ACA 111 College Student Success

Going to college—even if you are not far from home—is a cultural experience. It comes with its own language and customs, some of which can be confusing or confounding at first. Just like traveling to a foreign country, it is best if you prepare by learning what words mean and what you are expected to say and do in certain situations. 

Let’s first start with the language you may encounter. In most cases, there will be words that you have heard before, but they may have different meanings in a college setting. Take, for instance, “office hours.” If you are not in college, you would think that it means the hours of a day that an office is open. If it is your dentist’s office, it may mean Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In college, “office hours” can refer to the specific hours a professor is in her office to meet with students, and those hours may be only a few each day: for example, Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. 

“Syllabus” is another word that you may not have encountered, but it is one you will soon know very well. A syllabus is often called the “contract of the course” because it contains information about what to expect—from the professor and the student. It is meant to be a roadmap for succeeding in the class. Understanding that office hours are for you to ask your professor questions and the syllabus is the guide for what you will be doing in the class can make a big difference in your transition to college. Below is a brief list of other words that you will want to know when you hear them on campus. 

Common College Terms

. . .what they mean, and why you need to know!

Attendance Policy

• A policy that describes the attendance and absence expectations for a class
• Professors will have different attendance expectations. Read your syllabus to determine which ones penalize you if you miss too many classes.

Final Exam

• A comprehensive assessment that is given at the end of a term
• If your class has a final exam, you will want to prepare for it well in advance by reading assigned material, taking good notes, reviewing previous tests and assignments, and studying.

Learning

• The process of acquiring knowledge 
• In college, most learning happens outside the classroom. Your professor will only cover the main ideas or the most challenging material in class. The rest of the learning will happen on your own. 

Office Hours

• Specific hours the professor is in the office to meet with students
• Visiting your professor during office hours is a good way to get questions answered and to build rapport. 

Plagiarism

• Using someone’s words, images, or ideas as your own, without proper attribution
• Plagiarism carries much more serious consequences in college, so it is best to speak to your professor about how to avoid it and review your student handbook’s policy. 

Study

• The process of using learning strategies to understand and recall information
• Studying in college may look different than studying in high school in that it may take more effort and more time to learn more complex material. 

Syllabus

• The contract of a course that provides information about course expectations and policies
• The syllabus will provide valuable information that your professor will assume you have read and understood. Refer to it first when you have a question about the course.

Differences Between High School and College Faculty

In addition to its own language, higher education has its own way of doing things. For example, you may be familiar with what a high school teacher does, but do you know what a professor does? It certainly seems like they fulfill a very similar role as teachers in high school, but in college, professors’ roles are often much more diverse. In addition to teaching, they may also conduct research, mentor graduate students, write and review research articles, serve on and lead campus committees, serve in regional and national organizations in their disciplines, apply for and administer grants, advise students in their major, and serve as sponsors for student organizations. You can be assured that their days are far from routine. Below are just a few differences between high school teachers and college professors. 

• Education

  • High School: Often have degrees or certifications in teaching in addition to degrees in subject matter
  • College: Most likely have not even taken a course in teaching as part of their graduate program

• Responsibilities

  • High School: Responsibilities include maximizing student learning and progress in a wide array of areas
  • College: Responsibilities include providing students with content and an assessment of their mastery of the content 

• Availability

  • High School: Are available before or after school or during class if a student has a question
  • College: Are available during office hours or by appointment if a student needs additional instruction or advice

• Communication

  • High School: Communicate regularly and welcome questions from parents and families about a student’s progress
  • College: Cannot communicate with parents and families of students without permission because of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The relationships you build with your professors will be some of the most important ones you create during your college career. You will rely on them to help you find internships, write letters of recommendation, nominate you for honors or awards, and serve as references for jobs. You can develop those relationships by participating in class, visiting during office hours, asking for assistance with coursework, requesting recommendations for courses and majors, and getting to know the professor’s own academic interests.  

In college, your networks are going to expand in ways that will help you develop other aspects of yourself. As described above, the relationships you will have with your professors will be some of the most important. But they won’t be the only relationships you will be cultivating while in college. Consider Figure 2.1, You and Your Relationships During College, and think about how you will go about expanding your network while you are completing your degree. 

Your relationships with authority figures, family, and friends may change while you are in college, and at the very least, your relationships will expand to peer networks—not friends, but near-age peers or situational peers (e.g., a first-year college student who is going back to school after being out for 20 years)—and to faculty and staff who may work alongside you, mentor you, or supervise your studies. These relationships are important because they will allow you to expand your network, especially as it relates to your career. As stated earlier, developing relationships with faculty can provide you with more than just the benefits of a mentor. Faculty often review applications for on-campus jobs or university scholarships and awards; they also have connections with graduate programs, companies, and organizations. They may recommend you to colleagues or former classmates for internships and even jobs. 

Other differences between high school and college are listed below. Because it is not an exhaustive list of the differences, be mindful of other differences you may notice. Also, if your most recent experience has been the world of work or the military, you may find that there are more noticeable differences between those experiences and college.

Differences Between High School and College

. . .and why you need to know the difference!

Grades

• High School: Grades are made up of frequent tests and homework, and you may be able to bring up a low initial grade by completing smaller assignments and bonuses. 
• College: Grades are often made up of fewer assignments, and initial low grades may keep you from earning high course grades at the end of the semester.
• You will need to be prepared to earn high grades on all assignments because you may not have the opportunity to make up for lost ground.

Learning

• High School: Learning is often done in class with the teacher guiding the process, offering multiple ways to learn material and frequent quizzes to ensure that learning occurs. 
• College: Learning happens mostly outside of class and on your own. Faculty are responsible for assigning material and covering the most essential ideas; you are responsible for tracking and monitoring your learning progress.
• You will need to practice effective learning strategies on your own to ensure that you are mastering material at the appropriate pace.

Getting Help

• High School: Your teachers, parents, and a counselor are responsible for identifying your need for help and for creating a plan for you to get help with coursework if you need it. Extra assistance is usually reserved for students who have an official diagnosis or need. 
• College: You will most likely need help to complete all your courses successfully even if you did not need extra help in high school. You will be responsible for identifying that you need it, accessing the resources, and using them. 
• Because the responsibility is on you, not parents or teachers, to get the help you need, you will want to be aware of when you may be struggling to learn material. You then will need to know where the support can be accessed on campus or where you can access support online. 

Tests and Exams

• High School: Tests cover small amounts of material and study days or study guides are common to help you focus on what you need to study. If you pay attention in class, you should be able to answer all the questions.
• College: Tests are fewer and cover more material than in high school. If you read all the assigned material, take good notes in class, and spend time practicing effective study techniques, you should be able to answer all the questions.
• This change in how much material and the depth of which you need to know the material is a shock for some students. This may mean you need to change your strategies dramatically to get the same results.

Some of What You Will Learn Is "Hidden"

Many of the college expectations that have been outlined so far may not be considered common knowledge, which is one reason that so many colleges and universities have classes that help students learn what they need to know to succeed. The term hidden curriculum^[1] describes unspoken, unwritten, or unacknowledged (hence, hidden) rules that students are expected to follow that can affect their learning. 

Situation: 

According to your syllabus, your history professor is lecturing on the chapter that covers the stock market crash of 1929, on Tuesday of next week. 

Sounds pretty straightforward. Your professor lectures on a topic and you will be there to hear it. However, there are some unwritten rules, or hidden curriculum, that are not likely to be communicated. Can you guess what they may be? 

• What is an unwritten rule about what you should be doing before attending class? 
• What is an unwritten rule about what you should be doing in class? 
• What is an unwritten rule about what you should be doing after class? 
• What is an unwritten rule if you are not able to attend that class? 

Some of your answers could have included the following: 

• Before Class: Review your course syllabus or planner to determine what is being covered, read the assigned chapter, take notes, record any questions you have about the reading 


• During Class: Focus your attention on the lecture, discussion, or activity and put away any distractions, take detailed notes, ask critical thinking or clarifying questions, avoid distractions, bring your book and your reading notes 


• After Class: Review what you learned in that class and connect it to other class lectures or discussions, organize your notes in relation to your other notes, start the studying process by testing yourself on the material, make an appointment with your professor if you are not clear on a concept


• Absent: Avoid asking your professor, “Did I miss anything important?”, communicate with the professor, get notes from a classmate, make sure you did not miss anything important in your notes

The expectations before, during, and after class, as well as what you should do if you miss class, are often unspoken because many professors assume you already know and do these things or because they feel you should figure them out on your own. Nonetheless, some students struggle at first because they don’t know about these habits, behaviors, and strategies. But once they learn them, they are able to meet them with ease. 

Motivation

Being able to stay motivated while studying and balancing all you have to do in your classes will be important for meeting the rest of the components. 

• Deliberate, focused effort. Taking ownership of learning will hinge on the effort that you put into the work. Because most learning in college will take place outside of the classroom, you will need determination to get the work done. And there will be times that the work will be challenging and maybe even boring, but finding a way to get through it when it is not exciting will pay in the long run. 
   
• Time and task management. You will learn more about strategies for managing your time and the tasks of college in a later chapter, but without the ability to control your calendar, it will be difficult to block out the time to study. 
   
• Progress tracking. A commitment to learning must include monitoring your learning, knowing not only what you have completed (this is where a good time management strategy can help you track your tasks), but also the quality of the work you have done. 

Taking responsibility for your learning will take some time if you are not used to being in the driver’s seat. However, if you have any difficulty making this adjustment, you can and should reach out for help along the way. 

Common Challenges in the First Year

It seems fitting to follow up the expectations for the first year with a list of common challenges that college students encounter along the way to a degree. If you experience any—or even all—of these, the important point here is that you are not alone and that you can overcome them by using your resources. Many college students have felt like this before, and they have survived—even thrived—despite them because they were able to identify a strategy or resource that they could use to help themselves.

At some point in your academic career, you may do one or more of the following: 

1. Feel like an imposter. There is actually a name for this condition: imposter syndrome. Students who feel like an imposter are worried that they don’t belong, that someone will “expose them for being a fake.” This feeling is pretty common for anyone who finds themselves in a new environment and is not sure if they have what it takes to succeed. Trust the professionals who work with first-year college students: you do have what it takes, and you will succeed. Just give yourself time to get adjusted to everything. 


2. Worry about making a mistake. This concern often goes with imposter syndrome. Students who worry about making a mistake don’t like to answer questions in class, volunteer for a challenging assignment, and even ask for help from others. Instead of avoiding situations where you may fail, embrace the process of learning, which includes—is even dependent on—making mistakes. The more you practice courage in these situations and focus on what you are going to learn from failing, the more confident you become about your abilities. 


3. Try to manage everything yourself. Even superheroes need help from sidekicks and mere mortals. Trying to handle everything on your own every time an issue arises is a recipe for getting stressed out. There will be times when you are overwhelmed by all you have to do. This is when you will need to ask for and allow others to help you. 


4. Ignore your mental and physical health needs. If you feel you are on an emotional rollercoaster and you cannot find time to take care of yourself, then you have most likely ignored some part of your mental and physical well-being. What you need to do to stay healthy should be non-negotiable. In other words, your sleep, eating habits, exercise, and stress-reducing activities should be your highest priorities. 


5. Forget to enjoy the experience. Whether you are 18 years old and living on campus or 48 years old starting back to college after taking a break to work and raise a family, be sure to take the time to remind yourself of the joy that learning can bring.