Strategies to succeed academically at SC State

In order to succeed in college, there are certain strategies that you need to have. You need to know how to study well, get to class on time, organize your homework, as well as prioritize your study time for quizzes, tests, and exams. Also, as the semester progresses, you might be showing up later to class rather than on time. I wanted to know what strategies that SC State professors, as well as a student, would suggest to the university’s student body. According to lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu, "Setting goals for each semester can be a highly effective strategy to help you keep your academic priorities in check. The SMART approach involves ensuring that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Here is an example of a SMART goal: Specific goal: Set aside at least one hour a day to read assigned course materials. Measure your progress daily by tracking your time through a study app (measurable). Ensure your goal is attainable by letting your friends and family know that you are unavailable during this set time and, if possible, turn off your phone. This goal is relevant because it will allow you to consistently stay on top of your readings, so you're prepared for class discussions and other coursework. This goal is timely because it allows you to track your progress daily, weekly, or monthly."

I asked two faculty members these questions: how students can organize themselves to complete their homework on time, besides faculty, who else can students ask to help them with their homework as well as study for quizzes and exams, and how can students prevent themselves from missing their classes. I asked a student these questions: how you organize yourself to complete your homework on time, who do you usually ask to help you with your homework and studying for quizzes and exams, and how do you prevent yourself from missing classes.

I asked Mr. Smith, who is a communications professor at SC State, how can students organize themselves to complete their homework on time. He said, "Make sure that you map out what you need to do and prioritize certain things, such as what I need to do most first, and then afterwards. I also asked Mr. Smith, besides faculty, who else can students ask to help them with their homework as well as study for quizzes and exams. He said, "At SC State, there are a lot of different resources, such the office of student success and also asking peers to help them. You can create study groups, use library resources as well as online resources." The last question that I asked was how students can prevent themselves from missing their classes. He said, "That's a hard question. I would say that students would have to prioritize coming to class. Once you prioritize that, then everything else will fall in line."

I asked Dr. Luke, who is the Director Office of International and National Student Exchange Programs, the previous questions. These are his responses. "Students need to develop a weekly schedule of all their activities from the time they wake up, to the time they go to bed for each day. They should designate specific times to do their homework, knowing that each hour for class they should be putting in two hours of study, including completing homework; Students should go to the student’s success center and seek help from tutors. There also some faculty that offer tutoring in their departments or recitals. and some departments have students support units in their departments; Students must be dedicated and committed to their classwork. Its a personal discipline commitment situation when it comes to students going to their classes. Students have to be committed to going to classes knowing that they are going to do better if they go compared to if they don't go."

I asked Emanuel Washington, who is a senior communications major at SC State, the previous questions. These are his responses. "I plan out the work that I have to do for the rest of the week, and then I see the due dates that their on so I know the pace that I want to do it at, or which class that I want to prioritize over another class. Then I make sure that certain household things are taken care off, so when its time to do my homework their are no distractions, or anything that would prevent me from doing so. I just need to take care of this stuff, like taking out the trash and cleaning the dishes, so that I can focus on my homework; My go to when I need help with homework, as well as studying for quizzes and exams is my classmate, Chantelle Simpkins. She is a very resourceful person and very smart, so when in need that is the first person I ask for help. The second person that I would see for help is you. You’re a person who maintains your grades well, you take school seriously, so you and Chantelle are my go to people when I need help with my homework; I set alarms in order to wake up on time. Since I work out, and have other prior commitments, waking up on time for certain things is definitely number one priority. Another thing that I do is plan my day ahead of time. For example, today is Sunday, so I have already planned Monday and Tuesday, between work, school and working out. This way, I know when I'm going to get stuff done. Also, I check my emails. Sometimes class gets cancelled and other things are subject to change, so I check my emails a lot and try to stay updated on things and try to maintain my schedule. Since I'm busy at times, checking my email can be resourceful."

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