How to be Successful in College

How to Succeed in College

Everything You Wanted to Learn About Succeeding in College but Were Afraid to

Ask

Mark J Kittleson

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To Olivia, with all my love. Also, to the Giant City contingency of girls that Olivia spent K-12

growing up.

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Congratulations on your next exciting adventure in life—going to college! This little book is being written for my daughter and friends, who I have seen grow up together from Kindergarten through High School. I thought a long time on what I can give them as they move forward on this journey. Should I give them money? Nah, I’m sure they’ll get plenty from their family and friends. Should I buy them a car? I don’t think I could pick out the right cars for such a diverse group of young women. How about a vacation to Mexico? I don’t think everybody has a passport.

So, what did I decide to give? After serious soul searching, I decided I would share with them my experiences of 38 years in higher education (40 years of teaching). I’m hoping it will help them navigate the increasingly difficult road through college.

A Little Bit About Me

I think I knew when I was a freshman in college that I wanted to be a teacher. When I graduated from Mankato State University (Minnesota) I received an offer to teach in rural Iowa. Early on I realized that I did not have the patience to work with high school students, thus I decided to go back to Mankato to earn my masters. I was hoping that I could get a job at a college or university when I finished my master’s degree.

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Sure enough I had an opportunity to teach at the University of Maine when I finished my masters in July 1978. Although the place was beautiful it was very rural and I longed to be in a larger community. In 1979, and for the next ten years, I taught at Youngstown State University in Ohio. It was during this time I started working on my PhD (University of Akron).

While I truly enjoyed YSU, I had outgrown it. I really wanted to work for a larger, more established university. Thus, in 1989 I accepted a job at Southern Illinois University. I proceeded to go through the ranks being promoted to Associate Professor in 1992 and eventually to full Professor in 1995.

In January 2011 I left SIU to become Department Head at New Mexico State University. Although I loved SIU, it was time for me to move on. The job at New Mexico State is a great move for me professionally. I miss having daily contact with Olivia, and the many friends I have in Carbondale, but I don’t regret taking this job.

As of the time of Olivia’s high school graduation, I will have had altogether 36 years teaching in higher education, along with my two years teaching in high school. During this nearly 4 decade long career, I have worked with thousands of students. While at Youngstown State I taught many freshman courses, advised many students, and was thrilled to see such students graduate. While at SIU I worked more with

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graduate students. Again, there was great pride on my part when I saw these students succeed.

Despite the fact that these were different groups of students, there is a theme behind success in college. I’m going to share with you some of my thoughts on how one can be successful in college. As usual, many of these ideas were based on my personal experiences, many were based on interactions with other professors, and some were gleaned from the literature.

So it is with great pride that I present to you the Top 10 Ways to Succeed in College.

Number 1: Remember that the Syllabus is a Contract

If you do not know what a syllabus is, let me briefly explain. A syllabus is an outline that you will receive from your professor the first day in class (theoretically it should be the first day). Whatever is written in that syllabus is a contract by which you are to abide. For example, if it says that a test will be worth 25% of the total grade, it MUST be 25% of the total grade (note that every professor can set his or her own rules/policies about grading). However, if they put this down in the syllabus even the professors must abide by it too.

Let me give you an example. Let’s imagine that Professor Smith says that attendance is voluntary (I’ll speak about attendance later on in this

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book). The syllabus clearly states that attendance is voluntary. Let’s imagine that you miss a couple of classes. At the end of the semester you are told that your grade is being docked because you missed a few classes. That is not permitted. You can challenge that and win because the syllabus is a contract and the syllabus said that attendance was not required. Note—if you missed assignments because you were absent you are not protected. The professor may penalize you for missing the assignments, but they can’t penalize you for JUST missing class.

Now, occasionally, and I’ve done it at times, I as the professor, may have to make a change in the syllabus. Making such a change should ALWAYS be shared with the students. Normally, as long as the change is a benefit to the student, this is acceptable. However, the professor needs to give everybody an updated syllabus. Let me give you an example. Imagine I as the professor give an assignment that is due November 1. Sometime in early October I tell the class that I am extending the deadline to November 8. I doubt if anybody would complain about it. Now, if I decided to move the deadline up to October 25 I could be challenged by students.

Bottom line: READ THE SYLLABUS; Keep the syllabus and any modifications received. Your professor is required to follow those expectations and guidelines and so are you.

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Number 2: What are Office Hours?

On the syllabus you will see a lot of important information. For example, you will see the name of the professor, their email, their phone number; perhaps their website; SKYPE name; along with their Office Hours. As described above, Office Hours are part of the contract—if the professor does not attend their office hours they can be disciplined.

So what are office hours? Office hours are specific times that the professor will be in their office to meet with students. Every university has slightly different requirements on the amount of office hours. I require my faculty to have 2 office hours for each class that they teach. Most faculty teach 3 classes so they would have 6 Office Hours a week.

Office Hours are required and if a professor misses them they are violating their contract (note there are always exceptions such as sickness, conferences, etc.). However, in these instances there should be a note on the door indicating such. It is also possible that on the syllabus the professor indicates he/she will be off-campus that day (perhaps due to a conference they are attending).

Office Hours are open to ALL students. Although the professor may seem busy when you come to their office, it is those times that they have set aside to meet

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with students (obviously if no students show up they can work on other projects). Do NOT feel you are intruding on their time—this is what they get paid for—to teach and work with students.

It is also possible that you can meet with a professor outside their scheduled office hours, but you should always be able to count on those office hours listed on the syllabus. If you go to the professor’s office and they are not there (and there’s no note), it is perfectly acceptable to go to the main Departmental Office and ask the secretary if they have heard from the professor. It is possible that the professor may have just called in indicating they may be absent or just running late.

The concept of office hours is also true for part time faculty. They too are obligated to have office hours. Again, where I work part time faculty are required to have two office hours a week per class that they teach.

Finally, it is possible that you may be taking classes online. As with the previous examples above, your professor is required to have office hours. Sometimes they will have e-hours, in which they will be in a specific location (i.e., their office) but will also be able to speak to individuals on the phone, through email, through a chat room or through some programs (i.e., Skype).

Number 3: Understand the Chain of Command

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Let me quickly explain the administrative structure of a college. Of course, every college is slightly different, but overall you will get the general idea.

A professor will be assigned a department (i.e., Public Health, History, Math). Within this department there will be other professors—most of these departments offer majors in their area. Each Department will have a designated leader. This leader is often referred to as the chair or head. They usually have their office in the Departmental Office area (this departmental office area may be near where your classes are being taught or it may be across campus). Typically, in these departments there are a number of support staff such as secretaries, receptionists, advisors.

Each Department is typically part of a College (or a School). These colleges and schools will have several Departments. For example, here at NMSU I’m in

the College of Health and Social Services. Besides Public Health, there’s nursing and social work. At Southern Illinois University, my Department was part of a much larger college that included around 9 academic units.

At the College level there is the designated leader called the Dean. Typically a Dean will have one or two “assistants” –called associate deans—to help with the running of the college.

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The Dean of each college reports to an individual called the Provost or Vice President of Academic Affairs. The Provost reports to the President (sometimes they are called Chancellors) of the University. The President reports to the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is a group of individuals usually appointed by the Governor of the State to oversee the operations of the university. The Board of Regents are basically volunteers…they all have regular full-time jobs. They do not get paid for their work, although they do have their expenses covered if they have to travel on the university’s behalf.

Let’s talk about the chain of command, because this is very important to understand. If you do not follow the chain of command you often will be ‘labeled’ as a trouble maker, or your concerns may not be taken seriously.

Let’s imagine that you have taken a class from Professor Jones and received a C. You are entitled to go back to Professor Jones and to talk to them about your grade (note Section 6—how to challenge a professor). You are expected to contact your professor first to see if you can get an explanation or a resolution to your concern. Professors really want you to come to them if you have a question. In most cases, the problem is resolved at that stage.

If you are not satisfied with the result of your meeting with Professor Jones, you are entitled to go to the next

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level. That next level is the Department Chair. Typically the Department Chair will work with the student and the Professor to come to some resolution.

If you still are not satisfied after meeting with the Department Chair, you have the right to go to the next level—the Dean’s office. Now, every university has a slightly different format and you should read the Student Handbook to completely understand the protocol. The good news is that about 95% of all problems are resolved after meeting with the Professor; about 99% of the problems are resolved after meeting with the Department Head…so there are few instances in which you will need to go to the Dean’s office.

If the Dean’s office doesn’t resolve the issue to your liking, you are entitled to take it to the university level.

That is the proper chain of command. Here are some things NOT to do:

Do NOT:

Go to the Department Chair without first consulting with the Professor

Go to the Dean without first consulting the Professor

Go to the Provost or President without first consulting the Professor

Contact a member of the Board of Regent without first consulting the Professor.

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Get the picture? Follow the protocol outlined and things will be fine. Do not jump ahead to the next level.

Now, of course there are some rare exceptions. If you have tried numerous times to contact the Professor with no success, certainly, go to the Department Chair.

If the Department Chair is out of the country for a month, you certainly would be permitted to contact the Dean’s office (after first consulting with the Professor).

The example I gave earlier was a grade that you felt was unfair. Follow the same protocol/procedure if anything is done in the class that you feel is unfair. For example, if you feel the test you were given was unfair, first meet with the Professor.

When a student comes to me (as the Department Head/Chair) I ALWAYS ask if they have met with their Professor. If they have not yet talked…I will instruct them to do so. It’s not that I am not interested in their concerns…but they need to follow the protocol.

Of course, if the student has met and there is no resolution I have no problem meeting with them.

Number 4: Understanding the Role of the Professor

Typically, a professor is hired at the Assistant Professor classification. They usually have about 6 years to do the things required (to be explained in this section) to get ‘promoted and tenured’ to

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Associate Professor. Tenure gives a certain amount of security to faculty member (they can’t just be fired because somebody wants them gone). The final promotion that Professors go through is what’s referred to as a Full Professor. Not every faculty member gets to this level. A full professor is expected to have very high standards (of the items described in this section). Oftentimes the title “professor” is used for a faculty member regardless of their rank. Almost ALL assistant professors, associate professors and full professors have earned a doctoral degree—most likely a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD). Some may earn other types of degrees (Doctor of Education—EdD; Doctor of Science—ScD; or, as in my field, Doctor of Public Health—DrPH). Regardless of their degree, all deserve to be recognized as Doctor. If in doubt, always use ‘Doctor X’ (or Professor X) when addressing the professor. You will note that there are very few medical doctors (MDs) who teach in higher education (and those tend to be in medical schools).

Depending on the university you attend, the role of the professor may differ. Universities are typically classified as teaching institutions, research institutions, or some combination. Depending on where the professor works, they typically have three main responsibilities: teaching, service, and scholarship/research. Let me briefly explain each:

Teaching: pretty obvious. Teaching includes the delivery of courses, advising students, helping students

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complete off-campus experiences (i.e., internships), or in the case of graduate students, helping them with their research.

Depending on the university/college, the role of teaching may vary. For example, in a community college, a full time faculty member may teach five 3-credit classes a semester. Their role is primarily to

teach.

In a place like Southern Illinois University or New Mexico State University, faculty may teach two to three 3-credit classes.

Teaching is always a priority, but in a place like SIU or NMSU, they expect other tasks from their faculty. Finally, some universities, such as the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, may only require faculty to teach one 3-credit class per semester. Although teaching is important, a university like this requires a substantial amount of effort on tasks other than teaching.

Service: Service is sharing one’s expertise with your university, community, or at the national level. Regardless of the type, almost all faculty are expected to provide some service. I don’t believe service is as highly regarded as teaching, but it nonetheless is still important.

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Let me explain how faculty provides service. The professor’s department may need somebody to go out to the community to promote their program. Thus Professor Jones may go to a local school to talk to students about their major. The university may need a professor to serve on some committee such as Library Allocation. Again, taking time to work on these committees is important for the university. It is not unusual for a professor to be serving on several such committees.

Locally, Professor Jones may share their expertise with a local agency. For example, while I was at Southern Illinois University, I served as the President of the Jackson County American Red Cross Chapter (now defunct). My public health background fit into the mission of the American Red Cross. I also worked with a variety of other agencies (i.e., American Cancer Society) sharing my expertise (i.e., speaking, surveying people, etc.). Universities like it when professors volunteer for efforts out in the community, and there may be an unspoken or underlying assumption that professors need to do this.

Finally, faculty are often involved with national efforts. In my area of interest, I have worked with individuals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. I also work with our

professional associations. One of the 15


biggest organizations in my field is the American Public Health Association. That organization needs volunteers to run the many different sections; host meetings for local public health practitioners, or work with other colleagues in preparing a white paper on some topic of interest.

Service is important for professors, especially at the national level, because it gets them recognition. Recognition is important as they proceed through the various ranks.

Scholarship/Research: Scholarship is some type of research, creative project, or some type of publication (i.e., book, journal). At larger universities, scholarship is considered a major function of a professor’s job. In exchange, larger universities often will reduce the professors’ teaching load to perhaps just one or two classes a semester.

Oftentimes this scholarship means the professor will receive a grant (money) from an outside agency to complete some work. For example, I recently received funding from the New Mexico Department of Health to help conduct a needs assessment in a local community. The monies I received helped pay for my expenses (i.e., mileage), materials, and even pay for some student help. Some grants will even pay for a professor’s salary. Remember that many (if not most) professors are given a nine month contract (August-May), and that during the summer they may not be under contract. Some

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may teach summer school, but others do not. If one is not under contract for the summer, the university and students should not expect them to report to work. Thus, if you are taking a class in the spring and you need to contact the professor a few weeks later (i.e., June), you may have to wait until August because the professor may not have a summer contract. If that is the case, and if it is important, contact the professor’s Department Chair. Most Department Chairs have a 12-month contract, which means they work through the summer.

Number 5: How to Talk to a Professor

A Professor is a highly esteemed position that deserves respect. However, remember that this person is still a human being. They often have family; they have many of the same issues that most other people will have. They are educated in a very detailed manner. For example, I had a colleague while at SIU whose academic training was specifically in Lincoln’s presidency—you can’t get more specific than that.

Yet it is important that the most critical role of the professor is to get you to think. This is one of the most joyous activities I have as a professor. I actually get paid to encourage people to think. This is becoming even more important since many high schools only focus on ‘teaching’ to the tests that states require. Thus, this is the first time you may be challenged to think outside the box. There are very few things in this world that are

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set in stone. We mostly deal with issues of gray, thus there is rarely one correct answer. The role of the professor is to provide you with skills to think through a process. And, generally speaking, professors love to talk to their students.

I say this because you may feel that you are not being given a direct answer—not because the professor doesn’t want to provide you with such, but they are trying to get you to think through the process.

So how do you talk to a professor? Of course, respect and dignity is always important. Remember the old idiom “you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”. Here are some tips:

Be nice; Be respectful (call them Dr. Jones or Professor

Jones). Even if the professor says to call them by their first name—don’t—go with Dr. Mark or Dr. Sue;

Be organized. Nothing is more frustrating from a Professor’s standpoint when the student is rambling and is not clear on what they want;

It’s okay to say “I don’t understand”. It’s okay to respectfully interrupt your professor

if you don’t understand something.

My current Dean told me a story of when he was an undergraduate. He was taking a calculus class and he showed up at the scheduled office hours of the

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professor. Another student was there with similar issues so the professor met with both of them. The professor turned to a white board and started writing out formulas. After the first step, the other student interrupted the professor to ask for clarification. My Dean was horror-struck—he thought it was totally inappropriate.

After explaining, the professor went on listing several steps. My Dean listened politely and at the end asked if it was clear. The other students said yes and left. My dean sat there with a puzzled look. The professor asked

my Dean if he had any questions. My Dean pointed to step 4 (out of 15 steps) and asked for clarification. The Professor mocked anger by saying “Why

didn’t you stop me at that point me to ask for clarification?!” My Dean, an international student, felt that would have been very disrespectful. It’s not. If you don’t understand, ask. There’s a good chance there are others who are just as confused. You are just the one courageous enough to ask.

More items to remember:

Always thank them for their help (it’s what your grandmother and mother taught you to do). These thanks can be sent in person or through an email.

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If this professor has been especially helpful, let their Department Chair know (again, either in person or through email). As a Department Head I often only speak to students who are having problems with a professor. In reality, about 98% of all students have had a great experience, yet they never come to my office to compliment the professor.

Number 6: How to Challenge a Professor

Everybody makes mistakes, even professors. How can you challenge a professor if you think there’s a mistake somewhere?

Of course, challenging anybody is always difficult so do it with respect. Similar to the items in the above section, here are some things you need to do to challenge a professor:

Be prepared. For example, if you think that the professor is deviating from the syllabus (remember, this is a contract), bring a copy of the syllabus;

Take notes to clarify the position of the professor. Later, after thanking and leaving the professor, send the professor an email once again thanking them and outlining what you think they said. Hopefully they’ll reply and correct any misunderstandings. This is also a

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documentation should the professor not remember what they said.

Keep ALL graded work until you have received your final grade. Sometimes a professor will make a clerical error in the gradebook. You can compare their grades with what you have received.

If you feel that something is unfair, do not hesitate to state it to the person (again, remember respect). Remember that you are paying for this class and you are considered a ‘consumer.’ You are entitled to a fair explanation of the issue. If the professor refuses to discuss it, you will have no choice but to talk to their Department Chair.

Do not allow yourself to be treated as a second class citizen. If you feel you are being ignored or treated as such, politely let them know that you are feeling this way. Sometimes professors do not know they are coming across this way.

Make sure you have legitimate grounds to complain. For example, I taught a class and at the end of the semester the student came to my office WITH her parents to complain about her grade. This student NEVER showed up for

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class, and although I did not have a required attendance policy, this person also turned in less than 10% of the required assignments. I sat there with the student and her parents and outlined exactly what she did to earn her ‘F’. After seeing that she failed to turn in 90% of the assignments, her parents thanked me and dragged her out of my office. I would have loved to have heard what her parents said to her.

Number 7: Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help

You are paying for a college education. Part of those dollars go for the tuition for classes and some of that money, called ‘Fees’, are for services provided to help

you succeed in college. Every college wants you to be successful, so they have created many ways to help you to succeed. Every university has a

writing lab; chances are they also have a math lab. They also have counseling centers and health services. All of these are to help you become successful. Even professors have office hours to work with you. All you need to do is to ask. So ASK!

It is also important to ask early. Do not wait until finals week to go see your professor!

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It is most likely that you will have some type of freshman orientation prior to the beginning of school. It’s important that you pay attention during this time—they will describe some of the resources available to you as a student.

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness—rather it is a sign of strength. I’ve worked with many students who know they are failing and I have encouraged them to get help. They will often respond “I want to do this myself.” My response is “OK, so after you fail the class BY YOURSELF what are you going to do?” Every university has tutors to help you with classes—especially for some of those tough classes like math, English, chemistry, and biology.

As indicated earlier, your Professors want you to be successful (at least most of them do). Don’t be afraid to ask them for help either.

In addition, within your classes you might find other students who want to form some type of study group. That’s a great idea…if you can get 4 or 5 people together you can use this group to help understand concepts. This is not a sign of weakness…it is a sign of wisdom. Even graduate students do this. I myself formed a study group to study advanced statistics when I was doing my doctoral work.

Finally, it is important to look at your time management skills. Many students can get by in high school earning

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great grades and not really spending any time studying. That isn’t going to happen in college.

I received some great advice prior to leaving for college. A friend of my older brother encouraged me to try to get all of my homework done during the day and not wait until the evening. As an athlete it was difficult (basically 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm was devoted to my running). However, I did get most of my work done during the day. It was hard, because I often had friends invite me over to the student center to shoot pool but instead I would go to the library to study.

I would encourage you to get a calendar divided by 30 minutes. Each semester fill in the absolutely essential times. For example, English 101 meets MWF 9-10—mark those times off. Do that for all of your classes and other commitment (i.e., work, athletics, eating). All of the remaining free time should be used to study.

In my case, I would have a class MWF 9-10 and 11-Noon. I would head over to the library from 10-11 to study.

Even with this approach, you are still going to have to do some studying at night (i.e., preparing for a test, finalizing a project) but overall it worked fine for me. This was really important for me because the last thing I needed to do was to burn the midnight oil after having two workouts (I did a five mile run at 6:00 am and

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between 3:00-6:00 pm I would run an additional 10-15 miles), do my weight training, stretching, etc.

Number 7: Balancing Family and College Life

This is especially critical for first-generation college students. First-generation college students are those students who are the first to go to college in their family. Now, the items below tend to be more prominent among first-generation students, but it’s important to note that this is not always true. Even those who have had parents or siblings go to college also have these issues.

College takes a lot of energy, focus, and concentration. If you are a first-generation college student, undoubtedly your parents are going to be very proud. But sometimes they may not know the amount of commitment it takes. They’ll ask questions like “Why can’t you come home this weekend?” “On Tuesday, it’s Aunt Bertha’s 39th birthday…can you come home to help celebrate?” “We (your parents) have NEVER been away from you on your birthday—you need to come home.”

These can be compelling statements, especially coming from your loving parents. Where the conflict happens is when you have an important assignment that needs to be done; or when you were hoping to attend that special college event.

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Now, of course if Aunt Bertha’s birthday is really special, you can always make arrangements. But, part of college is learning to make decisions, being on your own, and experience the college life. I do hope you enjoy college life—it’s more than just books. It’s meeting new people, being exposed to new ideas, challenging your thoughts and becoming the best possible person.

Here are some suggestions (again, this is based on nearly 4 decades of me seeing students balancing these issues):

Keep an open line of communication with your parents (i.e., letters, email, phone calls).

o Parents want to know how you are doing. However, be careful not to spend hours talking to them—this can cut into your time for studies or for other activities.

Prioritize your semester as soon as you can (and you will probably need to continue prioritizing throughout the semester). Keep your family abreast of these priorities. If they know that you have a major report due October 31 they may be less likely to pressure you to come to Aunt Bertha’s birthday party.

There are certain things that family want to keep as sacred. Events such as Thanksgiving and Christmas are so important that it may

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cause worry for parents if they don’t think you’ll be there. So, identify those events that you MUST be at and make that preparation as soon as you can so not to disrupt your studies.

Related to the item above, it’s also important that you relay to your family any events that are ‘sacred’ to you—whether it be a major project assignment, a concert you want to attend, a football game you want to be at. As important as some of the family events are, parents also need to know (and hopefully respect) your decision to participate in college events.

If you know ahead of time that you must attend a special family event, speak to your professors EARLY. Although most professors do not like it when a student misses class, most understand that there are other events in life that occur. By talking to them early enough it shows that you are responsible and you are serious about your classes. In addition, should a professor be assigning certain activities that depend on your attendance, they may be able to work around your schedule.

If you do go home to attend a special event, be sure to bring your homework with you. Enjoy your time with your family but you may need to let them know that you will need time to work on some school material. It probably wouldn’t sit well with your parents if you are in your room from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and just show

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up for Aunt Bertha to cut her cake. But if you indicate to your family that you need a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday, I would suspect most would understand.

Number 9: Attend Class

Famous actor/writer Woody Allen is credited with the following statement: “90 percent of life is just showing up.” That wisdom also fits in well with college. First and foremost SHOW UP TO YOUR CLASS (note my special comments about those taking online classes at the end of this section).

About 99% of students who have received failing grades from me were those individuals who missed a lot of classes. That doesn’t mean that one will automatically pass if they show up, but the odds are in your favor of passing if you do show up.

Besides showing up, make it a point for the professor to know your name. Even in a class of 100, occasionally go up to the professor after their lecture to ask a question. Remind them of your name (chances are, if it’s a class of 100 they won’t know or remember your name) and then ask your question.

Taking Online Classes

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There is also a very good chance that you may be taking classes online. Chances are that this will be your first adventure taking online courses. One of the inherent dangers of an online class is that it is easy to put the work off, and then feverishly try to complete the work in just a few short weeks or days. That is a recipe for disaster.

You have to be extremely organized to be successful in online classes. If you are not innately organized, then you must work hard at becoming so. I would suggest that you identify a specific time and day(s) for you to work on your online class. For example, you could select MWF 2-3 to focus ONLY on this online class (make sure you turn off all distractions). What makes online classes convenient is that this commitment could be at odd times or non-traditional days (i.e., Saturday 8-Noon). I strongly encourage you to break the responsibilities of this class into several smaller time periods (i.e., MWF 2-3).

REMEMBER…taking a class is more than just attending the lecture (or observing the online activity). You also need to read as well as complete other assignments. There is a long standing tradition that for each 1 credit of class you are taking, at LEAST 2 more hours of study is needed. Thus, if you take a 3 credit class (that meets three hours a week in class), you will need to spend an additional six hours in study time to be successful. This would include the readings, homework assignments, projects, etc. Now, some classes may require less and

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others may require more. DO NOT SHORTCHANGE your time to complete this course.

Think of college as a job. Full time work is 40 hours a week. If you take 16 hours this means you meet for 16 hours in the classroom. Using my formula above, this also means that you spend at least 32 hours outside class—that’s a whopping 48 hours a week.

If you can’t do 16 hours a semester because of other reasons (i.e., job, family), then either scale back on classes or on other responsibilities (of course some of these other options you won’t be able to scale back on). You want college to be a wonderful experience…of course you will be stressed with courses, but you don’t want to put yourself in such a position that you cannot be successful. I’ve seen too many students over these past 40 years who have hurt their college education by taking on other tasks such as work. Now, I realize people need money, but, you need to figure out a way to balance outside work with going to school. I would rather see a college student take 4 classes a semester and do well instead of take 5 classes and not do well. This may delay your graduation by a semester, but it’s worth it (remember you can also take classes during the summer).

Number 10: Limit Your Alcohol and Other Drug Use

I am writing this as a professor, not a parent. I need to remind myself of this as I write this section. As a

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parent, my thoughts are you should NEVER drink alcohol or use any other drugs. However, I need to respond based on my 40 years of teaching in higher education.

Thus, from my professional experience, my thoughts are that you should NEVER drink alcohol or use any other drugs. However, I realize that this is not a practical application. Almost all of you will partake in alcohol consumption. If you do, you need to do so responsibly.

There is plenty of research to show that people who consume alcohol are at substantial risks in having a lower grade point average, higher risk in dropping out, higher risk of being a victim of sexual assault, and higher risk of being involved in an accident. These are not things parents want to hear about, and these are not issues you want to be involved with. You have too much talent to waste it on using any drugs.

Here are some concerns:

1) Consuming too much alcohol makes one vulnerable to making bad decisions;

2) Consuming too much alcohol allows you to not be in control of yourself;

3) Consuming too much alcohol puts one in dangerous situations;

4) Consuming too much alcohol puts you at risk of serious injury

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Part of the problem is the college culture that exists with alcohol. There is a tendency for college students to ‘drink to get drunk’ (although it should be noted that this attitude exists with older adults as well). That is a dangerous activity that forces one to drink too much. In many cultures, drinking to get drunk is just totally unacceptable. In those cultures drinking is acceptable, but it’s part of an activity and not the sole purpose of the activity. For example, having a glass of wine with dinner is acceptable. In those cultures, you don’t find the horrific problems associated with alcohol abuse.

There is a big difference in the role of alcohol if you ‘drink to get drunk’ or if you have a glass of beer with a pizza. Although both include consumption, the latter tends to be less dangerous and risky. Even then you have to be careful.

When I taught personal health, I always stressed that you don’t need to be an alcoholic to have problems with alcohol. If you are at a restaurant enjoying a pizza and if you happen to drink more than you should have, you could still get in trouble. One could be stopped for DUI and that’s a whole heap of problems. This could be your first time you’ve had more than one drink…you are far from being an alcoholic—yet you are in big-time trouble.

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It is tempting as a college student to want to experiment. You don’t have your parents around to ‘control’ you; to ‘watch’ over you; to ‘make sure’ you are responsible. Part of growing up is taking the responsibility that you’ve developed in high school to the next level. Always be diligent and keep yourself under control.

Be careful that you are not in a situation where you are forced to drink more than you desire. Here is an example that is especially pertinent among guys but also a reality for gals. You are at a bar enjoying a drink with five of your best friends. The waitress brings five drinks to the table and friend ‘A’ lays down a $20 and says ‘this round is on me.’ Everybody thanks friend ‘A’ but what you need to know is that Friend ‘A’ is setting the stage for everybody to overdrink. I guarantee you that when the drinks are done, the waitress will bring another round and suddenly Friend ‘B’ pays for ‘their round.’ This goes on and on. Now it’s your turn…you feel enormous pressure to ‘buy’ your round or your friends will think you’re a cheapskate. Before you know it, you’ve had five drinks.

How do you avoid this? I certainly don’t suggest that you become a cheapskate in your friend’s minds. If you see this happening, be the ‘second’ person to buy the round, but tell the waitress you want a coke this time. You’re setting the stage to drink cokes the rest of the time. OR, if you need to excuse yourself, you have still purchased ‘your round.’

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Even if you are responsible, you may be in a situation where the person you’ve driven with may be intoxicated. It’s easy to say “I’ll drive,” but in reality, many people do not turn over their keys that easily. Fortunately most universities and communities have options to get home without driving. Be aware of those programs (they should be explained in your freshmen orientation).

Sometimes you will enter a person’s car and then realize that they are too intoxicated to drive. They are putting you, themselves, and others at serious risk. You may ask them to pull over and stop, but oftentimes they won’t listen to you. A surefire way to get them to stop is to tell them you are about to vomit (I’m being serious!). Start gagging to show them that you are about to barf. I guarantee you they will stop (nobody wants puke in their car). Once you get out, you can stay out. You can figure out some other way to get home safely (of course, don’t wait until you are out in the country to pull this trick—do it while there is still civilization).

Always keep a $20 bill hidden somewhere to use in the event you need to pay for a cab. Even if you don’t, most college communities have some arrangement with the local taxi companies. In addition, many are now taking plastic (credit/debit cards).

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Finally, if you find your roommate or floor mate who is having problems with alcohol (i.e., they drank too much), there are a couple of things to remember:

1) Don’t let them lie on their back. If they vomit they will choke to death on the vomitus. Instead, roll them on their side so the vomitus can drain.

2) Don’t hesitate to contact your Resident Assistant (most dorms have a graduate student who serves as an adult supervisor of the floor).

3) Many colleges/universities have a ‘no-fault’ system that if your roommate is completely drunk, you can call and get them medical assistance without penalty to you or the student (in most cases, alcohol consumption is illegal on college campus for those under 21). These unique programs are only interested in the safety of the student.

Every year there are numerous reports that a college student has died from alcohol intoxication. Every year there are numerous reports that a college student has been sexually assaulted because either they or the attacker was drunk. Here at NMSU three males were charged with rape of a female student. The three of them, along with the female, were drinking heavily and the three males had sex with her while she was intoxicated (note they were intoxicated also). Whether it was consensual it will not be known, but most states side with the woman that if she is intoxicated she

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cannot give consent. Thus, four students lives have been destroyed. The woman is living with the scars of the abuse and three guys will be serving time in prison. Alcohol makes people do things they normally wouldn’t do. Don’t be a victim to alcohol abuse.

Obviously most of the discussion has been on alcohol. Note that many of these same principles relate to other drug use (i.e., marijuana, cocaine, crack). The danger is that you tend to lose control of yourself when you are under the influence, or you run the risk of overdosing.

Number 11: Have Fun

I know, I said I would give you ten items. Let it be known that I always give more than what I promise—so here is the last one. Have fun in college.

I know working while in college is important and probably needed; I know you have family; I know you have many other responsibilities while in college. You need to remember that college is a time in which you grow, meet new people, and are given opportunities to truly make your own decisions. Make sure you take the time to enjoy the many activities that exist on college campuses. There are many exciting sporting events (both males and females); there are plays; there are concerts; there are lectures; there are student organizations. All are intended to help you become a better-rounded individual.

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Your parents have instilled in you a solid set of values, but in college you’ll see that there are values different than what you’ve been exposed. This doesn’t mean that you should disregard your values, but rather it is an opportunity to realize that there is a big world and there are very few things that are completely ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. There are differing values related to cultures from different regions of the country, or from other countries. There are exciting new foods to experiment with; there are stories of exotic locations throughout the country or the world. Don’t allow the values that you been instilled with to keep you from appreciating the differing values that may exist with other people.

Study hard; play hard; learn to love the great differences among people. This is what college is all about!

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Documents

How to be Successful in College