Sara M Frias How to be Successful in College Academic Plan essay November 23, 2008

 

 

An Early Academic Plan is Key to Success in College

 

            In order to be a successful college student, one needs to have an academic plan. People decide to go to college for different reasons. When we first enroll in Gavilan College, or any college, it is important to have a goal. Then we can make a personal academic plan to know what we are working toward. We are able to focus to pursue and reach that goal in the smartest and fastest possible way.

            Students take classes for different reasons. During my years as a student and a volunteer in my community, I experienced the different reasons along with friends, classmates, and family members. In discussing this with Leticia Palacios, M.A., counselor of the Trio Program at Gavilan College, she agreed that there are different reasons for students to take classes. Some take courses for self enrichment or professional development staying current with the latest computer programs or Windows, for example. Other students are here because they want to get a certificate and start working right away. For these students, the college offers short-term training programs. Other students are here to get a college degree, an Associate of Arts, or an Associate of Science. After earning their first degree, many students transfer to a four-year college or university.

            An academic plan helps us know exactly what we are working toward and how to pursue it in a smart and fast way. We do not want to take classes that we do not need or are not required to take, according to Blanca Arteaga, counselor for EOPS and CalWORKS at Gavilan College. Some students attending college without an educational plan take classes here and there, adding credits without a specific goal: “A lot of the time, students test the waters by taking different classes. But it can be frustrating for students to take a class they think will count towards their GED (General Education Degree) or be eligible for transfer credit when in reality it does not,” advised Leticia Palacios. Students with an academic plan ensure that they are taking all the classes that are required for their degree and their career.

            Academic plans are put together with a specific major in mind. But if a student has a change of interest, the educational plan can be changed to meet that goal: “Students who decide that they want to study English but then later decide they want to be in engineering, which is completely different, need to create a new plan because of the different requirements,” explained Monica Galvan, outreach representative at UCSC.

            A new college student would be helped by reading A Student's Guide to Creating an Academic Plan, by Dorothy Lehman Hoerr. An academic plan for a student at a community college usually starts with the GE courses, which are the general educational courses. The general courses are required of all students before they earn a degree. The other courses are in preparation for the selected major. A student can earn an AA degree in business and then earn a BA in social work. Without an academic plan students may not know that once they get their AA in a specific major, they can earn a BA in another major.

            If a student already knows what major he or she wants a degree in, the student can start taking courses for this from the beginning along with the GE courses. According to Blanca Arteaga, “The student can then transfer to a college or university with credit for the courses already taken at the community college level.” A student does not need to take those courses again at the university, saving time and effort.

            Sometimes students decide to get a double major. This is a situation where an academic plan helps the student save time and effort. Many courses do not count toward more than one degree. If a student gets an AA in business and then decides to earn a degree in social work, then the student needs to stay a little longer at college.

            For the student who does not decide right away on a specific goal, another option is to have a major and a minor area of study. This way, a course a student takes can count towards another goal.

            With an academic plan, a student can choose a major, revise the choice, take elective classes that qualify for a minor, and basically make all the courses count for credit toward their goal.  A student with an AA degree is still a college graduate. This degree can be a step for future attendance at a four-year college or university to get a BA, according to Anne Ratto, Associate Dean for EOPS/CARE/CalWORKs at Gavilan College. Most of the units for an AA degree are from general courses such as business, social science, or arts. With this background, a student can transfer, usually after two years, and take advanced classes in a specific major, all according to the academic plan, explained Monica Galvan from UCSC.

            If a student new to college is not sure what major he or she is interested in, there is help available. There are guidance classes to help them decide what they are interested in. In these classes, students learn more about themselves, their interests or their strengths. They are required to do research in different majors or occupations. The more effort a student puts into this, the more a student gets out of it.

            Students with an academic plan and a major in mind have a path to follow. Their educational plan has mapped out what classes to take each semester. Students with a plan can register on time. Every year community colleges are getting more and more students, and the classes fill up faster. With a plan, students can look directly at the courses required for their goal. Leticia Palacios and Blanca Arteaga both confirmed that students “can register online for course as soon as possible.” Students can be on track for these courses, ensuring success in college. Without an academic plan, a student may be unsure what classes to take first, can get the wrong information, wait in lines to register, and generally waste time and effort.

            An educational plan can help a student to better prepare for achieving the educational goal of a training certificate, AA degree, or transferring for a BA degree. The plan helps the student monitor his or her progress, stay on track and plan ahead. The form used to make an academic plan is a friendly outline so a student knows why he or she is taking a certain class, in what order classes need to be taken, what units count for an AA, and which courses are transferable or count toward a BA. The academic plan ensures that even if requirements change, the student’s plan is still valid.

            For students who want to transfer to a university, there are certain basic education courses which must be completed. There are four basics of the GE foundation, as explained by Dr. Frieda Lee, Director of Student Outreach Services at SFSU. They are A1 Communication, A2 English, A3 Reading/Critical Thinking, and B4 Math. Courses are listed in these areas. For example, an art history class or Art 1A meets the requirements of area C in C1 and counts for three units. This helps a student to remember why he or she is taking a certain course. After meeting with a counselor, we make our academic plan, we take it home, and then maybe we do not like a class that has been selected. We may then decide to change a course. For example, rather than take Art 1A, we want to play guitar. Students may think that because the course is in the group of art or in music, it counts the same. But it may not count toward the requirement because it is not in the qualified group. By looking at our educational plan, we can verify the reason we are taking that specific course of Art 1A is to meet the requirements for C1. So, if a student does not want to take art history, the student can check the course catalog to find another course that can be substituted, as long as it meets the requirements for that area.

            Another purpose for an academic plan is to let the students know how long it will take to complete their educational goal. Since Gavilan College is a two-year community college, some students may think that they will be there for only two years. But they may be there longer, maybe for three years. Every student comes in at a different level of reading, writing and math. “A student may take an assessment test to determine which level to start and then plan how long it takes to graduate and/or transfer,” says Alex Lopez, counselor at Gavilan College. For example, it may take a student two years because he or she came in at level of English 1A writing, Math 233 or Math 5, which are college level. These courses are transferable. Another student may come in not as prepared and need to take English 440 and Math 400. This student needs to take more classes. This may take another year or year and a half. These courses are not transferable but are required for a student to advance and take college courses. It is possible for student to graduate with an AA degree or transfer in two years but some students take longer.

            Deadlines are very important in this whole process of selecting courses, registering, graduating and transferring. According to all of the counselors interviewed, a student needs at least sixty transferable units from an AA degree in order to transfer into a university for an advanced degree or BA. Thirty of these sixty units need to be from general courses. Twelve of these thirty units need to be from the basic four areas. The educational plan breaks these courses down into semesters. For example, a student can start in Fall 2008 taking twelve transferable units. Then in Spring 2009, the student will take another twelve or fourteen units. A student knows semester by semester what classes to take and how many units per semester until the student graduates in Spring 2011. If the student plans to attend a four-year college or university, the plan reminds the student when to apply to the university and to ask for their graduation petition to be ready to transfer. The graduation petition needs to be filed by the student. These are all reasons to have an academic plan and to check with a professional such as a counselor.

            A counselor can help a student to develop a personal academic plan. Life happens and there may be events

that change an educational plan. Let the support system do the work and keep track of updates in requirements for community colleges and universities. Counselors know the class requirements, deadlines, and the sequence of classes. Some transferable courses may look similar, but they have different requirements and transferable units. For example, the CSU (California State University) and IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum) courses have different transferable pattern agreements for unit courses. IGETC has four language requirements and CSU does not. The requirements are very different from school to school, from university to private university, from major to major, and from person to person. Also, changes in the requirements for a specific major may occur; nursing majors are constantly changing. Counselors know the majors, future careers, and ones that may change or disappear. Counselors are trained twice a year. They know what students need and the appropriate resources to help someone to reach goals and future careers. It is important for a student to actualize a plan with the help of a counselor every semester. Some programs such as the Trio Program and EOPS (Extended Opportunities Program and Services) can support students and bring resources to help them. Anne Ratto at Gavilan College says, “The EOPS program is a California State funded student support services program. Our goal is to increase access, retention and transfer of students with social, economic, and educational challenges. EOPS offers academic counseling, educational planning, priority registration, orientation, student success workshops, one-on-one tutoring, university field trips, grants and book vouchers in order to facilitate student success. Many students in EOPS or the TRIO Program are getting an AA degree and then transferring.”

            Even though the reasons for attending college are different and very personal, by having an academic plan, students can better organize their efforts and keep focused on their goal to overcome any obstacles. The plan is developed with the student’s major as the goal, the classes required, the number of units required and transferable units for an advanced major, breaking it down into semesters. A student is successful in college when he or she is able to reach the planned goal or goals. The student is successful by being appropriately prepared, studying hard and earning the certificate, graduating from college with an AA, or transferring to get a BA or another advanced degree at the university. The educational plan makes it easier for the student by providing a road map to the goal. The student then only has to provide the determination to reach it.

 

Works Cited

 

Arteaga, Blanca [EOPS/CalWORKs Counselor]. Personal Interview for Academic Plan. Gilroy CA. 14 April 2008. 26 June 2008. 24 November 2008.

Galvan, Monica [Lead Transfer Outreach Representative, Transfer Partnership Program at University of California Santa Cruz]. Field trip for Student Orientation Speech. Santa Cruz, CA. 14 November 2008.

IGETC Course Lists Online. “IGETC Students General Education Opportunities and requirements.” University of California. 19 August 2008. <http://www.universityof california.edu/educators/counselors/adminifo/transfer/advising/igetc.html>.

Lee, Frieda. [Director at San Francisco State University]. Field trip for Student Orientation Speech. San Francisco, CA. 21 November 2008.

Lehman Hoerr, Dorothy. “A Student's Guide to Creating an Academic Plan.” A Student's Guide to Succeeding in Community College. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, MA. 2008: 56-60.

Lopez, Alex [Counselor at Gavilan College]. Personal interview. Hollister, CA. 8 April 2008.

Palacios, Leticia [M.A., Counselor, Trio Program at Gavilan College]. Personal interview. Gilroy, CA. 21 November 2008.

Ratto, Anne [Associate Dean, EOPS/CARE/CalWORKs Staff at Gavilan College]. Personal interview. Gilroy, CA. 6 November 2008.

TRIO Program. “Student Support Services Program.” Federal TRIO Programs. 3 November 2008. <www.ed.gov/programs/triostudsupp/index.html>.