ACA 111 College Student Success

Your educational plan will allow you to track your progress toward your declared program and map out classes necessary to meet your goal. You are encouraged to discuss this plan with an advisor to ensure you have accounted for all necessary requirements! Because of the complexities and frequent changes with degree and transfer requirements, it is essential to review your educational plan with an advisor to ensure you are on the right track. 

If you are not yet certain about your major, that is ok! Consider what program(s) may best suit you: a certificate, associate degree or transfer. If you have a general idea of what program you wish to pursue you can start focusing on your general education courses and consider taking some exploratory classes next semester to allow you to explore areas of interest. 

Focusing on your educational plan can help you set priorities in how you balance your college, work, and family life. Students can follow educational plans like a road map so they can see how to complete required classes in the most efficient and logical order based on their educational goals. Educational planning may appear to be easy: identifying the program of study and then figuring out which courses are required to complete it.
 

However, educational planning can often be extremely complex. Many students have multiple goals, with fluctuating priorities, and some goals might be better defined than others. A student might be interested in more than one of these goals: earn multiple degrees, transfer to a four-year college or university, prepare for graduate school, pursue a minor, or complete requirements for several transfer schools. 

Students also have different strengths, different interests, and different values. Some might be strong in English. Some students excel in math. Others might be strong in science, arts and humanities, or social sciences. Educational planning takes these strengths (and challenges) into consideration. Students are encouraged to take English and math early, as statistics show that those students will be more successful. But the order of courses taken for students with different strengths could vary even if the students have the same goal. Transcript evaluations (if students have attended previous colleges or universities) and assessment of appropriate English or math levels may also contribute to the challenge of efficient educational planning. 

Educational planning may be further complicated by availability of courses a college or university offers, the process in which a student may be able to register for those courses, and which sections (and modalities) fit into students’ schedules. When you choose classes, consider choosing them in “blocks” so you may have longer chunks of time to work and study. For example, scheduling all your classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so you can have full days free to go to your job, to write a paper, or to study for an exam may be helpful and efficient. You may also try to mix classes that require a lot of work with less intensive classes for balance. Ask your advisor or classmates about which classes or professors they recommend. Balancing easier and harder courses can be helpful in keeping a strong grade point average, which can help you complete requirements for your degree. 

Finally, students have different priorities. Some students want to complete their goals in a certain amount of time. Other students may have to work full-time and take fewer credits each semester. Educational planning might also consider student interests, skills, values, personality, or student support referrals. 

It is OK to not know what major you want to pursue when you start college, but early, thoughtful research to look into options and narrow them down to a short list of two or three will provide a solid foundation. Talking with a counselor or advisor, visiting your college’s Career Center, or taking a college success class may help with your decisions. 

Due to the complicated nature of educational planning and “life” happening to many students, the student road map often ends up taking a few unexpected turns and detours. 

 

In summary, as you begin to consider your educational plan, think about these considerations: 

• What are your short-term and long-term college goals? 
• What classes do you need to take in order to reach these goals? 
• How can you be strategic about your college schedule? 
  • What days and times are your classes? 
  • Are your classes on the same campus or different ones? 
  • Do you have a good mix of easier and harder classes? 
  • Are you mixing required and elective classes?  
  • Have you built in time for other life requirements besides school? 

There is a lot of support on campus to help you each step of the way. Take advantage of the resources available to you and ask for help when necessary. 

Remember, you are not alone on this journey! 

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