Start College Strong
What Every First-Year Student Needs To know
What exactly is a credit hour? What’s an elective course and why should you care? What’s the secret to studying for tests?
Compact and to-the-point, this is an easy-to-use guide to everything first-year students really need to know about how college works. The first section explains the academic system; easy to read, bite-sized chapters cover topics such as understanding the college course structure, adding and dropping courses, how grading systems work, pre-registration and scheduling, and understanding how professors think. Section two introduces the knowledge and tools students need to succeed at college, including time management, critical thinking, test-taking skills, research, and writing papers. The final section of the book gives guidance on taking care of your physical and mental health, and it examines topics such as goal setting and career planning. It also features a chapter dedicated to the unique challenges of commuter students.
Each chapter features opportunities for the student to pause and reflect on how the content applies to their own situation and experience, and each chapter ends with a few questions which guide students to learn how their specific University/Department/Major operates. There are also several exercises scattered throughout the book that will better prepare the student for college life and help them get the most out of their college experience.
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Table of Contents
PART 1 – THE SYSTEM
1. Credit Hours and Course Labels
2. Understanding the College Course Structure
3. Dual Enrollment, AP and Transfer Credit, and Prerequisites
4. Advising, Pre-registration, and Scheduling
5. Adding and Dropping Courses, Withdrawals, and Incompletes
6. College Textbooks
7. Financial Aid
8. Learning Management Systems and the Catalog
9. How to Read a Syllabus
10. Attending Class
11. Grading Systems, GPA, and Academic Standing
12. Job Titles, Organizational Structures, and the Names of Offices
13. Professors and Degrees
14. Communicating with ProfessorsPART 2 – THE ACADEMICS
15. Managing your Time
16. Critical Thinking
17. Study Skills
18. Test-Taking Skills
19. Research
20. Academic Writing
21. Presentations
22. Online CoursesPART 3 – and YOU
23. Your Physical Health
24. Your Mental Health
25. Goals and Career Planning
26. Commuter Life
27. Skills for Adults
28. A Few More TipsAbout the Author
Michael P. Keaton (no relation to the actor of Batman fame) is a tenured Professor of History at Southern Wesleyan University. He has made appearances on The History Channel (Hillbilly: The Real Story) and on PBS (The Outlaw Lewis Redmond). Mike has earned five college degrees, including a master’s degree in History and a PhD in History and Philosophy. He began his teaching career as a social studies teacher in middle and high school, but he taught his first college course in 2002. He teaches first-year college students every semester in the general education history courses, and he has designed and taught first-year seminar courses for over 20 years.
Video for Parents of high school seniors…
Video for College Administrators and Directors of First-Year Experience programs…
Reviews
See Prof. Keaton on…
The History Channel (2008)
PBS (2009)
Start College Strong 