. He registered for all of them at once, even though he was working two part-time jobs as well. I honestly don't know what the outcome was, but it was certainly not one of the better choices I've known a student to make. Academic advisors can help steer you away from self-defeating scheduling decisions.
Sharing information about other valuable campus resources and opportunities. Curious about study abroad? Need an on-campus job? Looking for an internship? Want to do some research with a professor in your major? Your academic advisor might have the inside scoop on these and other gems of campus information. At the very least, he or she should be able to accurately direct you where to go and who to ask.
Giving support, encouragement, and guidance when the going gets tough . . . or even if things are going great. Academic advisors are there to make your educational journey as smooth a trip as possible. They are great first points of contact when you hit bumps in the road, and they also enjoy hearing about when you passed that tough class, you were selected for the internship they suggested, and the award you earned.
It's an excellent idea to meet with your academic advisor at least once per semester just to make sure everything is on track. However, if things are not going as well as you like, don't hesitate to meet with your academic advisor more often.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Hot Off The Press: Never Too Late to Graduate
Ninety-four year old Hazel Soames earned her bachelor's degree in art history from Mills College today. What's really amazing is she's NOT the oldest person to graduate college.
California woman earns college diploma at age 94
California woman earns college diploma at age 94
Friday, May 14, 2010
It's About Time
Have you ever said “I’m too busy to get organized”?
Do you set up a system to organize your time and your life and then spend so much time organizing you don’t get anything done?
Do you find that you consistently cut yourself short on some area of your life, such as studies, sleep, finances, friends, family, and self-care?
It’s all about time. Here are some time-related things to consider:
* Time is an equal opportunity resource
* Time cannot be saved up for later
* Time is a non-renewable resource
* Time can sometimes seem to pass at varying speeds
* Time is the most valuable resource each of us has
Here is a list of 57 time management hacks complied by the folks at the College@Home website. I’ve used this list in several classes, and students report finding several useful suggestions for their individual situations and personalities. You will see as you review this information that time management is actually self-management.
57 Time Management Hacks for College Students
We all have the same amount of time to use each day -- it’s how you use it that matters. Good time management helps you set priorities, achieve goals, and manage stress. Knowing what you want to achieve and spending your time engaging in activities leading to achieving those goals is at the heart of time management.
Time management is not just for college – it’s for life.
Do you set up a system to organize your time and your life and then spend so much time organizing you don’t get anything done?
Do you find that you consistently cut yourself short on some area of your life, such as studies, sleep, finances, friends, family, and self-care?
It’s all about time. Here are some time-related things to consider:
* Time is an equal opportunity resource
* Time cannot be saved up for later
* Time is a non-renewable resource
* Time can sometimes seem to pass at varying speeds
* Time is the most valuable resource each of us has
Here is a list of 57 time management hacks complied by the folks at the College@Home website. I’ve used this list in several classes, and students report finding several useful suggestions for their individual situations and personalities. You will see as you review this information that time management is actually self-management.
57 Time Management Hacks for College Students
We all have the same amount of time to use each day -- it’s how you use it that matters. Good time management helps you set priorities, achieve goals, and manage stress. Knowing what you want to achieve and spending your time engaging in activities leading to achieving those goals is at the heart of time management.
Time management is not just for college – it’s for life.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Grades Are Important All Semester, Not Just Before Finals
It's less than three weeks to final exam time. Every day I am getting student emails requesting updates on class grades and asking "is there any chance I will pass your class?" As I wade through these anxious pleas, I can't help but wonder why class grades are not a matter of concern for many students until it's too late to do anything to change the outcome.
For every class I teach, my syllabus provides enough information about what each assignment or test is worth and the total points available for the class that students can easily track their own grades as the class progresses. Even if students don't do all the math to figure out whether they're passing or not, it's pretty straightforward to get a feel for where you stand. If you know you earned a D on the first quiz, an F on the second and third quizzes, a D on the midterm, and you missed 3 of the 5 in-class assignments so far -- well, it shouldn't be hard to figure out that, with three weeks left in the semester, you aren't too likely to pass the class.
Sometimes students will tell me "okay, I know my grade right now is really low, but what if I study really hard and get nothing but A's on the next quiz and the final. Will I pass then?" Even if it is mathematically possible to pull this off, it's highly improbable that it will happen. A student who has consistently earned D's and F's earlier in the semester is not particularly likely to suddenly finish up with a blaze of glorious A's.
Keeping track of your grades throughout each semester will allow you to have a better sense of which classes might need some extra study time, whether you should consider tutoring, if you need to meet with the instructor, and where you might need to apply different study techniques. Most of all, it will save you from the stress of learning that you are failing a class as you prepare for final exam.
For every class I teach, my syllabus provides enough information about what each assignment or test is worth and the total points available for the class that students can easily track their own grades as the class progresses. Even if students don't do all the math to figure out whether they're passing or not, it's pretty straightforward to get a feel for where you stand. If you know you earned a D on the first quiz, an F on the second and third quizzes, a D on the midterm, and you missed 3 of the 5 in-class assignments so far -- well, it shouldn't be hard to figure out that, with three weeks left in the semester, you aren't too likely to pass the class.
Sometimes students will tell me "okay, I know my grade right now is really low, but what if I study really hard and get nothing but A's on the next quiz and the final. Will I pass then?" Even if it is mathematically possible to pull this off, it's highly improbable that it will happen. A student who has consistently earned D's and F's earlier in the semester is not particularly likely to suddenly finish up with a blaze of glorious A's.
Keeping track of your grades throughout each semester will allow you to have a better sense of which classes might need some extra study time, whether you should consider tutoring, if you need to meet with the instructor, and where you might need to apply different study techniques. Most of all, it will save you from the stress of learning that you are failing a class as you prepare for final exam.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Hot Off the Press: Worst Paying College Degrees
Here's an article from HotJobs listing the top 10 worst paying college degrees. Keep in mind that the figures cited are for individuals holding bachelor's degrees with very little work experience.
10 Worst Paying College Degrees
If your dream career falls into one of these categories, don't despair. Completing graduate work in these fields will greatly improve your career outlook. Articles such as these can serve to drive students away from these fields in the short-term, thereby creating potential long-term shortages that will make the career more in demand and better compensated. Education is a classic example of this trend.
10 Worst Paying College Degrees
If your dream career falls into one of these categories, don't despair. Completing graduate work in these fields will greatly improve your career outlook. Articles such as these can serve to drive students away from these fields in the short-term, thereby creating potential long-term shortages that will make the career more in demand and better compensated. Education is a classic example of this trend.
Monday, May 10, 2010
College Success Begins With Commitment
Making a commitment is serious business. When you make a commitment to a loved one, it means that you will do your very best to keep your promises to them, to support and encourage them, and to stick by them in the difficult times.
Successfully pursuing a college education means making that kind of commitment to YOURSELF. A college education is a significant investment of time, energy, and money that will repay you in many ways throughout your life.
When students are asked about why they are going to college, common answers are making good money, being able to provide for oneself and one’s family, and otherwise having a secure future. All of these are fantastic goals, but they are broad, vague, and too far in the distant future to the point that they may not be the strongest motivators when the going gets tough.
Take some time to examine your motivations about why pursuing a college education is important to you. Knowing yourself is a vital first step to success in college and in life.
Successfully pursuing a college education means making that kind of commitment to YOURSELF. A college education is a significant investment of time, energy, and money that will repay you in many ways throughout your life.
When students are asked about why they are going to college, common answers are making good money, being able to provide for oneself and one’s family, and otherwise having a secure future. All of these are fantastic goals, but they are broad, vague, and too far in the distant future to the point that they may not be the strongest motivators when the going gets tough.
Take some time to examine your motivations about why pursuing a college education is important to you. Knowing yourself is a vital first step to success in college and in life.
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