Faculty
Expectations and
Tips for Students’
Academic Success
Lorraine Goldberg
Northern Virginia Community College
6/30/2015
Welcome Parents!
• Your support matters
• Goals for today:
– To explain faculty expectations of students
– To provide best (and worst) practices
– To share information about how parents can support their
child’s learning
Faculty Expectations: Ownership of
Learning Process
• Be familiar with academic calendar
• Know locations of library, bookstore, writing center, testing
center, cafeteria, coffee shop, student ID/tuition/parking, and
adviser(s)
• Walk class schedule & classrooms BEFORE start of classes
• Study course content summary
• Study course syllabus (paper/online)
• Come to class alert, prepared, and ready to engage (note 1st
assignment due 1st day of class)
Faculty Expectations: Time
Management
• ADAPTABILITY TO PROFESSORS & COURSEWORK!
– Full time and adjunct professors (approach to/availability for student support)
– Interpretation of course content summary
– Amount & type of assignments
– Revisions/grading (A in high school = C in college); quality over quantity
• 3 hours of homework for every credit hour in class
• Analyze and follow directions
• COMMUNICATE with professors = ask questions, share thoughts
– Office hours!
• Take advantage of extracurricular support
• Campus engagement opportunities: academic & social
Faculty Expectations: Professionalism
• Behavior: be punctual, organized, responsive, and respectful
– Be 10 minutes early to each class
– Turn off the phone
– Bring the course texts & assignments
– Be respectful in writing (professional emails, typed assignments)
– Be aware of course objectives and semester progress
• Engage in class discussion
– Academic debate vs. argument
– Ask for assistance if shy/nervous
Faculty Expectations: Best Practices
• In general
– Set a goal (graduation, transfer, career exploration, life skills)
– OOH
– Connect coursework to goals
– Seek balance
– Register for campus alerts
– Find a brain trust
• In class
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Don’t make assumptions about faculty expectations, ASK!
Make recurring appointments for office hours
Annotate! Annotate! Annotate!
Front row seats = front row grades
Worst Practices
• In general
– Treat NVCC as a commuter campus experience
– Assume that gen eds don’t connect to upper level coursework
– Lose track of the academic calendar
• In class
– Miss classes or be late consistently
– Don’t ask questions (e.g. no book = no first reading)
– Sit in the back row and remain silent all semester
– Send informal emails to professors
– Use cell phone during class time
– Last minute requests for more work/revision/extra credit
Your Support Matters
• Success at CC more challenging than at 4-year institution
– Competing responsibilities (work, family, bills, military service, etc.)
– Off campus life (housing, meals, transportation, social pressures)
– Onus is on students to ensure personal academic success
• Prioritize the learning experience
– Minimize/simplify other responsibilities/pressures
– Set concrete rewards for academic success
• Encourage ownership of the learning experience
– Ask short answer questions
– Be a sounding board, not a tutor/personal editor/back-up plan
– Encourage critical thinking (cause/effect)
Questions?
Presentation available at
http://blogs.nvcc.edu/lgoldberg/links/