Keys to Success

Study Habits

Most students who earn good grades study 20 to 30 hours a week, depending on the courses they carry that quarter. Professors have an expectation that you will study 2 hours for each hour you are in class. The pace of a quarter system schedule demands that you keep up with your homework and plan ahead to handle the large assignments. If you haven't already done this type of planning, you need to learn the skills of time (and project) management. By breaking large assignments down into manageable pieces and scheduling intermediate deadlines, you will get your homework done on time and it won't be a "rush job," but something you can be proud of. You also will be learning something even more important-how to tackle a big job. Once you have an academic track record of doing this, you can convince a future employer that you have the experience they are looking for.

Manage Your Time and Study Effectively

There is enough time to study hard, work, and play hard too, if you handle your day in the right way. Many good study skills books are available at the University Book Store. The UWT Counseling Center offers short study skills/time management workshops. Contact an adviser for more information.

Faculty Advising

There are a lot of activities going on at a university, and UWT is no exception. Keep in mind that the primary relationship is between you and your instructors. That is where the bulk of the learning takes place. Take advantage of faculty office hours! Declare a concentration early so you become a part of a faculty member's advising group. The more contact you have with faculty, the better your educational outcome will be.

Academic Advisers

Most students benefit from advising by the IAS academic advisers. This is a two-year program for full-time students, so everyone should have some initial advising to get them on the right track. We are here to explain how the concentrations work, how you can get a degree, what courses may be best suited to you in any particular quarter. There is always a lot of change going on in the program-new teachers and courses, changes in requirements. The academic advisers are charged with keeping up with the rules and regulations-if an exception can be made, we know how to do it. You have to see one of us to apply for graduation. If you wait until then, chances are you may have taken a course or two you did not have to take because you were following outdated rules.

Writing

One of the most valuable skills you can develop during a university education is the ability to write well. It is a skill universally valued by employers as well as graduate and professional programs, not to mention the instructors of your undergraduate courses. Writing well is more than one skill, it is a set of skills which come together with the purpose of allowing you to communicate your ideas in an effective way.

In IAS, much of your education will not occur in the classroom, but in the researching and writing of papers required by your courses. It is in your papers where you will develop your own ideas and interpretations, where you will practice organizing your thoughts into logical, persuasive arguments. Writing can be difficult for one simple reason: when you are writing, real learning is taking place. Don't avoid it. Practice it, work at it. If you need help getting started, the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology is the place to go!

Investigate Independent Study Options

After a few quarters at UWT you may be interested in doing an internship, independent research or a one-on-one directed reading with your favorite professor. These independent study experiences can really help you prepare for both work and graduate school by developing your self-management skills.

Finish Your Incompletes!

Students in good standing may be able to have a faculty member agree to submit a grade of "I" for "incomplete". This usually happens when the student has a small amount of work left to do and some kind of emergency arises towards the end of the quarter. The rule is that a student must submit the rest of the work by the last day of classes in the next quarter. (Summer Quarter does not count-so students earning Spring incompletes have until the end of the Autumn Quarter to finish up.)

If you choose this option, be aware that the deadline often approaches before you finish your work and the resulting grade of "0.0" is automatically posted to your record, with a resulting drop in your GPA. If you think you might need an extension beyond the one-quarter allowed to finish, check with your faculty sponsor. They may refuse your request!

Career Counseling

Students tend to think of an IAS degree as a valuable educational experience, but not much help in getting a job. Think again... IAS students have the very job skills most employers are interested in: you have proven again and again in different courses that you can start and finish projects, write well, research topics, speak effectively, work in groups, absorb knowledge and explain concepts. You may have proven that you can juggle home responsibilities including childcare and working full time while you went back to school to improve yourself. That's a powerful statement about who you are and what you can do. The students who do an internship find that it is an invaluable aid to finding employment after college.

Start thinking about your career and your goals! Your IAS adviser, your faculty adviser, and the staff in the Career Services office are all here to help! See the section on Career Options for more details.

Be Realistic About Your Limits!

At the UWT, most of the students in have some sort of job, many work full-time. Some also are parents, or have obligations outside their families. Considering the amount of time a student should spend on homework for each class, it advised that if you have to work more than 20 hours a week, you should consider decreasing your course load to part-time. As a general rule a student working 25 hours a week should carry 10 credits, 30 hours a week 5-10 credits, and 40 hours a week no more than 5 credits. To try to do more than this is to put yourself in a no-win situation by asking more of yourself than you can reasonably do.

Deal with personal and health problems. One of the worst mistakes students make is to deny that they're overloaded or unable to cope. You may need to lighten your load by dropping a class, you may decide to leave school for a quarter, or you may have a frank talk with your instructor to see what your options are. If a personal problem is keeping you from concentrating on your studies, discuss the situation with a counselor and work out a solution.

No one but you can make these decisions. We have seen too many good students try to struggle through with too many courses and responsibilities, often with resulting bad grades. The university has policies restricting class drops after the second week of the quarter. You are permitted only one class drop per year after the second week through the seventh week of the quarter, unless you can document true "hardship" (usually a medical reason). You must finish the quarter with all your courses once the annual drop is used. This can mean a grade of "0.0" appears on your transcript is you stop attending class. This has a devastating effect on your GPA.

When contemplating putting too much on your plate, ask yourself "What's the point?" Are you really trying to just get a degree at any cost, or do you want to take the time to savor the experience and come out with a degree and a GPA you can be proud of? A meaningful degree bolsters your confidence that you can take on challenges and meet your other responsibilities in an organized way.

Students receiving financial aid should remember that any changes in their status from full-time to part-time (under 12 credits) need to be discussed with the financial aid advisers. They are willing to help you understand the system and get you back on your feet.

At UWT, our goal is to help you get a meaningful education, not just a degree. Although one quarter may be an acceptable amount of time to feel a lot of pressure from work, home, and school, two years is not. Be realistic in your planning and allow for some free time. It will take a little longer to complete your degree, but the experience will be worth it.

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