Advice from the Experts
One of the greatest challenges for incoming first year students is adapting to the increased pressures of academic life in university. The educational support structures that existed in high school are gone, and first year students can often feel alone and highly stressed.
To help students cope with their new academic challenges, Canadian University Guide 2011 asked professors this question: “if you could offer one piece of advice for students entering their first year of university, what would it be?”
Professors replied from all across Canada, offering advice to first year students in several different areas of university life.
Taking responsibility for one’s life
A number of professors stressed the need for first year students to recognize and take responsibility for themselves in their new environment.
Dr. Christopher Schneider
Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of British Columbia - Okanagan Kelowna, British Columbia
“With knowledge comes great responsibility. If acquiring a rewarding and enriching university education were easy, everyone would do so. In order to be successful, I have found that you must embrace the various lifestyle changes and challenges that come with the privileges of learning.”
Dr. Shibu Pal
Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business at Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
“The single biggest mistake first year university students make is assuming that university is just the next institution in the structured education continuum they have experienced so far: Grade 1 to Grade 12. The fact is, a university is the next step in your educational life curriculum-wise; not responsibility-wise. Indeed your role in assuming complete responsibility for your education is a dramatic and, too often, a painful departure from how it has been so far. No one will remind you of your assignments, exams, course coverage; no one will miss your absence in the class; indeed no one will miss you in the exam either. You are on your own; but there is help for you – seek it out.”
Michael O’Brien-Moran
Instructor/Program Co-ordinator, University 1, University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
“Understand that learning is a learned process. Though most of us imagine that we were born with innate strategies for acquiring information, it is more likely the case that we adopted those strategies because our experience in the world suggested that they were effective. When those strategies no longer lead to success, due to either a change in learning environment or a change in the field of study, we should seek out new ways of learning.”
Time and work organization
Other professors emphasized how important it was for first year students to organize their time and develop work habits that would allow them to work efficiently and productively.
Dr. Vanessa Warne
Associate Professor, University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
“Take advantage of office hours. Professors and Teaching Assistants set aside several hours a week to meet with students who stop by their offices with questions. Too few first-year students take advantage of this time. You don’t need an appointment but, to make the most of your time, go prepared. Make some notes about questions you want to ask; think about and share your plans for upcoming assignments; take graded assignments with you and ask questions about the feedback you received and about ways you can improve your work. Many successful upper-year students know that stopping by office hours a few times a semester to get extra help doesn’t take a lot of time or effort but does improve their work; I’d like to see more first-year students take advantage of the opportunities office hours present.”
Dr. Michael L. McIntyre
Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business
Ottawa, Ontario
Dr. McIntyre is the author of the student success guide University Matters, available at www.universitymatters.ca.
“Most students I see are perfectly capable of doing well in university. The ones who have problems are those who neglect to follow this basic advice - for each of the 13 or so weeks in a term, block out your class time, your deliverables and the time needed to complete the deliverables. Actually colour it in, using different colours for different activities (i.e. green for class time, red for preparation time, etc). The time not blocked out is for sleeping and whatever else you want to do with it. Then, and only then, decide what to do with that time, but make sure enough of it is allocated to sleep and exercise.
If there is any time left over, that's your social life. All too often, students indulge themselves in the illusion that if they blow a little time now, they can make up for it later on. Often, this just isn't true because most of us cannot speed up reading, or writing a paper, or many of the other things asked of us in university courses. So first year students must do the work first, at least until they develop a really good sense of how long it actually takes to get things done.”
Using textbooks to study properly
University textbooks are much more complex than high school textbooks, and require more effort from students to understand their content. Dr. Barbara J. Phillips and Dr. Fred Phillips conducted an in-depth research study of 172 undergraduate students, from different backgrounds, who were enrolled in an introductory financial accounting course. The study generated the following advice for students about using their textbooks.
Dr. Barbara J. Phillips
Rawlco Scholar in Advertising?
Professor of Marketing
Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Read the chapters to learn rather than just to get through them. Learning doesn’t miraculously occur just because your eyes have skimmed all the assigned lines of the textbook. You have to think and focus while reading to ensure that you sink the material into your understanding and memory. Use the learning objectives in the text to focus on what’s really important in each chapter.
Don’t get discouraged if you initially find some material challenging to learn. At various times, both the best and weakest students describe themselves as “confused” and “having a good grasp of the material,” “anxious” and “confident,” and “overwhelmed” and “comfortable.” The simple fact is that learning new material can be challenging and initially confusing.
Success does not appear to depend as much on whether you become confused as it does on what you do when you become confused.
Clear up confusion as it arises. A key difference between the most and least successful students is how they respond to difficulty and confusion. When successful students are confused or anxious, they immediately try to enhance their understanding through rereading, self-testing, and seeking outside help if necessary. In contrast, unsuccessful students try to reduce anxiety by delaying further reading or by resorting to memorizing without understanding. Aim to clear up confusion when it arises because, in most subjects, your understanding of later material depends on your understanding of earlier material.
Think of reading as the initial stage of studying. Abandon the idea that “studying” only occurs during the final hours before an exam. By initially reading with the same intensity that occurs when later reviewing for an exam, you can create extra time for practicing exercises and problems. This combination of concentrated reading and extensive practice is likely to contribute to better learning and superior exam scores.
Personal growth and development
Dr. Fred Phillips
Professor and Baxter Scholar
Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
University is a time for growth. Personal, social, and intellectual. You will experience a great deal of freedom, but with that freedom you will be expected to act responsibly. Be sure you think before you act. Set priorities, and plan your activities so that you are able to do your best on what’s most important. Realize that your success in university will be judged by many, including your parents, friends, and potential employers. These people will be interested not only in your academic performance in university courses, but also the qualities that you develop and show to others outside of class. Sure, strive for excellent grades, but also judge yourself by whether you have become a more responsible, caring, and thoughtful individual. Find a role model or mentor, and choose activities through which you will help others and develop you into the person you want to become.