Faculty Tips - Learn How to Navigate Your College Experience
Tip from Marcella T. Hovancsek - MSN, RN
Hello, I'm Marci Hovancsek, from the School of Nursing. I'm an instructor and coordinator of first-year students and today I want to talk just a little bit about navigating through the college experience.
I suspect I'm correct in saying that there's hardly any student who starts at the university that expects things to be smooth sailing throughout every day, week, or semester. And you are indeed, as a college student, the captain of your own ship so it's important to learn how to navigate, which is something I share with my first years. There are three basic tips I'm going to give you: get to know your supportive crew members; learn the map, so you're clear on your destination; and watch out for pirates.
So first, let's look at your supportive crew members along this voyage. For instance, a point's been made that the single most underestimated characteristic of a quality college experience is the relationships that college students have with their professor and with their advisors. So every semester, make an attempt to get to know well at least one of your professors and have that person get to know you well.
The Office of Undergraduate Studies also qualifies as supportive crew members. These individuals, deans, and staff members help students define and realize their academic goals. It may be something as simple as helping students understand policies; adding a class, dropping a class; or studying off campus in the summer. They have a very helpful website that has forms, and information on all of these policies that I guide my students to. They also have walk-in hours so you can talk to deans, and office hours or walk-in hours actually, in the residential halls, that are often very convenient for students in the evenings.
More supportive crew members include the Educational Services for Students department. This department and those in it help students become able learners. One example is the free peer tutoring that's available to students as well as supplementary instruction. It's not high school anymore, and what we've found is, disproportionally, that the most successful and ambitious students use these services. It's a little different than when you had a buddy who was having trouble in calculus and that poor person had to do weekly tutoring when you were in your high school days. So take advantage of that.
And lastly, there is the Career Center. This might sound odd to you, if you are just beginning your career here at Case, but it is true, that college graduates of 2009 had the uncomfortable statistic of only 20 percent of them graduating with employment set up for them. So get to know the Career Center experts early. They can help you refine your areas of interest and excitement and hopefully lead you, as you finish your college years, to a career that's satisfying to you. So that concludes getting to know your supportive crew members.
Next, learn your map! In every major there are general education requirements, in addition to those major courses. And with the help of your advisor, it's important for you to learn about those extra courses that are required for graduation, early in your career here as a student, so that you can progress smoothly. And the same goes for the SAGES curriculum that has a successive, progressive set of seminars that have to be completed, so learn your map.
And lastly, watch out for pirates. What are pirates? In the case of a college student, pirates may be situations, such as not getting enough sleep, or not being well nourished — anything that derails your progress toward your destination. And, in an animate form, pirates may be those around you who you can tell are not helping you move toward successful completion of any semester or even any course. So watch out for those pirates.
With that, getting to know supportive crew members, knowing your map, and watching out for pirates, I wish you great successes at the university. I'm here to support you, as are many other facility and staff members, as you progress toward graduation.