First Year of College

Keith Cotroneo, Ed.D

9/3/2006

Years ago, when I served as a counselor and instructor of college freshmen, I observed that many new students did not understand what it took to succeed in the first year of college. Now, nearly three decades later, as a seasoned college administrator, I still draw the same conclusion.

The factors that cause the most difficulty for first year college students continue to be centered around time management issues. College curricula are structured with the base assumption that students will engage in at least two hours of study activity for every hour of lecture. While I believe that college advisors and staff have communicated this expectation, it rarely is transmitted with the sense of priority it deserves. Consequently, the message is often received as background noise amidst the myriad of signals college staff send to first year college students.

Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to help orient groups of first year learners as I did decades ago. In doing so, I raise the same questions that I did in my counseling years. When I ask students what they believe is the proper ratio of study to class time, I get a wide variation in response. Mostly, I see blank stares. When I tell students about the two to one rule, I see quizzical looks. When I ask them to actually count their class hours, job hours, and planned study hours, it starts to sink in.

One example of this disconnect in time expectations occurred a few years ago when I was serving as an academic vice president at a northeastern college. The college had made a change in its academic calendar which reduced the time between the end of the class sessions and the start of final exams by one day. A student came to me proclaiming that this reduction was causing him to fail his classes. I listened and then began to probe further. I asked if he was working that term. He said yes, 20 hours. I then asked how many credits he was taking. He said 17. I told him that was 37 hours. He agreed with the math. I then asked him if he was involved in any other activities. He said yes, the hockey team. I said, with practice and weekends that adds about 20 more hours to your week. That’s 57 hours. I then asked, "when do you study." The room went silent.

Possibly, the aforementioned is an extreme example. However, my interactions with first year college students confirm that many have unrealistic time expectations. Consequently, they begin college behind the eight ball. By week three in the term, they are hopelessly behind (although they often do not have this realization).

When I explain the two to one rule to students, I am careful to point out that the rule does not only apply when homework is assigned. Students must put in the study hours even when homework is NOT assigned by reviewing, reading ahead, rereading chapter assignments, etc. First year students who commit themselves to this regimen have a much greater chance of success.

So why do these time misconceptions persist for students, even across decades? In part, college enrollment systems seem to be a causal factor. The drive for tuition dollars tends to inflate student course loads. Public 4-year colleges and community college often receive funding from state government based upon the number of credits taken by students. Some colleges charge for credits up to 12 or 15, then students can take additional credits for free. This practice maximizes state funding, but also results in inflated course schedules. In addition, academic course schedules are often constructed without consideration of other life factors influencing student time constraints. Staffing levels for advising and academic counseling functions may be inadequate to support the quality and depth of interactions necessary to help students balance their lives and accommodate academic pursuits.

Despite these influences, I do believe that relatively simple strategies can be employed to better address the problem. Consequently, I provide the following guidance tools. The text located at the following link is a revised excerpt from my book, Power Learning. I offer this information for individual student use. College staff wishing to integrate the material into their orientation processes should contact me for permission: cotroneo@leaderethics.com.

Click here (or link in the left column) for Chapter One of Power Learning: The Weekly Schedule Activity