Are Yous A College Advisor? Yous Improve Believe It!
Friday, July 12, 2019
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So directly yous ask, “Where’s my commencement paycheck for my advising services?” Hmmm, good that’s non going to tumble out for a few to a greater extent than years assuming yous follow that education/career path; nonetheless since you’re directly a seasoned Reynolds student, they volition travel hollo for for your advice about, well, college. The ubiquitous “they” may travel underclassmen from your onetime high school, “they” may friends as well as draw solid unit of measurement members, and/or “they” may travel the guys yous function with. They are those who populate 1 or to a greater extent than of your ain data networks.
Most people bring the often-used 4 give-and-take formula for success, i.e., “make yourself to a greater extent than useful,” which oft involves getting to a greater extent than education. As they laid about to mean value close their educational options, Reynolds is for certain on the radar covert for those who alive inwards as well as around Greater Richmond. So they’ll travel hollo for yous questions like, “Does Reynolds offering fill-in-the-blank program?” “What’s it cost to become to Reynolds?” “How are the teachers?” “Is it hard?” etc., etc., until they acquire to, “How practise I acquire off to a adept start?” as well as this is where yous tin actually smooth equally someone’s college advisor.
In the sentiment of this writer, the 3 most of import items on the how-do-I-get-a-good-start listing include,
1. Take your college placement tests for reading, writing as well as math, as well as follow the recommendations.
2. Before your classes start, participate inwards a FREE Reynolds orientation programme such equally SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising, as well as Registration) or a SOAR derivative. These programs are exclusively a few hours inwards length but they tin travel THE decisive component inwards getting a adept start.
3. During your commencement semester include SDV100-College Success Skills inwards your schedule of classes. Don't travel tempted to blow this cast off equally inconsequential because at that topographic point is solid evidence that students who bring this course of instruction as well as bring it seriously merely practise amend inwards terms of grades as well as persistence. An fifty-fifty amend agency to bring this course of instruction is when it’s linked upwardly amongst some other course of instruction to cast what’s called a “learning community.”
Uh Oh! A novel term has exactly been introduced; what is a “learning community”? A learning community (LC) is when 2 course of instruction sections inwards the same semester are linked together as well as the same students enroll inwards both course of instruction sections. Professors function together to coordinate assignments, content, as well as improve crossover learning betwixt the courses. WHY? Just equally amongst SDV 100, students tend to practise amend inwards as well as equally a lawsuit of LC participation. They’re happier, to a greater extent than engaged inwards their classes too equally amongst their professors as well as amongst other students.
One of Reynolds most pop learning communities links SDV100 amongst ENG111 (Composition Skills I) as well as this LC is branded equally “Getting a Clue” or merely “Clue.” As yous may suspect ENG111 is equally writing course of instruction hence past times linking ENG111 amongst SDV100, students are able to reinforce the college success as well as survival skills discussed inwards SDV100 past times writing close them inwards ENG111. Think of synergy. Clue volition assistance its students along the path to making sure critical life choices (like picking a major, a career, or a transfer college) past times teaching how to prepare goals, improve productivity, as well as prepare the habits needed to ensure success inwards schoolhouse as well as inwards life. Reynolds’ Clue LC was awarded the Virginia Community College System’s first-place honors for Excellence inwards Education inwards the bound of 2010. Keep upwardly the adept function guys.
Somewhere inwards a higher identify I mentioned your data networks. Another affair that these LCs tend to attain is helping students to cast their ain reliable data networks; which is merely an outgrowth of enrolling the same grouping of students inwards 2 (or occasionally more) course of instruction sections. These students run into each other twice equally often as well as it gets easier to pick out who’s reliable as well as who’s exactly taking upwardly a topographic point inwards class, as well as and then to approach some other pupil (hopefully 1 of the reliable ones!) to cast a report grouping or inquire close a homework assignment. So a straight practise goodness to yous of these learning communities is that your gang volition halt bugging yous amongst all these questions when they laid about to purpose their ain newly-formed data networks!
The next quotes come upwardly from 3 of Reynolds’ Clue LC students,
This cast actually did restore my confidence inwards both my writing as well as myself. The realization that I’m going to acquire inwards in college, that I tin practise this, is priceless to me as well as I’m hence grateful.
I guide maintain establish myself, for the commencement time, opened upwardly to the discoveries of noesis that college tin provide. As I guide maintain come upwardly to realize, college is non close grades or tests (though their importance is non lost on me), but rather beingness able to opened upwardly your hear to the possibilities of farther ways of thinking… I guide maintain learned to a greater extent than close myself inwards 4 months than I had inwards the previous twenty-one years.
Honestly, if I hadn’t taken this LC I would yet travel next the path of something that exactly wasn’t correct for me. It’s intimidating to company off the path as well as out of a career that I idea was correct for me, but I know that it is necessary. All of these years I was real unopen minded close thoughts of other careers as well as possibilities.
Charlie Peterson is Assistant Dean of Educational Support Services, Professor as well as Director of Learning Communities at Reynolds Community College
