A recent student advising meeting really got me thinking. Although there is hope that we may be turning a corner with Covid (or just getting used to this new normal), there is also a Covid aftermath many are facing right now. An aftermath that is a result of the impact of two years of unexpected life changes, disruption, and anxiety. Like so many, my student started college expecting the “old,” or pre-pandemic normal, but about the time he was feeling somewhat acclimated on campus, March 2020 came along and college became defined by Zoom. It is hard to fully digest this. His college life turned into Zoom...how could that be??? And the impact of this sudden and profound change meant he was changed forever. Class engagement through Zoom was particularly challenging for him. It was harder to concentrate, harder to participate, harder to ask questions, harder to connect with classmates, harder to motivate to do work, harder to study with the ever present distractions of technology, harder, harder, harder. Two years later, this student is doing everything he can to figure out how to change his college habits, to better manage his time, improve his study strategies, pull away from distractions, and also pull up his grades so he can get off academic probation. Before saying more, I do want to acknowledge that colleges did what they could to figure out this new and unchartered territory of fully virtual learning environments. And nuggets of good news emerged, with some students thriving even better in this type of class setting. But I want to focus on the aftermath for those trying to pick up the difficult pieces of an unexpected college life.   In this aftermath, there is grief. Grief in what could have been and then the shocking reality of what actually happened. Grief in an expectation of college life that was dashed in merely a few days. Grief in the extended period of disruption that meant months and years of different, not just days and weeks. In the speediness of life, many have not taken a moment to acknowledge, let alone feel, this grief. I hope anyone reading will take some time to reflect on the grief that might still be lingering, maybe with a friend, counselor, mentor, or through journal writing. It’s okay to be angry, sad, and feel frustrated. Sitting in the grief rather than ignoring it can often help us let go of those difficult feelings and truly put the past behind us, or at least provide an opportunity for some healing. Another challenge in the aftermath of Covid is lingering anxiety. College anxiety is already ever present on campuses as students manage new college expectations, challenging coursework, being away from home for the first time, balancing school, work and family life all at the same time, etc. Many of us have to manage underlying levels of anxiety to begin with. Then you add Covid to the mix and anxiety can really invade the mind and body. My anxiety escalated during this period and took me back to my sophomore year of college when anxiety took over and I almost left college. It was an incredibly difficult and lonely time, but thanks to the gentle urging of a college instructor, I found my way to a mental health counselor and a career counselor who became a lifelong mentor. These essential supports made it possible for me to share my struggles with a classmate who was going through a similar experience and felt ashamed that she too couldn’t seem to “handle” college. I found that regular river walks and rehearsals for a singing group (my personal versions of meditation) made a big difference in helping me turn the corner too. Why share this? Well, I recently realized that these very same strategies helped tame my Covid anxiety – consistent mental health support, seeking help from my mentor, honest friendships, walks outside with a new puppy, and joining a church choir.  How lucky was I to have a college instructor who could really see what was going on for me? That one compassionate conversation helped me lift the mask I was wearing (that everything was fine) and find my way to essential resources I didn’t know much about and was honestly too proud to seek out. I could then face my anxiety instead of hiding it and recognize that I was suffering and getting low grades, not for lack of effort, but for lack of understanding how I could really help myself. I became open to learning new strategies for coping, which meant I was better able to handle college work. It’s not always easy to know what students need, but honest check-ins can allow them to be more vulnerable and see that they not only deserve the help, but that it is essential to figure out what works given the many resources and options out there. This could mean they too find lifelong strategies that make new challenges, like Covid, easier to manage. And improving health and wellness frees up mental space for college students to focus more fully on what is happening in the present. And so I want to bring us back to the present. By finding ways to stay more present in each moment of our lives, I think it is easier to actually manage what life hands us and remain resilient in the aftermath of difficult situations. And college life in all its excitement and all its challenge hands you so much to manage. The ability to be more present can help with critical thinking, concentration, deep learning, studying, relationships, self-care, and much more – all things that feed into college success and enjoyment. My student has fortunately found a good support system and as a result, he is staying more present to how he can make positive changes for himself. I have told him to take pride in all that he is handling in the aftermath of Covid, and I hope you all do the same. ... View more

Whether you find yourself teaching in-person or online this term, the need to promote social belonging remains a high priority.  I say this based on what we know from the extant literature on college student success and retention [1],[2],[3] – that a sense of belonging is associated with improved student well-being, academic engagement, and performance. I also say this based on my own research examining college student adjustment and barriers during COVID-19 [4] – that students struggled with social connections and building relationships early on during COVID and continue to struggle.  Moreover, research shows that social belonging is especially important for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds; those who felt more connected to their college reported greater self-worth, social acceptance, scholastic competence, and had fewer depressive symptoms. [5]   But what exactly is social belonging?  A sense of belonging is a subjective perception of inclusion and connectedness to any or all aspects of the learning environment.  This can be a connection to peers, faculty, staff, student organizations, an academic department, or the institution as a whole.  Many students will question their social belonging.  That questioning can be a normal part of the college transition experience as students develop an identity and explore their interests, majors, and careers.  However, it should not be a normal experience for a student to feel unwelcome, unsafe, excluded, or disrespected. As faculty, we can help students build connections within and outside of the classroom. We can also keep an eye out for students who may be struggling with a sense of belonging and intervene.        Ideas for Promoting Social Belonging   Connect students with resources to meet their basic needs (so they can then fulfil social needs) Post links to Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Counseling Services, Student Health, etc. Provide information about your institution’s COVID policies, testing/reporting protocols, and any emergency aid (e.g., healthcare, housing, food insecurity, transportation) Identify on-campus resources for accessing broadband and digital services Take the “temperature” of your class and help normalize student experiences by using a word cloud generating tool (e.g., Poll Everywhere) Share free online applications that can assist with: Meditation (Headspace, Insight Timer) Slow, controlled breathing (ReachOut Breathe, Serenita) Sleep (iSleep Easy) Mood (Headspace) Happiness (Happify: For Stress & Worry) Relaxation (Pacifica)  Self-care (SuperBetter is a free video-game style app in which users create a secret identity and progress through the game by completing quests that are self-care activities) Managing distressing thoughts and feelings (Woebot is an AI-powered chatbot that guides users through managing distressing thoughts and feelings with principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD Coach is for service members who may be experiencing symptoms of PTSD)   Communicate more often and more intentionally Videotape and post brief, weekly pre-class introductions or post-class summaries Reach out to students who don’t typically initiate contact to check-in Find upper class student volunteers to serve as peer mentors to your class My peer mentor meets with a small group of students twice a month via Zoom Create a class Facebook Page to broadcast updates, alerts, and college activities Use Twitter as a class message board to post reminders for assignment due dates or share inspirational quotes and helpful links to practice quizzes or resources Create a YouTube channel for your class and have student students upload a YouTube “short” Give students a virtual TikTok tour of your office Use live and interactive polling tools to engage students (e.g., iClicker, Mentimeter, Kahoot, etc.)   Facilitate student interaction in and out of the classroom Have students create and deliver a 3-Minute elevator pitch Assign weekly online discussion posts (via Canvas or Blackboard) Use Instagram for photo essays and digital storytelling (class-specific Instagram accounts) Create a class blog and assign blog posts as essays Initiate a class specific Pinterest board for students to curate a digital bibliography for research projects, papers, or group assignments Require small groups to use Google Docs to record their discussions and turn in Ask students to create brief TikTok video clips to explain a concept or theory to the rest of the class; post or watch in class and have classmates provide feedback Prepare students for their career by having them register for LinkedIn and build professional networks and connections   References   Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Harper, S. R., & Quaye, S. J. (2015). Student engagement in higher education: Theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations (2nd Ed.). New York: Routledge. Tinto, V. (1988). Stages of student departure: Reflections on the longitudinal character of student leaving. Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 438-455.  Hill, K.C., & Metz, A.J. (in preparation). Academic, relational, and socio-emotional factors of adjustment and barriers faced in first-year college students during COVID-19. Gummadam, P., Pittman, L. D., & Joffe, M. Ioffe (2016) School Belonging, Ethnic Identity, and Psychological Adjustment Among Ethnic Minority College Students, The Journal of Experimental Education, 84:2, 289-306.   ... View more

*Note: This blog was originally posted on 9/16/2020 in the Student community A recent college grad talks to author John Gardner about the effects of COVID-19 on academia and beyond.   I was granted the unique opportunity to chat with an educator, acclaimed author, and change maker, John N. Gardner. John is a university professor and administrator, student retention specialist, and first-year students' advocate at the University of South Carolina. Our conversation was based on the changes the world has faced in the wake of COVID-19. John was able to strategize with me, as a graduating senior, on how to combat the changes in higher education and the job market. He listened to my story: I had come from a small school in south-central Kansas. I had studied exercise science, psychology, and global studies in my time at KU. I had cast a wide net as far as applying for jobs from international education, higher education, strength and conditioning, and, of course, publishing and online learning platforms like Macmillan Learning. He suggested three core things: take care of yourself, advocate for yourself, and prepare yourself as best as you possibly can. CARE “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” - Michelle Obama Putting yourself best foot forward starts by putting yourself first. Taking a walk, calling a friend, making a nutritious meal, limiting social media consumption, playing fetch with the dog, are just a few ways to take time for yourself. Implementing self-care techniques allow you to put the best version of yourself forward to your friends, family, and possible employers. John encouraged creating a routine with sleep, exercise, and health as priorities will allow this change of lifestyle to become second nature. ADVOCATE “Fortune favors the bold” - Latin proverb Being bold means reaching out to those you have built a network with, cold calling a company you would love to join, and show people not only your certifications and degrees but your soft skills. John suggested taking inventory of those you have networked with and reaching out to them in order to move forward with your career. For me, I have a network at KU which can help me find openings in higher education and international education and I have a network of contacts at Macmillan Learning from sales to marketing to publishing to online learning. Those individuals are familiar with my ability to work in a team, to be flexible, to resolve conflict, and to problem solve in a way a resume would not accurately reflect. I can utilize this network to find openings in the fields that interest me. PREPARE “Chance favors the prepared mind” - Louis Pasteur John references this quote multiple times in our chat. Preparing for whatever the next few months will bring is daunting and uncertain. However, it is comforting to know many others are also in a similar position. Preparing yourself with being as educated, as read, as researched as possible can allow for the best possible outcome. ‘Doing your homework’ is vital to making the most out of an interview, an email correspondence, or a call with someone in your network. You can talk about their work and how you may fit into it. Above all else, you can expand your knowledge of a subject by doing this research. So, when the hiring manager reviews two similar resumes, your exceptional knowledge of a relevant subject or the way you were able to carry the conversation in an educated way, will allow what would have been a 50/50 chance, to turn in your favor. Chatting with John gave me a much more positive outlook on graduating as a college senior amidst COVID-19. His years of experience working with students and honing their potential allowed him to workshop three simple, attainable goals for me to work toward in the coming months. Your present circumstances don't determine your potential, they just determine your starting point. The Class of 2020 may be entering an era of uncertainty, insecurity, and anxiety. However, overcoming this chapter in history will forever change the way we navigate our lives from here forward.     WRITTEN BY Katherine McGaughey University of Kansas Katie is a senior who is double-majoring in exercise science and psychology at the University of Kansas. Originally from Wichita, she loves exploring new cities and has traveled to eight of the top twenty most influential cities in the world so far. She loves cooking and finding the best vegan eats. You can usually find her in planning her next adventure, enjoying a concert with friends, or late-night studying at the library. ... View more

I need some validation.  Is it just me, or are the tensions, frustrations, anger, and divisiveness in our society being played out in the classroom?  Although my class was held via Zoom this week, I could see it and feel it.  And so could the students.  In fact, I got an apology e-mail the day after class from one student who labeled her own behavior as disrespectful and dismissive.    I know my students want to talk about what’s happening in the world and how it’s impacting them but these conversations can be difficult dialogues that necessitate empathy, respect, and an acceptance of diverse lived experiences, ideas, values, forms of expression, and ways of being.  Are my students ready for that?  And an even bigger question, am I?  Can I facilitate these conversations without harming anyone? I’ve been reading, reflecting, and talking to my colleagues about how to create a safe space to address important issues of diversity and multiculturalism.  I’ve decided to start small.  First, I think it’s important to help students build self-awareness about their own unconscious biases.  This can be a springboard for conversations about how biases develop and how they can lead to stereotypes, microaggressions, and discrimination.  Second, I think it’s important for students to get to know each other on a deeper level and listen to each other’s stories.  This can build empathy and respect and, hopefully, tolerance for differences.    Building Self-Awareness To build self-awareness, I think it can be helpful to introduce the idea that we all have thoughts and feelings outside our conscious awareness and control (hidden biases).  Project Implicit is a non-profit organization created by researchers at the University of Washington, Harvard University, and the University of Virginia.  They provide an online Implicit Association Test with feedback (see https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html).  This can be a great in-class or out-of-class activity to prompt reflection and discussion.  After taking the test, you can have students describe their own self-understanding of the attitude or stereotype that the test measures.  You can then introduce the concepts of stereotypes, microaggressions, and discrimination. Another activity to help students think about their stereotypes and biases of others is to complete the “How Comfortable Am I?” worksheet (pgs. 8-9 of the “Diversity Activities Resource Guide” https://www.uh.edu/cdi/diversity_education/resources/activities/pdf/diversity%20activities-resource-guide.pdf).  This guide was compiled by the University of Houston, Center for Diversity and Inclusion and includes activities from the tolerance.org website.  I’ve had students complete this worksheet and break into small groups to discuss how comfort level might relate to biases or stereotypes, then brainstorm ways to better understand and challenge those beliefs.           Developing Empathy One of my doctoral students who taught a “Strategies for College Success” course for international students designed a really wonderful assignment for helping students get to know each other yet also build empathy and respect for differences.  She called it the “Twelve Statements Project” and said she learned about the activity in a book by psychologist Sam Gosling titled Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.  For the assignment, students are asked to describe themselves with 12 photographs or images they feel comfortable sharing – each on their own PowerPoint slide.  They then present these images to the class in a 10-minute slideshow.  Every course evaluation of this instructor reflected the meaningfulness of this particular assignment.  So much so, that I encourage all my instructors to incorporate this activity into their courses.    Finally, there is a very popular and powerful TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story” (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare) that can be used to validate cultural misunderstandings and our sometimes limited perspectives of other people.  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses her own personal experience growing up in Nigeria as well as her experience in America to explain how “the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.  They make one story the only story.” Adichie is funny, vulnerable, and calls us to action to seek out alternative stories.  Following the Ted Talk, students can be encouraged to reflect on examples of “single stories” in their personal life, in their education, or even in the news. I hope these ideas are helpful or even spark other ideas for how you can create a safe space in your classroom to address diversity and promote tolerance and inclusion. ... View more

by Andrea Brenner and Lara Schwartz The transition from high school—and life at home—to college can be stressful for students and their families, and nothing in the college admissions process prepares students for it. Colleges are reporting an increase in underprepared first-year students at startling rates. How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There) is here to help. Authors Andrea Malkin Brenner and Lara Schwartz guide first-year students to thrive in the transition process, in high school, during the summer after high school graduation, and throughout their first year on campus. How to College is the first student-facing practical guide of its kind on the market. It draws on the authors’ experiences teaching and working with thousands of first-year college students over decades. The comprehensive guide offers invaluable advice from college insiders to college-bound students, emphasizing the student’s ultimate self-reliance. The book is filled with important resources needed to set the foundation of success at the collegiate level including lessons and activities on money; time and self-management; co-curricular and civic-engagement experiences; navigating relationships with family and friends back at home and roommates and peers on campus; exploring new college identities; finding one's voice inside and outside of the classroom; health, wellness and safety; and the importance of finding mentors for support in this life transition. Colleges can use this book during the first year of college as… ...the basis for a first-year experience course. How to College addresses the full college experience, including college academic standards; maintaining physical and mental health and wellness; financial literacy and budgeting; moving to a new community; and engaging in college life in and out of the classroom. ...a guide for peer leaders and resident assistants. Research shows that peer leaders are among the best mentors for first-year students. These successful college students become adept at using college resources and mastering college-level skills, but by definition they do not have decades of experience dealing with the full range of challenges and pitfalls that are common to the first-year experience. They can benefit from a text that includes simple descriptions of these challenges and straightforward advice from experts that they can use to demystify the college experience in language that their student mentees will understand. ...a resource for residence life, counseling center, and orientation staff. Staff will find useful approaches to common first-year pitfalls and challenges. At most campuses, these staff do not have extensive contact with faculty. Written by two professors, How to College provides staff with the faculty point of view on matters such as study skills, writing, professionalism, reading, and academic integrity. The book creates a bridge between faculty and the student-facing staff who are charged with supporting students. This book can also benefit students before college starts in the following ways: Advising programs. Many colleges connect incoming students with an academic adviser, increasingly a first-year adviser, in the spring of their senior year of high school. This first contact is an excellent time to introduce How to College- including by sending it with other materials. Advisers can direct students to these exercises: Setting up and getting comfortable with the school’s technology systems, including email, library research tools, and learning management systems like Blackboard and Canvas;  Making good use of academic support services such as supplemental tutoring, writing centers, and resources for international students and students with disabilities; and  Sending professional emails.  Residence and campus life staff are in contact with incoming college students during the summer following high school graduation. Residence life programs pair roommates and suite-mates and build living and learning communities long before students arrive on campus. Students are “meeting” and interacting on social media and through email before orientation, and without the college professionals’ support. How to College has great tools to help students build these new relationships from the start, including:  Advice about how to have a first conversation with your new roommate(s);  Tips to prepare for a successful, low-conflict move-in day;  Activities to prepare students to live and learn in a diverse community. For example, we encourage students to learn about the student body’s backgrounds, demographics, and circumstances; to read books or articles by authors who have different points of view than their own; to attend an event that exposes them to a new idea or culture; and to reflect upon their own listening and communication skills and habits. Summer bridge programs for particular cohorts of college students. How to College is a pre-made “bridge” program that can form the basis of in-person programming. It includes materials of particular interest to the college cohorts that summer bridge programs most often serve: international students, first-generation students, low-income students, and students with disabilities.  Admissions and orientation programs can suggest How to College as a pre-orientation read or send it to incoming students with welcome materials.  Tutoring centers working with high school seniors on academic high school transitions can use How to College as a textbook, assigning activities from the book to their students. Of particular interest would be the information presented on: How to read an academic journal Reading without technology distractions Writing a persuasive college paper Using sticky notes for higher-level note-taking Common reads programs expose the entire incoming class to one common text. How to College can be a unique common read in that it exposes students to a series of shared summer experiences, not only a shared book. Students read the text and also engage with a wide variety of useful learning experiences in preparation for their college transition. Common Reads programs can assign students to complete particular activities- for example, setting personal goals as a communicator, participating in a new cultural activity, or taking a financial literacy course-- over the summer. Once on campus, they can then engage students in conversations about the experiences, making college preparation collaborative. For more information on How to College, go to our trade website at us.macmillan.com/books. ... View more

“I am passionate about study skills, and I bet you’re wondering how that’s possible…”  I always start my classes this way and most students either laugh out loud or look at me in disbelief. Then I explain that I am passionate about study skills because they saved me. I struggled mightily my first and second years of college, especially in Economics, and I was close to failing. I was struggling in other classes, too, including a Science requirement. It was the first time I had ever seen my grades so low and I hid by not telling a soul. But a teaching assistant who really cared noticed that my tireless efforts didn’t mesh with my grades. He told me that I wasn’t stupid, I just hadn’t been taught how to manage college level work. I needed study skills support.  He was right, and I got help from my college’s academic resource center. I learned how to change my old habits, which ultimately changed my life. I finally felt like I could “do” college; that I wasn’t the mistake. Over time I learned there were “college ways” to becoming a true critical thinker that meant I studied more deeply, wrote papers more analytically, debated more effectively, and simply learned a whole lot more.  So yes, I am passionate about study skills, but it can be difficult to instill this passion in students. And I get it. Study skills topics like time management, setting goals, critical thinking, taking notes, test taking, etc., are simply not thrilling. Many students think they already have study skills so they don’t see the point in a class dedicated to them. On top of it, study skills are very personal in that we all have individual learning styles and preferences so there isn’t a “one size fits all” approach.  Which gets me to the real reason I’m writing this blog post: to share a number of approaches that instructors can take when teaching study skills. I believe there are opportunities to meaningfully engage students in study skills topics if self-reflection and personalization are built into the curriculum. When the topics start mattering to students, they are more likely to walk away interested, willing, and able participants. But, it is very hard to “teach” study skills because they are so personal and individual.  And this is how the Instructor’s Manual for  The Pocket Guide to College Success  came about. It was developed as a way to offer very specific tools for instructors to consider as they plan for each class, with the goal of actually engaging students and helping them find their own “passion” for the topics. You’ll see that the Instructor’s Manual is filled with ideas focused on individuself-reflection through journal writing, small and large group discussions (starting with small group discussion channels, which can be more meaningful than large group discussions), relevant guest speakers, hands-on activities, and online videos and discussion boards.  In reality, there are probably too many ideas in this manual. It’s not possible to use every activity or suggestion and I honestly have not been able to use every single one in my own teaching. But, I always revisit the manual when I am preparing for each class because I know I must use a variety of strategies to keep the students engaged in the topic at hand. I have a pattern of always including time for written self-reflection, asking students to share with one or two others about their personal experiences, and providing opportunities for those willing to open up to the larger group. I try to talk less and listen more. And ideally, I dedicate at least ten or more minutes for students to apply the study skills to the academic work they are currently engaged in. It’s a lot to fit in, but I hope it means I am making the material accessible to all students given the variety of learning preferences represented in each class.  Authenticity also matters. It’s important to be real about your own experiences if they are relevant. If that’s not possible, I try to bring in “experts” who can speak more deeply about the focus of class and personalize the material, especially experienced peers who have truly been there. I don’t sugarcoat the often challenging and difficult parts of college, especially since my students come from academically disadvantaged backgrounds. The more honest I can be, the more likely students will be honest about their own struggles. And that is such an important opening because the information now matters to them. They then become more willing to make the effort to try out new study skills strategies that can really help them tackle and overcome their college obstacles.  I don’t ever promise that students will suddenly become passionate about study skills. But I do promise that if they actually take study skills seriously, they will increase their chances of true learning and engagement in those college subjects they are passionate about! And that means more personal growth and college success! The Pocket Guide to College Success provides straightforward and easily consumable coverage on all the topics typically found in a full-size College Success text in a handy, affordable, highly-customizable format. For more information on the Pocket Guide, please go to www.macmillanlearning.com. ... View more

Matthew L. Sanders is an Associate Professor of communication studies and an Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Science at Utah State University. He holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Matt conducts research in the areas of nonprofit organizations and student empowerment and his work has been published in academic journals in communication, business, and public administration. He is the author of the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education, which is used in First Year Experience programs at several universities. Tell us about one initiative you are currently working on that you are really excited about.   I’m working on a project to infuse the idea of becoming an educated person into our general education curriculum so students will hear that important message more times than just their FYE course. I think general education reform is the next step in improve the first year of college.   What motivates you to work in college success?   College can be a transformative experience. It was for me; I wouldn’t be who I am without it. I want to do what I can to help it be a great experience for all students.   What advice would you have given to your younger self as you embarked on your first year in college?   To remember that the overall goal is to become an educated person and to worry less about what major I might choose. And I would take more classes that would really challenge me and stretch my abilities.   What are some trends and developments you are currently seeing in the college success/First-Year Experience course?   There is a trend toward focusing on helping students understand the “why” behind everything. It’s just starting, but people get it. Our textbooks of the future won’t just have a short chapter on it or treat it as self-evident. The premise of our work will be to infuse meaning into how students view college.   What did you enjoy the most about writing Becoming a Learner?   Writing in my teacher voice. Rather than write as an academic writes to other academics, I was able to write and in a way speak directly to the reader in the same way I do in my classroom. That made the writing exciting and meaningful. And I think that’s why so many students respond well to it.   And on a personal note...   What book has influenced you the most?   Parker Palmer’s book, The Courage to Teach, had a big impact on me as a brand new teacher. It made me realize that teaching is about connection.   What is something you want to learn in the next year (related to higher education or otherwise)?   I want to learn how to lead change among my peers at my university.     If you hadn't pursued your current career, what do you think you would have done?   I would have worked in training and development.   What is your ideal vacation?   A guided fly fishing trip to Alaska.   Tell us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people may know.   I speak Spanish. ... View more

It’s #TechTuesday! Here are 10 useful and free apps we love for both instructors and students to live informed, balanced, simplified, and successful lifestyles: Alarmy Some of us just aren’t morning people, but sometimes life throws us 8 a.m. classes anyway. Whether you’re waking up just to be at class or you have to teach it, attendance and punctuality are important. Alarmy is one way to ensure that you get out of bed -- your alarm will be set with tasks that must be completed to turn off the dreaded noise. Morning Brew Who has time to watch or read the news everyday? Morning Brew delivers a newsletter of major updates to your email inbox every morning. Designed for millennials, the app provides quick and quality news coverage of diverse topics including a stock market recap, business news, and a short lifestyle section. SelfControl Whether you tend to procrastinate a little or a lot, physically blocking out distractions can be helpful in completing assignments in a timely manner. SelfControl lets you block your access from certain sites and apps for a predetermined period of time. Even if you restart your computer or delete the app, you won’t have access to blacklisted sites until the timer is up. Slack In need of a professional, direct means of communication between organization members, students, and instructors? Slack is a cloud-based messaging and collaboration app that offers organized instant communication, file sharing, screen sharing, and calling through its free and secure service. It’s the perfect real-time alternative to email. Venmo Find yourself without your wallet and with a growing list of IOUs? Venmo makes it simple to pay back your friends for split meals, Uber rides, concert tickets, rent, and much more. The app securely connects to your bank account or credit card to send or request money to friends, family, colleagues, and now even many businesses. Google Keep If you’re a big list person like me, you’ll love Google Keep, one of the lesser known apps in the Google Suite. You can take notes, make checklists with tick boxes, create drawings, insert photos, change colors, and set reminders. Quizlet This mobile and web based app allows students to study content through flashcards, quizzing, and a variety of study games. Quizlet is extremely popular with students because it can be used on the go and study sets can easily be shared. Instructors can use it as a tool to review course information, track progress, and engage students. EasyBib While writing a halfway decent essay is a prerequisite of college admission, properly citing one is not. EasyBib makes it easy for students to correctly cite their sources and avoid plagiarism. All you have to do is plug in the link to the article you’d like to cite and the app picks out and formats the necessary information. My Fitness Pal Students and instructors alike can fall prey to bad eating habits under the stress and time constraints of school. My Fitness Pal is a free app by Under Armour that keeps track of daily exercise and diet habits, allowing you to set attainable personal fitness goals. Users simply enter their current and goal weight, then input their meals and daily exercise to track their progress against the recommended calorie intake suggested to achieve their goal. Mint College is often the first time young adults manage their own money, usually with little guidance on how to do so responsibly. Try Mint to proactively (or counter-actively) save money. It’s an all-in-one app for budgeting, investments, bills, security, and credit.  ... View more

   Since joining Pinterest in....wow, 2012, my boards have been pathetically bare. But as you may have seen from my last post, this fall I've been on an organization kick, and so I've been looking to Pinterest for inspiration.     For those who are not already familiar with Pinterest, it's is an image-sharing site, where people collect ideas and web pages by pinning them to their boards. It's essentially the internet's solution to scrapbooking, but instead of preserving old things, you're searching for new things. Pinterest currently has approximately 150 million active users each month, and among those users are students and, increasingly, instructors of all grade levels. Here are just some of the ways that instructors can utilize Pinterest to make their classrooms more engaging, more creative, and more internet-friendly. Get Inspired    One of the best aspects of Pinterest is the ability to find and share some of the unique ideas that your colleagues have posted to the site. Whether you're looking to decorate and organize your classroom, find templates for class activities and projects, or even just to find some tips for time-management and stress relief, you'll find plenty of ideas within your first few minutes of searching. You may even find something that you weren't looking for, like the inspiration to learn a new craft or explore new places. Personally, I've been looking for bullet journal ideas and templates Share Ideas    This is something that can benefit you, your colleagues, and even your students. Pinterest provides a space for people to share ideas, so if you want to offer your students some study tips, they can provide you in term with some ideas for outside material that could be discussed in class. Remove All the Clutter    Is your desk often covered with articles, journals, and memos? Save all of that information on your phone, computer, or other electronic device instead. With the option to create folders and boards for different categories, it's much easier to store and organize your data on Pinterest, so if you ever get a chance to actually read all of those articles, you'll actually be able to find them! Student Work    A great way to get students excited about their studies is to let them explore what they're learning on their own. This helps them develop independent study skills, and gives them an outlet to be creative with their coursework. Students can use the site to brainstorm and research topics, create digital portfolios and journals, and collaborate on group projects. This is also an excellent opportunity to get students thinking about the source of the photos, ideas, and information they're finding, teaching them not only about copyright law but about critically evaluating information and its source.   Build a Creative, Collaborative Environment    As previously mentioned, Pinterest is a place to share with others, and this can be your space to share with your students. You can start group discussions, share feedback on work, store ideas that have come up in class discussions, and create a space to display impressive work. By allowing students to explore their creativity in class, you'll not only get them thinking about the course material in a new way, but you'll also give them the chance to build communication skills, confidence, and self-reliance. These practices could help students succeed in the classroom, in their careers and, of course, on social media. ... View more

When I was a very homesick, unsure, unfocused first-year student, failing most of my courses, one day my political science professor, R.S. Hill, asked me after class “Mr. Gardner, would you like to be a good student?” He really caught me by surprise, that he would ask me anything at all and what specifically he asked me. I stopped and thought about his question and answered that I would, silently acknowledging to myself I had no idea what I would have to do to become a “good student.” His answer astounds me to this day, some 56 years later. He said: “Well, for starters you would start reading a good newspaper.” John: “And how would I go about doing that; what is a good newspaper?” Professor Hill: “Well, of course, The New York Times. There is no other like it. You should read The Times because then you won’t need anyone, including me, to tell you what some politician or judge said or wrote. You will be able to read the full text of what was said or written and then you can decide for yourself what the meaning and the importance of the message.” John: “Ok, sir, well how would I go about doing this?” (I truly didn’t know because I had grown up in a staunch Republican household where my father thought—and said—that The Times was a “communist newspaper” and he wouldn’t allow it in the house.” So, I knew that to read such a paper would be an act of sedition defying my father who was paying to send me to this college where this professor was giving me such advice. Professor Hill: “Come with me, Mr. Gardner, and we will walk right now two blocks to “People’s News” where if you don’t want to read the daily copy in the College library you can have your own personal copy. The Times comes in every morning on the 11.22 Greyhound from Pittsburgh (the bus terminal being one block from the news store) and it will be available to you every day by noon. The Greyhound is never late (I had never thought of the Greyhound bus as an agent of civilization and an intellectual lifeline to the rural American heartland in southern Appalachia in Ohio and no one today would extend such a compliment to any airline). And that’s how I started reading the daily Times, which I still do quite faithfully, in the paper edition, even though I also have a subscription for the online edition which I read when I am traveling. And all because a professor introduced me to an adult habit. He explained also to me that “Mr. Gardner, you should know that in addition to you, the other most influential people in the world will be reading that same paper on the same day and will know then what you will know.” And fifty-six years later I still want to know what the most influential people in the world are reading each morning. And I know one who lives during the week at 1600 Pennsylvania who doesn’t like what he reads in The Times. A few weeks later in the term, I had an appointment with my academic advisor, a professor of speech, one Dr. Thomas Fernandez. He reviewed my mid-term grades and made this pronouncement: “Mr. Gardner, you are the stupidest kid I have ever advised!” I left his office and removed the dagger he had inserted in my self-concept. I didn’t quite know if what he said could be true. I knew I wasn’t doing well, failing most everything. But was I really the “stupidest kid” the guy had ever advised?  But I made a decision anyway: to get another advisor. I was pleased it was easy to actually switch advisors, something many of our students probably ought to consider doing. And my successor advisor became one of the keys to my eventual success in college, Professor Kermit Gatten. He really embraced me and I began to flourish. He and his wife had me in their home for visits and meals numerous times. And his advice, which I took, served me incredibly well for the balance of my college career.  I later was told that my first advisor ultimately became a college president in Texas. Wonder how many other people he labeled as “stupid"? Two years later, in another political science course, designated as “American Political Parties,” the professor was lecturing on the legal actions leading up to the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs Board of Education, declaring legally segregated schools both unequal and unconstitutional. One of the preceding cases he discovered was one banning the infamous southern “white primaries,” which the Court struck down in 1944 in Smith vs. Alright. The only reason I remember this now is because of what followed. I asked the professor, Eugene Murdock, what the court’s rationale for its ruling was. He replied to me: “Mr. Gardner, I do not know. How would you like to do some research and determine the answer to your own question yourself, and then report to the class what you found?” It was not a rhetorical question. I knew he meant it. I did not think he was trying to pressure me, let alone punish me for asking him a question to which he did not know the answer. I thought he was just being honest. I later realized that he was also being a wonderful role model for the professor I was going to become, but didn’t know that at the time—specifically, when a student were to ask me a question to which I did not know the answer, I would so indicate. Well, I accepted his invitation; did the research; determined the Court’s rationale; and made an oral presentation to my class on what I had learned. In my four years of undergraduate school, other than Speech 101 when I did have obligatory public speaking in class, this was the only presentation I was ever allowed to make in any course in any class. That’s right, one in four years. No wonder it really stood out in my mind and still does. I was nervous about doing this before my peers and my professor. But it went well. Professor Murdoch praised me publicly. And I soon realized that this one gesture on his part had truly given me a sense of empowerment and presence I had never experienced before. On another occasion during college, I was studying in the library and a professor I respected greatly walked by, stopped, and approached my study carrel and said: “Mr. Gardner, I just read your paper and it was truly excellent.” To have unsolicited praise like that from someone whom I knew was REALLY gifted intellectually (unlike me, a neophyte just beginning to learn how to be a college student) that pushed me on to a cloud nine and boosted my confidence and self-esteem. Two weeks before I was to graduate, someone broke into my rental house and stole only my lecture notebooks, for all my courses. What a hostile act. I was in a small college and many of us students knew each other all too well. And I was known as a compulsive note taker for whom his lecture notes were a critical ingredient to his academic success. I was very active in campus politics and, obviously, had made an enemy. I went to one of my professors and asked for an incomplete for the term that would give me time to reconstruct my notes. He agreed and told me he would allow me to take a make-up, take home unproctored final exam—with the words: “Mr. Gardner, I trust you. I know you are a person of honor.” I have been trying to live up to that ever since. One by one my professors were writing the script of my adult life. I didn’t know it then. But I know it now. How are you writing the script for your students? What are the succinct verbal, or written, messages are you sending them that they will remember for the rest of their lives, and that will shape the development of their character and self-concept profoundly? Several months ago, my early forties son related to me his recent professional encounter with a woman in South Carolina with whom he talked about her experiences at the University of South Carolina. He asked her if she had taken University 101 as a first-year student. She said she did. Then he asked her who her professor was. She said she didn’t remember but she remembered things he said and taught her. As she shared an illustration of the professor’s advice to her my son realized that she had to be talking about his father, me. Apparently, the professor admonished the students at the end of the term in December not to make any major life decisions (such as to drop out of college or transfer, or get married or get divorced) as the end of first term of college, especially at holiday time was a very sentimental, often emotional period and not a good context for making rational decisions. She told him that she practices that advice to this very day, over 30 years later. We have no idea what we say to our students that may really sink in at present time or later. We just have to believe that the messages we send them do matter and hence chose our words intentionally and affirmatively. ... View more

Recently I was asked by one of my publishers to complete an author survey. And one of the questions was truly impossible for me to answer as requested. It read something to the effect “what was the book that has influenced you most significantly?" What I found impossible was to choose one! I found the exercise interesting and worthwhile not only because of the sheer number of books that I would so classify as having been of “most significant influence,” but what those books were and especially what time of life was I exposed to these written ideas/experiences, and how this would help form my ideas on social justice. So, they began coming to me almost as a crescendo. There were two books in my first-year of college, when I was doing terribly on the academic front and was lonely, homesick lovesick. And they were mandated by one of my first-term professors to read and to be the subjects of an oral examination if I wanted to raise my final grade in Speech 101 from an F to a D. Most valuable D I ever received. He had me read David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd (1953), a book really for academics but one that sold well beyond that for laypeople. Riesman, a Harvard professor, lawyer and sociologist, one of the greatest of the 20 th century, and also a scholar of the American college and university presidency. The Lonely Crowd was an argument that America produces two kinds of people: the Inner Directed Man and the Outer Directed Man (the direction being in reference to who and what are our influencers, inner vs outer oriented stimuli. My professor wanted me to examine that question for myself. What kind of person was I—was I becoming—or could become? Riesman analyzed a number of our culture’s favorite stories for children and he forced me to think about how I had been influenced by the stories I had read as a child. And nineteen years after being made to read his book, Riesman wrote me an unsolicited letter in 1980 raising some questions with me based on an article of mine he had read in the Journal of Higher Education, about one of my—and as it turns out—his favorite subjects. Riesman was also the founder of Harvard’s first-year seminar, in 1959, two years before I became a first-year student. The other book was Escape from Freedom, by Erich Fromm, a German psychoanalyst, who escaped from the Third Reich and wrote a compelling analysis of why the German people, at the time the most literate of any of the European democracies, had voluntary given up their freedoms in 1933. The book was really about what for some of us is the burden of freedom, the challenge of making decisions on our own. And there I was, as the professor knew full well, a young man who had abused his freedom by overcutting this class, six times in fact. Why do some college students, for example, voluntarily decide to give up a number of their freedoms to join certain groups that make many of their decisions for them (such as with whom to associate), groups especially like fraternities and sororities? This book invited me to consider the uses, the choices, albeit the abuses, I was making with my freedom. And I concluded that I needed to reconsider some of those choices. And it was several years later, also while in college, that I read Fromm’s perennial best seller, The Art of Loving, which argues that before anyone can love anyone else, they have to be capable of self-love, meaning self-respect. And then there was my reading of Plato’s Republic in the fall of my junior year, in a political philosophy class. We examined some of the most important questions that any society has to constantly be in the process of deciding: who should rule? Plato was having Socrates argue that philosophers should be kings. And the related question, that my whole adult life has been in pursuit of: what is justice? By then I was getting the idea that what was really happening to me in college is that I was learning that the questions can often be more important than the answers. To have a meaningful life you have to be asking and pursuing the right questions. In this same course, on the day of class that the professor was going to lead us through Plato’s argument about “who should rule” our class was interrupted by the shocking news of the assassination of President Kennedy on November 20, 1963. And then also that fall, in a course on Transcendental American writers, I was taking a very deep dive in the complete works of essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have never been the same since reading Self-Reliance. Thank goodness. I was really ready to receive Emerson’s call to intellectual individualism. And I was so fortunate I had a professor who knew just how to do that so skillfully. I didn’t go to college expecting that I would come to love Emersonian prose but that’s exactly what happened. The course influenced me to do a research project to ascertain what might have been the influence on Emerson of New England Unitarianism. And I thought that to understand this question and possibility even more thoroughly I should try to grapple with it experientially. I did so be joining a small handful of other congregants who attended the weekly service of the Marietta, Ohio Unitarian Church. I learned that that faith was all about what my college experience had become: a search for the truth, my truths, which were being discovered by me through reading and interaction with the interpreters of those readings, my professors. What powers they had over me. And I allowed them to help me discover my own powers for discovery, and then to influence others. In my junior year, I took an elective biology course in a course titled “Conservation.” We were required to reach Rachel Carson’s The Silent Spring; the work that is generally credited with launching the now more than fifty-year-old “environmental” movement. Before this book, I had not given one thought to what I and my fellow men and women were doing to our environment. This work really changed me. In my senior year, I read Joseph Heller’s first novel, Catch-22. Sadly, Heller was a one author great thinker. Try as hard as he did in a succession of following books, all of which I faithfully read, none of them did for me, let alone any of the critics, like what Catch-22 did. The first time I read Catch-22, I really didn’t get it, the “it” being the power of his satire of the insanity of bureaucratic life and thinking, as personified by Heller in the US Army of World War II. But two years later when I was on active duty in the US Air Force, and read Catch-22 again, then it hit me. He had finally showed me how bureaucracies work, often making some of their members literally crazy, by the non-rationality of some of their arbitrary rules and processes. So, as I was recalling what I had read of greatest influence, and when I did that reading and thinking, that all these greatest influencers had come during undergraduate school. How could this be? This doesn’t mean I stopped reading upon graduating from college! Absolutely not. But I can’t think of anything that I have read since college that had the same level of formative influence on my most important understandings—of myself, my work, my culture, my role in society, human group and individual behavior—you name it. I can only conclude then that I was in a unique period of openness to new ideas, to being influenced, to self-discovery. But that openness had to be facilitated, nourished, encouraged, reinforced. And my professors and a few fellow students were the ones who did so. I was developmentally ready, hungry even. And the college experience was there for me, ready for me, able to develop me in only ways that it could. I am so thankful. I have often asked my workshop audiences what they remember reading that had some influence during their first-year of college. Almost to a person, each group member can recall something specific. Maybe this is just because I work in the world of the academic bubble. These people liked being in college and so they have stayed in it for their adult lives. They truly were influenced. I know that once I experienced this influence I never wanted to leave it. I have had much less success asking my students, particularly first-year students, what it is they read before college that has influenced them. They struggle with this, in part because no one has asked them this before. In conclusion, I ask you: what were the great written works that influenced you? And what do you have your students read with the hope that this work and your guidance of them to and through it will be of significant influence? I know, it took me a long time here to get to my question. And the question for you should be much more important than the answers I have offered, just as has been the lasting impact of some of the questions I learned to ask in college, especially: what is justice? My whole adult professional life has been devoted to that question. Originally published on jngi.org on May 10, 2017. ... View more

John N. Gardner has over forty years of experience directing and teaching in the most widely emulated first-year seminar in the country, the University 101 course at the University of South Carolina (USC), Columbia. John is universally recognized as one of the country's leading educators for his role in initiating and orchestrating an international reform movement to improve the beginning college experience, a concept he coined as "the first-year experience." He is the founding executive director of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at USC, as well as the Policy Center on the First Year of College and the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (www.jngi.org), both based in Brevard, N.C. John is the author of Your College Experience, Understanding Your College Experience, and Step by Step to College and Career Success with his co-author and wife, Betsy O. Barefoot. Tell us about one initiative you are currently working on that you are really excited about. My most important work is as the leader of a non-profit higher education organization which is immodestly named for me, the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. We are 18 years old. Our current signature work revolves around a national effort to reduce the appalling scale of student failure rates through so-called "gateway courses"...including college success courses. What motivates you to work in college success? I remain highly motivated by my fifty year career drive to accomplish more educational justice for undergraduate students especially first-year and transfer students. What advice would you have given to your younger self as you embarked on your first year in college? Break off the romantic relationship with the girl back home. Instead that took three years to remedy. And instead of taking all new courses in unknown disciplines, to stick with what I knew and had done well with in the past, like Latin instead of Russian (the latter which I failed), and chemistry instead of geology (which I also failed).  What are some trends and developments you are currently seeing in the college success/FYE course? This work is very cyclical as I have followed it since my being involved in the founding of University 101 at the University of South Carolina in 1972. Currently the rage is all around peer leaders, which it should be, and around the psycho-social elements of successful transition into college, which, while very important, may end up neglecting the core academic skills necessary for success in college. What did you enjoy the most about writing Your College Experience, Understanding Your College Experience, and Step by Step to Success in College and Career Success? Working on these books with my co-author and wife, Dr. Betsy Barefoot. On a personal note... What book has influenced you the most? Either Plato's Republic; Riesman's The Lonely Crowd; Emerson's Self-Reliance; and Fromm's Escape from Freedom and The Art of Loving. What is something you want to learn in the next year (related to higher education or otherwise)? How to say "no." If you hadn't pursued your current career, what do you think you would have done? Perhaps continued my Air Force duties--but as a psychiatric social worker! What is your ideal vacation? Attending an international arts festival like the Venice Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, or the Spoleto Festival with my wife (there is no vacation without her). Tell us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people may know. I have spent fifty years working on one subject so I doubt there is much to find interesting about me beyond that (seriously). ... View more

Jamie H. Shushan is the Associate Director of the Crimson Summer Academy (CSA) at Harvard University where she works to increase access to higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and helps them succeed once they arrive on campus. In her work at CSA and beyond, she teaches numerous classes focused on college success, engages students in career exploration fieldwork, and serves as an advisor and advocate for students at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Jamie is the author of A Pocket Guide to College Success. Tell us about one initiative you are currently working on that you are really excited about. I have been working on creating an alumni network of first generation college graduates from my program who can serve as mentors and advisors to our younger students from similar backgrounds who are both applying to college and who are in college. There is such power in learning from the experiences of others, especially from those who really understand where you come from and what challenges you may face. What motivates you to work in college success? All students, no matter their background, deserve college success and yet not all students have the information that can truly help them achieve college success. In my work, I have recognized the power of information, i.e. sharing basic and sophisticated knowledge about college—from what to expect on campus to how to study effectively—and everything in between. With this knowledge, students are better able to achieve their goals and can make the most out of their precious time in college. What advice would you have given to your younger self as you embarked on your first year in college? That getting help in college is a noble act, not something to shy away from or be ashamed of. In fact, building a strong support system early in college is as important as working hard in class. What are some trends and developments you are currently seeing in the college success/FYE course? There is a great emphasis on helping students understand their motivation for going to college as well as what will motivate them to pursue their academic and career goals. This is really important so that when obstacles and challenges present themselves, students have already determined what can help them persevere rather than giving up.  What did you enjoy the most about writing A Pocket Guide to College Success? I enjoyed articulating the importance of critical thinking in a way that I hope is more understandable and tangible for students. There is so much talk about needing to be a “critical thinker” in college and yet students often have no idea what to do practically to help push their thinking in this way.  And on a personal note… What book has influenced you the most? Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. Abraham Lincoln has always been an inspiration to me. He persevered in the face of such adversity and continued fighting for what he believed to be right against all odds.   What is something you want to learn in the next year (related to higher education or otherwise)? I hope to learn more about the power of mindfulness and meditation in relieving anxiety and stress. The pressures of today, especially with technology being a constant presence in our lives, can be quite challenging, and I hope to understand more about these two areas to offer additional strategies for students who are dealing with anxiety and trying to better manage their stress levels. If you hadn't pursued your current career, what do you think you would have done? I would have pursued a career path that involved working with students in the Deaf community be becoming fluent in American Sign Language and finding ways to help educate the general population about the Deaf culture. What is your ideal vacation? Sitting on a remote beach with sun, sand, water and lots of good books. Tell us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people may know. I love to sing, act and dance (tap dancing is my favorite) and plan to get involved in community theater when my children are older and I have a few more minutes to myself! ... View more

Wade Leuwerke is an associate professor of counseling at Drake University. Wade’s research focuses on the assessment and development of student and employee noncognitive skills. He also studies the factors that predict college retention, the impact of computer-assisted career guidance systems on academic planning and career exploration behaviors, and the role of technology in career development processes. Wade is the author of Connections: Empowering College and Career Success with Paul Gore and A.J. Metz.   Tell us about one initiative you are currently working on that you are really excited about. I am working on a proactive advising project that infuses noncognitive assessment data into efforts to proactively reach out to students before any problems arise as they start college. This program seeks to help students build critical college success skills through goal setting and action planning. Students are also encouraged to apply their skills in their initial college classes and make use of the range of available campus resources. What motivates you to work in college success?   I entered college academically prepared but woefully underprepared with respect to study skills, problem solving strategies, and discipline. I nearly ended up on probation after my first term and spent the next three years digging my GPA out of the hole I created the first term. I am motivated to help students avoid this stressful start to college.   What advice would you have given to your younger self as you embarked on your first year in college?   Make use of campus resources! Go talk to your professors and adviser. Stick around after class and get to know your first-year experience instructor. What are some trends and developments you are currently seeing in the college success/FYE course?   I think there is even more emphasis on looking at data and connecting the efforts of FYE/student success to tangible outcomes. Budgets are tight and the focus on retention is increasing and I think FYE is uniquely positioned to be a great ROI and impact retention. Collecting data to make this link continues to be a trend in the field. What did you enjoy the most about writing Connections?   My favorite parts of the text are the Voices of Experience and the multiple features in the book that explicitly draw the link (or connection ) between content in the book and the skills/strategies that students will need in the world of work.  My hope is that once students understand, as clearly as possible, that the skills they learn in this course are the same skills they will need at work, they will be more motivated and engaged in class.   On a personal note… What book has influenced you the most?   Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol What is something you want to learn in the next year (related to higher education or otherwise)?   I want to learn how to use Google docs and the related suite of products. If you hadn’t pursued your current career, what do you think you would have done?   Building contractor or economist What is your ideal vacation?   Any beach in a tropical location Tell us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people may know.            I survived a very large tornado during my last semester of college. It sounded just like a train running past the house!     ... View more

Betsy O. Barefoot is a writer, researcher, and teacher whose special area of scholarship is the first year of college. She currently serves as senior scholar at the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. In her Institute role, she led a major national research project to identify institutions of excellence in the first college year. She currently works with both two- and four-year campuses in evaluating all components of the first year. She is the author of Your College Experience, Step by Step, and Understanding Your College Experience. Tell us about one initiative you are currently working on that you are really excited about. Recently, I have joined a team as part of the John Gardner Institute to work with NACADA, the National Association for Academic Advising, to develop an exciting process for evaluating and improving the process of academic advising at colleges and universities in the U.S. and other countries.  This process will help not only first-year students, but also students at all levels in the undergraduate experience. What motivates you to work in college success? The factors that motivate me the most are my teaching experiences at the University of South Carolina in the college success course, University 101, and my work as a consultant for hundreds of other colleges and universities – mostly in the U. S. but also around the word. In spite of their many differences, the institutions I have visited share in common a desire to improve the learning, success, and retention of first-year students.  Over the years, I have found that well-designed college success programs can actually transform students, instructors, and host institutions by giving them a laser-like focus on what matters most – student readiness for collegiate learning. What advice would you have given to your younger self as you embarked on your first year in college? My advice to me would have been to understand how my university experience was going to be vastly different from my high school experience.  I was minimally prepared for college, even as a high school valedictorian, and I found my initial grades demoralizing and frustrating.  My first year could have been so much more engaging and enjoyable if I had relaxed a bit and given myself time to adjust to a different level of expectations. What are some trends and developments you are currently seeing in the college success/First-Year Experience course? The most constant characteristic of first-year seminars is change.  Institutions are constantly trying to find the balance between what students need and what faculty, staff, and administrators are willing to provide in a credit-bearing course.  Existing data show a trend toward more courses based on an academic theme, more contact hours (fewer one-hour courses and more that are three-credit hours), and more use of new methods of teaching including flipped classes and online components.  Also, we are happy to note the increasing use of peer leaders – student co-teachers of college success courses who can make a tremendous positive difference in student attitudes about the course. What did you enjoy the most about writing Your College Experience, Step by Step, and Understanding Your College Experience? Writing these books helps keep me informed about what’s happening in higher education, the characteristics of students who are coming to college today, and the intersections between students and institutions.  Today’s students are not necessarily the students we used to have or want to have or believe we were like.  Rather, they are students with complex lives and experiences who need more help than ever on academic, social, and personal matters.  I enjoy thinking creatively about how to blend the needs of our students with the expectations of higher education in ways that are relevant and encouraging. And on a personal note...   What book has influenced you the most? I am a constant reader, mostly of fiction, but also of books that explore ideas and historical perspectives.  The most influential book I have read in the last year is The Road to Character by David Brooks. What is something you want to learn in the next year (related to higher education or otherwise)? In the next year, I want to learn more about other countries and cultures.  I intend to do this through travel to places around the globe. If you hadn't pursued your current career, what do you think you would have done? In addition to my current career as a writer and editor, my other career has been as a mom and grandmom.  But in terms of a work life, I believe I would have ended up somewhere in higher education, possibly as an administrator or as a full-time faculty member. What is your ideal vacation? I can think of two: the first – a beach where I can relax, read, and walk; and the second a “festival” of music, film, or more generally the arts in a lively and interesting city Tell us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people may know. I love movies – even children’s movies – and I can sometimes be found (by myself) at the latest “children’s” film, which, I believe, can be delightful for anyone of any age who is willing to suspend reality for a short time.                ... View more