Traditional college students have many challenges when beginning college life. However, non-traditional students have their own unique challenges when trying to weigh the demands of work, family, social life, and school. For all students, utilizing personal responsibility to achieve college success includes demonstrating good time management, accepting accountability, and setting attainable goals. Personal responsibility is the foundation for success. There are several tools available that can assist the student.
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Time management skills are particularly important. Universities emphasize personal responsibility skills, such as goal setting and time management, by providing college skills survival-type courses and workshops (Miller, Lincoln, Goldberger, Kazis, & Rothkopf, 2009). I equate this with the GEN/200 course, Foundations for General Education and Professional Success. The course textbook, Becoming a Master Student, covers many topics pertinent to both traditional and non-traditional college students. One topic covered in the book is Time.
People belong to many roles in their everyday lives. It is important to understand how much time each of those roles requires in order to plan successfully for each role. It is important for students to maintain a balance between social, family, and academic life (Hinckley & Alden, 2009). One technique would be to schedule time on the calendar for study, family, and social activities. According to Ellis (2011), it would be a good idea to plan ahead by a month or more to allow the student to analyze exactly how he spends his time and determine which roles take more time than others.
After completing the analysis, the student will be able to determine which of his habits he should change to better accommodate the time constraints that exist for each role and bring balance back into his life. Stress management is very closely related to time management. If the student is not doing a good job of managing his time, his stress level will increase exponentially. According to Reeves (2004), competing and conflicting demands on the student’s time is a main cause of stress in his life.
The stress levels can be even higher for non-traditional students who also deal with on-the-job stress that can stem from poor time management among other things. To help alleviate some of the stress, it would be a good idea to reorganize priorities. According to Reeves (2004), people should identify the activities in their lives that are no longer needed and let them go. He has created what he calls the “Triple A Approach” that includes Awareness, Analysis, and Action. In the Awareness phase, the student needs to identify where the stress is coming from.
Once identified, the student can Analyze the situation and determine the options that are available that will change it. The final step is to take Action, do something about it. Taking a positive action will alleviate stress from that particular area. All people are responsible for the choices made in life. Whereas the teacher is accountable for teaching, the student is responsible for learning. According to Hassel and Lourey (2005) students go to college to attain the goal of a degree or a job rather than an education. Most students cannot comprehend what it will take to reach their goal.
Response to an informal survey indicated that at least half the students neglected to read assigned readings even when the content was slated for class discussion. Additionally, the percentage of students spending four hours or less time studying for a three-credit course per week is a whopping 67%. Another 27% spend fewer than two hours studying. The minimum study time should be two to three hours for each hour spent in class. When students come unprepared to class, they degenerate the ability for lively and informed discussion.
Those who come prepared are deprived of additional points of view that may have helped them gain perspective on the topic. Class attendance is another issue. The study found that one-third of students are absent for any given class, yet these students believed they were acting responsibly. Students need to understand that accountability is measured by both attendance in class and interacting in the classroom in addition to completing and submitting assignments on time. For classes that reflect participation and attendance in the student’s grade, the student is motivated to be more accountable.
Classes at UOPX incorporate learning teams into the curriculum. Each person on the team must work toward a common goal: success of the team. Many traditional students have a difficult time when introduced to learning teams because the concept is foreign to them. The makeup of each team will change with every class. It is a good idea to keep an open mind when working with diverse learning teams. According to Spitzer (2000), non-traditional students, females in particular, have higher motivation and self-discipline needed to achieve higher academic performance.
Collaborative settings, such as the UOPX Learning Teams, require these students to display the personal responsibility characteristics required to achieve college success. Whether working within a learning team or individually, all students need to set goals and work toward them. According to Ellis (2011) the long and short-term goals to be considered can include educational, career, family, financial, and social. Personal goals can include personal development and growth, and a better job and the ability to earn more money once the diplomas has been achieved.
In conclusion, although many extraneous activities can threaten to derail the student who is trying to achieve college success, making conscious choices formulated through sound time and stress management techniques can help tremendously. The student should set goals that can result in a more fulfilling life both in and out of school, and always try to be accountable for attaining the best education he can get. Following the ideas outlined in this paper will help students achieve a higher level of college success.
