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Academic Success

Academic Success: Utilize academic and campus resources

Academic success includes understanding academic planning and the registration process, identifying different ways students learn and relating career paths to academics.

Goals/Objectives:

  1. Help students understand academic planning (PDF) and decision making(PDF), including academic requirements, processes, and deadlines.
    • Students should understand their degree requirements, including classes in their major, minor, concentration, and/or electives
    • Go over the Academic Skills Sheet (PDF)
    • Review the online college catalog
    • Encourage students to keep track of their progress
    • Teach students how to calculate their GPA.  Use GPA examples to show how important the COR 101 is to the overall GPA.  Example 1: shows two different GPA calculations, one with an "A" grade for COR and the second example with an "E" grade. Example 2: is exactly like example 1 but with a third GPA calculation that shows how improving one "3" credit course can make a difference with the overall GPA/ This is especially important for teacher certification students. 
    • Advisement and Registration Guidelines (PDF)
    • Course Planning Worksheet (PDF)
    • Make sure your students review the information in the Student Planner about myRedDragon on how to read a degree audit.
    • Have students run a degree audit or if they are interested in changing their major, encourage the students to run a "What If " option.
  2. Encourage students to utilize campus academic resources since students should feel comfortable using these resources that assist them with their academic career.
    • Have students look up their Academic Advisor's contact information on myRedDragon. Have them email their advisor or drop in to his/her office hours to introduce themselves.
    • Encourage students to visit their professors (Communicating with your professor) (PDF)
    • Introduce students to the LIBRARY. Find out about library games, tour, instruction - SPECIFICALLY designed for your COR 101 class on Academic Success!
    • Invite a representative from The Learning Center to class to discuss their services, including peer tutors.
    • Visit the Health Services website
    • Have students identify and introduce themselves to their Academic Peer Mentor (APM) in their residence hall.
  3. Assist students in maximizing their learning by helping them to understand their learning preference, realizing what their academic strengths and weaknesses are, and helping with academic skills such as time management, study skills, test and note taking strategies.
  4. Help students begin to understand how their career paths relate to academics and encourage them to see the connections between college and their career choices.
    1. Visit Career Services or refer your students to Career Services so they can the many assessment tools available through that office.
    2. Discuss transferrable skills and the importance of extra-curricular involvement.
  5. Host a class discussion regarding all the things your students believe will help them as they move through their academic career. Utilize Nancy Dickerson's The ABCs of College Success to assist you. Make sure you spend time talking about the Superheroes and Slobs she mentions in this activity.
  6. At the college level, some professors assign group projects. Many students have never worked in a group before, and are unsure of how to operate as a team. A video on this topic is Build a Tower - Build a Team! by Tom Wujec, a TED talk on the benefits of teamwork.