Adding A Class On Short Notice

So the semester/quarter is either just about to begin or has just begun, and, for whatever reason, you need to add a class immediately.  This might be more difficult to accomplish than it seems.  Frankly, you should avoid having to do this as much as possible.  If you must take this approach, keep the following information in mind.

Classes have a limited amount of seats available for a variety of reasons.  Faculty contracts, fire safety, administrative rules, and educational funding issues all come into play.  Just because it appears that there is room in a class does not mean that there actually is room in the class.  If an instructor says "no" to your request to add his or her class, respect that and move on.   

Students whose names are on the waitlist for a class take priority over those who simply show up and are not registered nor on the waitlist.  The waitlist is arranged such that the student who got on it first will have the first priority.  If you just added to the waitlist the day the class started, the likelihood of you getting into the class may be very slim.  At the colleges where I presently teach, students can log into the online enrollment system and see what position they are at on waitlists.

Trying to create your whole schedule by going door to door with an add card in your hand on the first day of class is generally ineffective.  I highly recommend that students who plan to go to a particular college or university complete the application process at least one semester/quarter ahead of time (earlier if allowed) so they can register immediately after their enrollment period opens.  Just a bit of planning can save you a whole bunch of headaches.  

Just because adds can be made for a period of time after classes start does not mean any instructor has to add you.  It's my habit to get straight down to business on the first day of class.  By the second class, I am providing students with vital information to complete their major class research paper, and the first quiz is given in the third class.  Missing a few classes can put you at disadvantage to do well in some classes (like mine), so the instructors may not allow late adds at all.  If you do get to add after the start of a class, be ready to play catch up and realize that you may have missed point opportunities you won't get to make up.  Be sure to check with other students for what took place in class on the days you were not there. 

If you are seeking to add a class because you will be dropping another, make sure you have your place in the new class guaranteed before you drop the old one.  This is crucial if you need to maintain a certain number of units for your financial aid.

If you are trying to add extra units to accelerate your progress in your program, keep in mind that you will need special permission or an administrative override if the number of units will exceed the full time maximum.  Unless you are a very effective student and have plenty of time to devote to all of your classes, this is usually not a great idea.  If your grade point average is not strong, don't be surprised if your request to take more than an full time load is denied.

Things to Know Before You Transfer to Another College or University

You've made the decision to transfer to another college or university.  Maybe you've completed your associate's degree and are going on for a bachelor's degree.  Perhaps you are moving to another area of the state or the country.  Whatever the reason, doing a bit of homework (pun intended) before you make the big move can make the transition go much more smoothly.  Here are some important things to consider. 

If possible, visit the new college in person to check it out, to meet with academic advisors and financial aid staff, and to talk with other students to get a feel for the college culture and what non-academic activities and resources are available.  At a 4-year institution, it's also a good idea to visit the department offices of your major and talk to a professor or two just to introduce yourself.  It's never too early to make a good impression.

If the structure of the classes (semesters, quarters, trimesters, and so on) differs between your new and old college, be prepared.  The length of a class makes a vast difference in the pace, depth, and scope of the information presented.

Make sure you know exactly how your transferred classes will be credited at your new college.   Transferring classes among colleges and universities can be a tricky and messy thing.  Each institution has its own standards for what criteria each class must meet, and a class that satisfied a requirement at your old college may not be deemed adequate at your new college.  It is vital that you meet with academic advisors or transfer center personnel at both colleges to see how your classes will transfer.

Realistically, you should expect to lose some credits, retake a class or two, and take some campus-specific classes at your new college.  One common reason to lose credits for a class is your old college offered a specific class at the lower division level and the new college requires it to be take at the upper division level.  Another sticking point is when a science class did not require a lab at the old college, but the version at the new college does require a lab.  In those two cases, you will most likely have to retake the class.  Your academic advisor at the new college will be able to advise you whether it is worth filing an appeal to try to have the old classes count at your new school.  Many universities have lower and upper division core courses that everyone who graduates must take.  An example of this is the upper division writing requirement classes at many California State University campuses.

Some community colleges and universities have classes that are guaranteed to transfer.  It is also becoming more common for these institutions to have transfer agreements to assure most, if not all, of the community college classes taken by a student transfer to the university at full credit value.  Academic advisors at your old and new college can help you with this.  If you are a California student, ASSIST is a wonderful online service that can help you get a better idea of what classes will transfer among public universities and community colleges.

Excellent Scholarship Writing Tips

Looking for ways to write a scholarship essay that will really catch the judges' eyes?  The tips at this site contain both great creative and practical suggestions.  Even though the site is intended for international students, any student seeking scholarships can benefit from the good advice.

Academic Dishonesty and Socioeconomic Differences

How are socioeconomic differences in a student population related to students' likelihood to engage in cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty?  Recent research provides some surprising answers.  http://thinkpsych1.blogspot.com/2012/05/social-inequality-and-academic.html

Due Dates and Deadlines

In college, due dates and deadlines come at students from all directions.  Class assignments, financial aid, scholarships, registration, drops and adds – all of these can be overwhelming to monitor.  Unlike in high school, no one in the college setting is likely to give you multiple reminders about these dates, nor is anyone likely to check up on you if you miss a deadline or do not turn in an assignment.  The burden for keeping track of due dates and deadlines, both in and out of the college classroom, is up to you, and this task should be taken extremely seriously.

Policies about late or missing tests and assignments are stated in most class syllabi.  Many college instructors will not accept late work in the absence of dire circumstances (serious medical issues, car accidents, death of a family member, etc.) for which you will be required to provide documentation (doctor’s note, accident report, obituary, etc.).  It is your job to comply with the conditions of a particular instructor’s syllabus if you want an opportunity to turn in an assignment or take a test late.  I drop my students’ lowest quiz grades and this can help if a quiz is missed for a reason that does not meet the criteria for a makeup quiz to be authorized. 

Be mindful that missing tests can cause major test security problems for instructors, as they may not be able to return the completed tests to the rest of the class or may have to write a whole new test to give you if the test has already been returned to the rest of the class.  If an instructor makes special arrangements for you to take a makeup test, do not fail to follow through.  Your instructors have extremely busy schedules and may even be giving you the test at a time where they are not being paid for doing so.

Missing college deadlines outside of the classroom can have disastrous results – like not being able to graduate on time, not being eligible for financial aid, not being considered for a helpful scholarship, or not being able to get registered for required classes.  Deadlines for transferring to another college or university and deadlines for graduate school applications are especially rigid and can set you back a year or more in your educational plans.  At the colleges where I presently teach, you can find many of these crucial due dates and deadlines in the current class schedule and the college catalog.  Your friendly student services departments, such as Records, Financial Aid, and the Transfer Center (whatever they may be called at your school), can fill you in on the other ones.

Procrastination will not serve you well in keeping on top of due dates and deadlines.  One approach to managing all of this time-sensitive information is to consolidate them into one planner, whether it is on paper or digital, and to give yourself advance reminders of when an important date is coming up.  It may seem like a lot of work to get everything initially in the planner, but it will be well worth it in the end.   

That Class You Hate

It’s a guarantee that you will enjoy some classes more than others.  Many students find classes in their majors to be far more interesting than required general education classes.  That’s totally understandable.  But how do you handle THAT class, the one that, for whatever reason, you hate?

Oftentimes, students are doing poorly in the classes that they dislike.  Here are some factors to consider. 

• If it is not a required class and you can drop it without penalty to your transcript or your financial aid, consider dropping it. 

• If it is a required class, especially one in your major and even if there would be no penalty, the decision is a bit more complex.  Does the same instructor always teach this class?  If one of your issues with the class is how it is taught and the same person always teaches it, you might as well stick it out unless things are going truly horrendously.  Is this class difficult to get into?  You might not want to give up a seat in class that is offered only once a year or an upper division class that everyone in your major needs to complete, as it might significantly delay the completion of your degree.

• You can choose to fight back.  Take all your annoyance and frustration about that class and re-route that energy into getting the best grade you possibly can.  Neglecting that disliked class and getting a poor grade just means that you will need to retake it.  The rules for retaking classes have recently become much more strict at many colleges and universities, so you may not have very many chances to take another shot at it.

• Talk to the instructor about your study strategies to see whether they are suitable for the class material.  Talk with other students who are doing well in the class to see how they approach learning the information.  Seek out study groups, check if tutoring is available, and find out whether there are supplemental materials such as textbook study guides or websites to leverage your learning process.  Don’t let this class knock you down without giving it your best.

That class you hate will have just as strong an impact on your GPA as one you like.  If you are proactive in dealing with the situation, you will never have to take that class you hate again.

Fast vs. Slow? Consider the Pro and Cons

We are a rushed society. We want quick, if not instant, results for everything we do. Just look at infomercials or scam emails that promise rapid weight loss, get rich quick, instantly become more attractive, and other such claims. Common sense helps most of us from falling for those shiny yet shallow promises.

The same is true of higher education. A great many for-profit institutions that promise you will earn a certificate or degree in a rapid amount of time are not quality programs. They tend to be a waste of time and money as well as lacking accreditation and respect from professional communities. Graduates of for-profit programs are often shocked to find that their credits do not transfer to other institutions or are not considered to fulfill the criteria for graduate school programs. Some for-profit setups, as in diploma mills where one buys the degree of choice, are downright fraudulent. This is not to say that legitimate educational institutions do not offer fast-track type programs. Some certainly do, and the workloads and concentration of time commitment are intense.

A more common clash between the concepts of quality and speed in higher education comes when a student wants to finish as quickly as possible so she or he can get on with their career and the rest of life. While certainly some students are capable of taking very heavy classloads every semester and getting excellent grades and truly absorbing knowledge while they do so, from my experience, they are few and far between. Here are a few things to consider about moving fast versus slow through your higher education.

Fast. Typical short-term classes last from 5 to 8 weeks, and taking them can be a good strategy to speed up progress toward your degree if you are careful about which classes you choose to complete this way. A common mistake I have seen students make is to take a class they particularly dread or dislike in a short format to "get it over with as quickly as possible." When students have strong negative feelings toward a class, it is usually because the material is difficult for them. Difficult classes are better taken during a traditional semester in case there are bumps in the learning road to resolve along the way.

Students are more likely to be successful in short-term classes if they already have a strong foundation of knowledge in the subject area, if they have a lot of time just to devote to doing coursework during the length of the class, and if they have strong motivation and self-discipline. 

Slow. It's often said that good things take time, and this can be true of your education. The goal of higher education is to learn, and learning does not happen overnight. Let's look at this from a class level and an educational career level.

While some students may think the traditional 16 or 18 week semester is too long for any class, having this amount of time to absorb and integrate material can result in more meaningful learning. This can be especially important in foundation classes in your major or particularly difficult classes. Longer length classes are also more amenable to missing a few days due to illness, car problems, or other brief unforeseen circumstances without having an adverse impact on your grade.

Professionalism Starts Here

Career preparation is a central goal of the majority of college students. Your campus can provide you with many opportunities to practice and refine professional behaviors and attitudes that will benefit you long after you've earned your degree.

• Remember that professors in your major have valuable experience and connections in your chosen career. Cultivate good relationships with them so if you need a graduate school or employment reference, they will have plenty of positive things to say about you. They may even give you leads on research opportunities, scholarships, and employment.

• Be mindful of the impact you have when interacting with everyone at your campus -- faculty, staff, administrators, and, yes, even other students. Appropriate and mature behavior can have a big impact on your reputation, and, even on large campuses, word gets around if an individual is seen as obnoxious or disruptive.

• Take advantage of as many conferences, clubs, and activities related to your major as you can. It's great experience and can add that special spark to your resume that makes you stand above the crowd in the eyes of a potential employer.

• This is not to say you can't have fun while you are in college, but you must consider that your education is serious business involving huge investments of your time, money, and energy. Your grades will have a major impact on you for the rest of your education, and after you graduate, the quality of your grades can either lead you to open doors or dead end you at closed ones. It's up to you.

Short Session Challenges

Taking a class or two during the short summer or winter session at your college may seem like a good idea for many reasons. However, along with the advantage of knocking a class out of the way in less than a semester comes the challenges of managing your time, energy, and academic performance effectively to get the best possible results. Here are some things to keep in mind when tackling a short session class.

• You will be covering a full semester’s worth of material in a much shorter period of time. At the colleges where I presently teach, this means compressing 16 weeks of information into 6 weeks for winter or 8 weeks for summer.

• Be prepared for long class sessions (sometimes 4 hours) that meet up to 4 days per week. Missing even one class during a short session can spell disaster for your final grade as testing and turning in other graded assignments is frequent. 

• Because of the compression of information, the pace is very fast indeed in a short session class. If you need lots of time to process and learn information, this style of learning may not be the best for you. 

• Since short session classes are work-intense, limit the number of them you take at any one time. If you have other obligations you need to attend to during the short session weeks, I suggest you only take one class. If you have nothing else that needs your attention, two classes can be managed. 

• Keep in mind the nature of the class you’re taking. Classes that involve labs or lots of writing can be challenging enough during a regular length term; think carefully before you decide to tackle one as a short session class. 

• Strong self-motivation, self-discipline, and commitment are essential to doing well in short session classes. I suggest that you take them in areas in which you are academically strong. 

• Short session classes are not the best approach for struggling students due to the fast pace and  overall intensity level. 

• Keep very close track of schedules and deadlines, and keep up with all readings and assignments. Short session classes will require even more stringent study habits and more frequent studying to master the material in such a limited time.

Smart Scheduling

So many students have busy lives in which they juggle commitments to family and work while trying to complete their college education. With a little bit of planning, smart scheduling can help you reduce and manage the stress that comes with such a hectic life.

When planning a semester schedule, it might be helpful to have a calendar in front of you to pencil things in so you can get the big picture before you make any solid commitments.

When deciding which classes to sign up for, the first consideration should be for your fixed commitments like work, caring for family members, time for faith activities, and so on. Don't sign up for any classes that will interfere with those obligations. Leaving work early all the time to go to classes will be frowned upon (unless you have made prior arrangements at work), and arriving consistently late to classes will not be looked upon positively by most instructors either. If you have a part-time job with a flexible schedule, it is essential to discuss your plans for the coming semester with your boss or manager.

Be sure to factor in things like travel time, finding a parking space, having something to eat before class, using the restroom, and following through on any on-campus errands. If your schedule has no planned time for these activities, it is almost a certainty your stress levels will be soaring some days.

Work with an academic advisor to choose classes that fit with your program plan and your schedule. They are experienced at helping students figure out the best way through their degrees. Academic advisors are part of what you pay for with your tuition; take advantage of their help.

Are you a morning person or an evening person? If you can, schedule classes for the times of day when you are the most alert. This, of course, is not always possible, but it can be really helpful to tackle a class that is a particular challenge for you when you are feeling sharp.

If your class schedule includes a significant break between classes, use that time on campus wisely. Study, review notes, do research, run errands -- there are many possibilities. It's good to plan for a little down time or socializing in there, too.

Choosing a mix of classes will help keep your mind more refreshed during a school day, make life more interesting during the semester, and be less likely to lead to excessive stress. Get your basic general education classes out of the way as soon as possible and step through the series of classes in your major in a logical order. I have seen some students put off taking certain classes to the point where they had no choice but to take multiple highly demanding classes in their major during their last semester before graduating. That is not a good recipe to do well in those classes, or to put yourself in a situation where stress will be easy to manage.

Hot Off The Press: Employment Prospects and Your Major

As a fitting follow-up to the three-part post series on choosing a major, here's an article from CNNMoney.com about which majors are high in unemployment statistics at the present time.

Unemployment Soars Among College Majors Like Architecture

What's Your Major? Part 3: Personality & Lifestyle Preferences

In yesterday’s post, we looked at some practical factors to consider what choosing a major, namely, career paths, financial aspects, and growth potential. The final installment of this three-post series takes things back to the personal level. Who you are and how you want to live your life must be considered in choosing the career area that is so strongly tied to deciding on a major.

Personality. Are you energized by being with other people, or do you need time alone to recharge? Do you like dealing with concepts or theories, or are you more comfortable with specific facts and figures? Do you thrive when there is public pressure to succeed, or do you prefer individual feedback? Do you need flexibility in your work environment, or are defined rules and schedules optimal for you? The answers to these questions can provide insight into your personality and what kind of job environment may be best suited to you. Links to some helpful personality measures will be provided in an upcoming post.

Lifestyle preferences. Do you like being busy all the time? Do you prefer to work at a more steady pace? Do you need a lot of variety in the work you do, or do you thrive on doing a smaller range of tasks with excellence? Do you prefer living in an urban or a rural area? Is 40 hours your ideal work week, or are you willing to work as many hours in a week as it takes to complete a project? These are but a few of the questions you should ask yourself when considering the careers that stem from a prospective major. While some people, for instance, may want the prestige and affluence that comes from being a heart surgeon, few of them will be willing to go through the intensive schooling, demanding and low-paying internships and residencies, long hours, and stressful working conditions needed to reach that goal.

Visualize your life 5 years from now, 10 years from now, and 20 years from now. What is the quality of life you want to have? Where do you want to be living? What kinds of relationships will you have? Work has a profound influence on all of your life, so choosing a career path and major wisely will have long-term payoffs.

Making a decision as to what your major will be takes using both your head and your heart. Hopefully, this series of posts has given you some ideas about how to choose a major or even to re-evaluate the major you have already decided upon.

What's Your Major? Part 2: Career Path, Financial Aspects, & Growth Potential

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the basics of what goes into choosing a major and more specifically how interests and skills can contribute to this vital decision. Next, let’s consider some practical aspects.

Career paths. It is wise to think about the different career paths a particular major can provide you. Make sure to explore other opportunities in case your dream job is not all you believed it to be or, as has been the case for many people in today’s dysfunctional economy, the job market throws you a curve ball and your dream job no longer exists. While it is good to have concrete career goals, don’t let them narrow your focus too much. Include inquires about the range of jobs available when talking to professors in your proposed major and people who are already working in the field.

Financial aspects. It is important to consider what sort of pay you can expect working during the course of your future career. While no one has a crystal ball to predict what a certain profession will pay in the future, looking at the wage history for different jobs can be informative. In California, the Employment Development Department hosts an online occupational guide that provides a wide variety of job information, including wages and how many jobs are expected to be available for particular professions in the future. Most states will have something similar available for use.

Growth potential. Where will this major take you over your career’s lifetime? It is extremely rare for anyone to work in the exact same job position for an entire career, and most of us expect to be able to advance in responsibilities, authority level, and pay as we gain further work experience. However, some careers might have a lower “top level” than our expectations might lead us to believe. Find out about the growth potential within your proposed field of work while talking with professors who teach the major and people employed in that field.

In the final post of this series tomorrow, we will look at how personality and lifestyle preferences are important pieces in the puzzle of choosing a major.

What's Your Major? Part 1: Skills & Interests

What's your major?

This is probably the second most asked question directed to college students, right behind what school do you go to? It's an important question, too. Your major is something that will shape the direction of your life, so it's crucial to choose it wisely. This multi-part post will give you some guidance on ways to successfully search for a major that works for you.

Choosing a major is not a one-time decision for most college students. There are, of course, those who have decided firmly what they are going to be when they grow up from an early age and have stuck to that decision. For the rest of us, however, choosing a major is a process made in steps, hopefully starting around the time one attends middle school. Yes, you read that right, middle school. In my considered opinion, the common practice of waiting unless a student is a junior or senior in high school to discuss college is counter-productive. At that point, many students are feeling so much pressure from contemplating what comes next that it is difficult to truly give the choice of a major the attention it deserved.

A major should be chosen by balancing several important factors. Let's take a look at a couple of them and do some brainstorming, either by yourself on paper or with the assistance of someone who knows you well.

Interests. Since we spend a majority of our waking hours as adults engaged in work, doing something you like as your career helps make life more meaningful and your work life more enjoyable Make a list of your interests, academic, professional, and personal. Look at both the big picture (for example, “I like helping people”) and the details (“I’m really interested in improving the nutrition of children in our country”). Don’t worry that an interest of yours might not be marketable at this point; just get as much interest information down as possible.

Skills. This is where having a friend or family member who knows you well can come in handy. Sometimes we are not as aware of skills we have as those who observe us. We also might have the tendency to sell ourselves short as to the strength of our talents and abilities. Again, look at both a broad perspective (“I communicate with people well”) and a more narrow approach (“I’m good at being able to calm people down in a crisis situation”). List everything, no matter how big or small the skill may be.

Part 2 on career paths, financial aspects, and growth potential is on its way tomorrow.

Succeeding In Online Classes

Online classes are a great higher education option for people with sticky schedules. I recently had a student who worked in law enforcement at a level that sometimes things would happen that would prevent him from attending a face-to-face class regularly. While we were able to work things out over the semester, his work situation makes him better suited to take online classes whenever possible.

The major plus to an online class is that you can complete the work without attending a regularly-scheduled face-to-face class. In order to succeed in online classes, here are some things to consider.

You need as close to bombproof internet access as possible. You also need a backup plan or two for internet access in case yours fails. Even though online classes don't have face-to-face meetings, they still have deadlines that must be met.

You need very strong self-motivation and self-discipline. When you are taking a class that does not meet face-to-face, the temptation to procrastinate is much stronger. You can help prevent this by scheduling a regular time to do the work for your online class and sticking to it and by keeping up with or ahead of the readings and activities for the class.

Don't assume that your online class will be easier than the face-to-face version. In fact, the opposite is often true. A common component of online classes is participation in a discussion board with the instructor and other students. This can be quite time consuming on top of all the other regular assignments you need to complete for the class.

Most importantly, communicate promptly with the instructor at the first sign of confusion with the materials or problems with the course delivery system. It is very easy to fall behind.

Pluses and Minuses of Hybrid Courses

A hybrid course is one in which part of the classes are conducted face-to-face and part of them are conducted online, usually in a 50/50 split. What are some advantages and disadvantages of hybrid classes?

+ Fewer live class meetings to make a tough schedule worse
+ Great when you already have solid prior knowledge of the material
+ Flexibility
+ Compromise for those who like online courses
+ Good for some general education courses that are mostly lecture based
+ Great for highly motivated students with good self-discipline

- Fewer live class meetings to clear up confusion and get examples
- Not ideal for less motivated students with lower self-discipline
- Less group interaction and spontaneous learning moments
- Probably not a good idea for classes in your major or classes where hands-on learning is required