Cal
Poly
25-35 Program for New Students
Contact: Phil Bailey, Dean of the
Website for Materials: College of Science and Mathematics Home
Page (http://cosam.calpoly.edu/); click
Academic Success. Also click on
Information for New Faculty and Staff to find document entitled Guidance and
Advice on Teaching for New Faculty Members, Lecturers, and Teaching Associates.
Here is the Issue: Most students don’t study very
much. It may work in high school, but not in college.
·
High school students
don’t study very much but they are really busy with school and
activities.
Informal group surveys of Cal Poly
freshmen suggest most studied only 3-5 hours per week in high school. This is consistent with a Brookings
Institute paper in 1997 reporting high school students average 19 minutes a
night of study and the 2005 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that
reports 55% of high school students study three or less hours per week and only
8% study 10 hours per week.
However, Cal Poly freshmen say they averaged at least 15 hours/week in
other activities in high school such as sports, music, publications, or
employment. Considering these
students were in class 30 hours a week (5 days, six periods) as high school
students, they were quite busy managing a 50 hour work week.
·
College students increase
their study relative to high school but still fall far short of what is needed:
National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) studies show that around 45% of college
students spend 10 hours a week or less studying and only 11% study 25 hours per
week or more.
Most new freshmen have no idea
what the study expectations are in college. They may triple or quadruple their high
school efforts and feel good because they had never studied so much. But this is not nearly enough in
college. Freshmen entering Cal Poly
experience quite a change. Instead
of being in class 30 hours a week as in high school, class and lab time runs
15-20 hours per week. Most have not
picked up an extracurricular activity.
They have at least 25 hours of newly discovered time they didn’t
have in high school. Anecdotally, I
find that many students may proudly triple or quadruple the hours they studied
in high school upon entering college.
Even though this may total only 10-15 hours a week, they feel good about
what they are doing as they have never independently studied this much
before. Yet their total time in
class and studying adds to only around 30 hours per week - not even a full time
job, not even as many academic hours as in high school.
The 25-35 Advice: Study 25 hours a week if you are taking three
courses, 35 if you are taking four.
This is about 2 hours/unit/week.
Time in class and studying is equivalent to a 40-50 hour work week;
quite reasonable. Make you are
learning. You know something if you
can talk about it and teach it to someone else. If you can’t, you
don’t. Test yourself before
exams; don’t let the instructor be the first to test your knowledge.
Spreading the 25-35 Word:
Obsession on Saturation:
Here is what we do in the
·
Open House in April: Briefly mention 25-35 in
all college/department meetings for prospective students. Display 25-35
banners. Show you care.
·
Summer Advising in July: Display signs and banners. Introduce
25-35 program to new students and accompanying
parents.
·
Early August Mailing to New
Students: Includes yellow 25-35 poster, letter
from the dean, four page pamphlet on studying and learning, list of
offices/phones for student services and advising; memo on alcohol abuse; study
log.
·
Early August Mailing to
Parents of New Freshmen: Includes yellow
25-35 refrigerator magnet, letter to parents asking them to put the magnet on
the refrigerator for the rest of the summer; copy of letter to students.
·
Moving into the Residence
Halls: Lobbies of each residence hall display a
2x3 feet 25-35 banner and lots of the yellow 8.5x11 inches 25-35 posters. A
25-35 poster and refrigerator magnet are placed on each student bed before they
arrived.
·
Week-of-Welcome: WOW counselors talk 25-35 throughout
week. 25-35 is part of the academic
day message at college and department levels. Yellow 25-35 banners and posters are
displayed in meeting sites.
·
Fall Quarter, First Week of
Classes: Display yellow 25-35 banners around
campus. Yellow posters placed on
bulletin boards outside faculty and department offices, in labs and lecture
rooms. Faculty members implement
their roles in the 25-35 program (see next section).
·
Fall Quarter, Third Week of
Classes: Letter or email to all new freshmen
encouraging them to evaluate their efforts, check actual study hours against
25-35 advice, and focus on preparation for their first set of exams.
·
Winter Quarter, First Day
of Classes: Letter
to new freshmen describing how their class did the first quarter. Reminder of 25-35 advice. Focus on continuity in studying and
learning. Encouragement to further
find that new maturity that leads to intellectual achievement and student
success.
Role of the Faculty: By the time classes start, 25-35 is very familiar to students. Some take it seriously, others joke, but
it is on everyone’s minds.
The substance of the program, however, is in the classrooms, especially
those populated by new students.
Each course has an on-going component that might be compared to the
academic part of a University 101 freshmen orientation course. The new students will hear 25-35 and a
guiding and encouraging academic message from different instructor perspectives
in each course and lab that they take.
Here are the responsibilities of the faculty:
·
First Class Meeting: Hold up a 25-35 sign. Talk about the privilege and
responsibilities of attending college.
Explain your academic expectations and give guidance on how to meet them
successfully. Describe how to use
8-10 hours a week studying for your course. Explain what learning is and how to know
if one has good understanding and has really mastered course material.
·
Course Syllabus: Clear, complete, informative course syllabus. Make
sure there is a section on academic expectations and how to accomplish.
·
Early and Frequent Grading
Experiences: These allow students to analyze study
strategies and make adjustments during the term without losing the opportunity
to earn a decent grade. Don’t
let your exams be a mystery. If
students know what they are responsible for and are not surprised by their
first exam, they are more likely to have confidence that studying and learning
equates with success.
·
Encouragement and Guidance
throughout the Quarter: Take time frequently to ask
students how things are going and let them know that you care. Continually provide guidance for
studying and learning.
Results: Before 25-35 around 18% of
new