Transcript “Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators.

“Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to
think and act for themselves – and be free.” ~Cesar Chavez~
The Survey
We asked professors and other college
personnel what advice they would give to
first-time college students and this is what
they had to say…
Some General Advice…
Check deadlines for everything!
Be ready for the biggest
challenge in your life – you’ll
have to study and study hard.
Establish goals…
especially short-term
goals.
Don’t procrastinate!
You can do anything if you
are willing to invest the time
and effort.
Create a schedule for
yourself by determining
when and how you operate
most effectively.
Think about the whole picture. Ask yourself, “What
am I trying to achieve?”
Go to class every
class period.
Some More General Advice…
Never be afraid to ask questions or
seek assistance.
It shouldn’t be embarrassing to go to a
professor or instructor and ask for
assistance; that’s what they are there for!
Stay focused on
your academic
goals…avoid
distractions.
Learn to use the internet and
computer programs to your
advantage. Technology is here to
stay. Learn to read from a
computer screen
Learn to study: it
is a skill that must
be practiced to be
effective.
Things of value, like a college education take work. Give
your best all the time and do not give up when things are
difficult or do not go your way.
How Do You Become a
SUCCESSFUL College Student?
According to college professors…
QUESTION
If a student doesn’t understand, they
will ask questions until comprehension
is achieved.
CONFIRM
If an employee says they will take care
of something, a successful student will
confirm that it has been taken care of.
FOCUS
If you keep your mind set on the goal of
completing college and going beyond
that to achieve the future you want,
you will succeed and be able to
overcome the hurdles placed in the
path.
DILIGENT
Maintaining a constant effort to reach
your goal of graduation and beyond is
made possible through hard-work and
perseverance.
METACOGNITIVE
Students who understand how they
learn best do better.
CONFIDENT
A student needs to believe in
themselves and be their own
cheerleader.
PLAN
Research before picking a major. Then
find out what classes you have to take
your first semester and have a rough
draft when you take it to your advisor.
EXECUTE
Once you have the plan, you need to
execute it. It is time to put your plan
into action.
INDEPENDENCE
College students can create their own
obstacles when they listen to what
other people think they should be
doing rather than to what they know in
their hearts they should be doing.
You’re the one who has to live with the
choices you make, so be true to
yourself.
ENGAGED
A successful college student must be
engaged in his or her classes, engaged
with the professor, and engaged with
fellow students, it is only when a
student is fully engaged with the
college experience that real learning
can take place.
INITIATOR
Don’t rely on others to coordinate your
college decisions and choices.
DETERMINED
A student needs to be 150% behind their
own goals and plans. The only option is
“success.”
CREATIVE
Today’s employers are looking for
college graduates who are problemsolvers and critical thinkers. Creativity
is the key to these skills.
PROMPT
Be on time and, if possible, a little bit
early. You won’t miss any information
and you will be ready to devote your
full attention to the class once it begins.
RESPONSIBLE
College is all about you and your future;
it is up to you to keep track of your
decisions and to be a part of every
moment.
DISCERNING
Since you will be making a lot of lifechanging decisions, you need to have
the ability to judge a situation and
evaluate it in order to make an
informed decision.
ENDURING
Education is like a marathon…if you
start college thinking you will be able to
race through as fast as you can, you will
wear yourself out. Pace yourself by
taking as many classes as is right for
you. Exhausting yourself early on will
not set you up for your graduation 2-6
years away.
READY
Be prepared…to listen, take notes,
respond, analyze, evaluate, solve, read,
communicate, etc.
ORGANIZATION
Organization is a must for success. Not
only organization in terms of keeping
up with assignments and class
materials, or taking organized notes,
but also organization in regard to time
management. Students must learn to
organize their time effectively.
OPEN-MINDED
A student must come to college with an
open mind. In today's polarized,
absolute, political and social
environment students will all too often
tune out opinions or ideals which may
be different from their own; this
hinders true learning.
WILLING
If you don’t want to be in college, you
will not be successful. This does not
mean just showing up; this means
putting a full effort into class
assignments and class discussions.
BALANCE
If students are unable to balance their
educational and personal lives now,
how will they balance their personal
lives and professional lives later?
WILLING
If you don’t want to be in college, you
will not be successful. This does not
mean just showing up; this means
putting a full effort into class
assignments and class discussions.
CURIOUS
Don’t wait until your instructors tell you
to research something—go after it if it
peaks your interest.
CRITICAL
THINKING
You will need to know how to think
beyond the obvious answers and use
analysis to create new solutions.
SELF-ADVOCATE
Stand up for yourself, express your
needs and let faculty and staff know
what you need.
SOCIALIZE/
NETWORK
We learn a huge amount of information
from others. Interact with your peers.
Find out what they’re thinking and
doing. Share resources with them.
Learn from them.
COURTEOUS
Good manners show the student has
respect for his/herself and that carries
over to their interactions with other
students, faculty and staff.
What Students Should Avoid
Making Assumptions
Apathy
Being Undisciplined
Being Absent
Not Thinking
Lack of Responsibility
Laziness
Unawareness of Self
Seclusion
Being Disconnected
Being Unmotivated
Disorganization
Rudeness/Bad Attitude
Being Withdrawn
Closed-Mindedness
Not Caring
Negativity
Disengagement
Professors Have Pet Peeves Too…
Texting in class
even after I tell
you not to do
so!
Using dip in
class. Spit
it out
before you
enter.
Expecting the instructor to
hand feed you
everything. College requires
personal responsibility!
Late work - your inability to
be responsible just created
more work for me or
created a reason for me to
have to be "mean" by not
accepting it.
Inappropriate
attire…such as
pants hanging
between waist and
knees.
Professors Have Pet Peeves Too…
Put away the
iPod…and the
earbuds!
I can’t stand for students to
say, “Are we going to do
anything in class today?” Or
if you miss class, I can’t
stand to hear “I heard we
didn’t do anything in class”
or “Did I miss anything?”
Your
clothing
should not
be a
distraction.
Keep your head up and eyes on
the speaker when listening to a
lecture or presentation. Show
mutual respect for instructor and
fellow students.
It’s the 1st Day of Class…What Do
You Need?
What Non-Academic Skills Do
You Need?
Not all skills needed for life have to do with
the academic coursework you’ve done for
years. You also need soft skills. These are the
skills that allow you to be successful in your
courses, your career, and life in general.
Courtesy
Listen
Verbal
Communication
Study
Self-Sufficiency
Ask Questions
Professors Used to be Students
Once upon a time, professors sat in the
back of the classroom as students. If
only they knew then what they knew
now…
Thankfully, they’ve decided to share
some of this hindsight knowledge.
Started my
search for
financial aid
sooner and
sought more of it.
Been better
organized and used
3-ring binders.
Asked more questions while
I had access to different
resources.
Applied
myself
more.
Started
younger –
gone straight
from HS to
college.
Partied less and
studied more.
Taken
advantage of
the resources
the college as
an institution
provided.
Considered
“optional” to
mean
“mandatory.”
Pushed myself
harder from the
beginning…it took
a long time to
bring my GPA back
up.
Learned to
study.
I wish I’d…
Now It’s Up To You
Consider all of this information tools of success. Take them
with you as you enter college and travel along the pathway
you’ve chosen for yourself.
Best of luck and make the most of this awesome
experience!
This presentation was
created by…
Creating Opportunities for Relevant Education
The CCR Initiatives Division of Cisco College