Start College Strong can be used by colleges and universities in three main ways…
1. As required summer reading…
Many colleges and universities require summer reading that examines a contemporary issue or a specific work of literature. Why not also require a book that will better prepare your incoming students to succeed in college? The university could require the student to purchase the book, or, after an accepted student submits their enrollment deposit, the university could provide a copy of the book as a way of saying, “we care about your college experience and want you to succeed.”
Universities often assume that that high school students know and understand how the academic world operates. They have specialized processes, specific systems, and unusual jargon, yet they rarely explain these things to first-year students. Understanding the overall system and how it works is the key factor in helping students create a stable foundation for their college career. Without this stable foundation, the academics, campus life, and resources lack a coherent framework. Start College Strong provides that framework along with an explanation of how the student fits into this new world – and what this new world expects of them.
2. As a textbook (main or supplementary) for the first-year seminar course…
Start College Strong is an excellent textbook for any first-year seminar course; whether your university is small, medium, or large, public or private, two-year or four-year, Start College Strong will help both your incoming students and your seminar instructors.
Start College Strong can serve as a blueprint for your first-year seminar course, or it can be easily integrated into your existing design. First-year seminars are an odd mix of objectives: introduce your students to the academic world, introduce them to your university’s specific culture and way of doing things, help them adjust socially, and assist them as they transition from being “kids in high school” to “adults in college.”
Much of the class time in a first-year seminar is spent focusing on the needs of that particular group of students – every student is unique, and every class has its own character and needs. Covering all the objectives can be challenging when your one-on-one time with a class is limited.
With all these objectives competing for class time and attention, the two which usually take precedence are the social adjustment and teaching them how everything operates at your university. A general introduction to the academic world may be ignored since its assumed that students know the basics simply due to their time spent in high school. The other objective that is often ignored is helping students transition to the world of adult responsibilities.
No first-year seminar can do all of this in the allotted class time. Class time is best spent connecting to the students regarding their individual challenges. A textbook that covers the basics of the academic world and the responsibilities of being an adult college student would be the perfect compliment to what takes place in the seminar classroom. That textbook didn’t exist…until now.
Why Start College Strong is the perfect textbook for first-year seminars…
- The book covers the “nuts and bolts” of how colleges operate, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the system and the participants
- The end-of-chapter questions focus the student on your university and its specific requirements, rules, and culture
- “Pause and Reflect” moments in each chapter prompt the student to think about their personal journey and how their experiences in high school can create both opportunities and challenges in college
- “Graduate Insights” are also scattered throughout the text. These are real insights from college graduates explaining their biggest problem during their first year of college – and discussing how they solved that problem. In reading these insights, students will be able to see that they are not alone; everyone encounters problems, but those problems almost always have solutions
- The academic-themed chapters offer practical advice on time management, study skills, research, writing papers, giving presentations, and test-taking – and there’s an entire chapter devoted to the special challenges of taking online courses
- Chapters focused on the student include topics such as: physical health, mental health (a mental health professional authored this chapter), goal setting, career planning, and a special chapter devoted to the challenges of being a commuter student
- One of the final chapters discusses “adulting” skills, but woven throughout the text is the idea that college students now have certain adult responsibilities…some things are now expected of them
- While containing a bit of “do this/don’t do that” advice, the book takes an overall encouraging tone, reassuring students that they can thrive in college as long as they know how the system works and do what they are supposed to do
How Start College Strong can help your first-year seminar Instructors…
Written in an engaging, conversational style, the chapters are short, focused, and easy-to-read. This is good for the students, but Start College Strong is also beneficial for the instructors tasked with teaching first-year seminars. Since every first-year student must take the seminar course, and since smaller class-sizes work better for this type of course, it means that there are many sections that must be taught. In most colleges and universities, the first-year seminar instructors are drawn from all over campus – professors in various disciplines and staff members with master’s degrees. They are out of their area of expertise, and the seminar is usually an extra course in their teaching load. This is why many first-year seminar instructors carry around a three-ring binder (supplemented by a shared online file folder). That binder contains everything the course designer believes will help the instructor teach the course and keep them on track – while still making the process as easy and simple as possible. Start College Strong will not replace the binder, but it will supplement the binder, thereby making the entire process easier on both your course designer and your course instructors.
The book explains how the system works while teaching students how to navigate the academic world; this means the instructor can use class time for meaningful interaction with the students, including dealing with very specific issues that may arise for each member of the class. Instructors will spend less time focused on the big picture and details – and this leaves more time for building personal relationships
- The chapters are narrowly focused on specific topics, so they can be assigned in any order
- The end-of-chapter questions lead students to the specific requirements of their Department/Major; this means students will discover specific details without involving the instructor – and they do so while learning to navigate the university’s information systems
- Grading homework is simple. At the end of each set of questions, there is a space for a signature and the date. The student answers the questions, signs and dates the page, then snaps a picture and uploads it to the course. There are no papers to collect, keep track of, or return
- The book explains how the system works while teaching students how to navigate the academic world; this means the instructor can use class time for meaningful interaction with the students, including dealing with very specific issues that may arise for each member of the class. Instructors will spend less time focused on the big picture and details – and this leaves more time for building personal relationships
3. As a supplementary book for any in-house, state, or federal student support programs…
If your student body contains a sizable group of at-risk students – first-generation, low-income, home life, behavioral, etc. – Start College Strong can be their reference book for what to do, what not to do, what to expect, and what’s expected of them. In answering the end-of-chapter questions, students are essentially creating a personalized reference book that deals with their particular situation – the university, their department, and the requirements of their major.
The “Pause and Reflect” activities in the book encourage students to think about how they have dealt with issues in the past, helps students discover tendencies they may be unaware of, and focuses them on how their attitude and actions will affect their success in college.
Start College Strong is a realistic look at what it takes to succeed in college, discussing requirements and expectations, and warning of potential pitfalls. Yet the overall tone is positive, with the author encouraging students that they can do this…they can succeed in college.
Start College Strong 