ACA 100 - Student Success

1 credit hour -
Explore college academic support services and faculty expectations. Examine study skills, note taking, strengthening memory and concentration, and time management. Assess your own learning style, choose a career path, set goals and develop an educational plan. Transition to college and develop tools to ensure your academic success.

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Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Investigate different learning styles
  • Analyze personal management of time, energy and wellness
  • Evaluate learning styles and apply them to life-long learning
  • Examine personal and educational priorities
  • Demonstrate effective instructor-student behaviors
  • Develop an individual educational plan and explore career options
  • Demonstrate knowledge of college resources (e.g. Library, Academic Support Services, Student Services) by integrating the use of those services in their individual educational plan
  • Appraise principles of learning and forgetting and practice mnemonic devises and concentration techniques
  • Apply lecture note taking and textbook studying techniques
  • Formulate test taking strategies for objective and essay exams
  • Examine critical thinking techniques and demonstrate those techniques
• Manage time and energy better
  • Review time management principals and techniques
  • Examine how students’ time is currently spent
  • Practice prioritizing concepts
  • Plan short-term and long-term goals
• Strengthen memory and concentration
  • Review current memory and concentration concepts
  • Explore memory enhancing techniques
  • Use mnemonic devices to improve short-term memory
• Use effective textbook studying techniques
  • Review current textbook reading and studying concepts
  • Employ reading strategies to improve speed and comprehension
• Take useful notes
  • Review a variety of note-taking concepts
  • Practice the ‘observe, record and review’ process of note-taking
  • Synthesize new strategies and techniques into students’ own note-taking skills
• Employ test taking strategies
  • Manage test review time effectively
  • Create test review tools
  • Study methods to predict test questions
  • Plan a test-taking strategy, including what to do during a test
• Improve critical thinking skills
  • Review current critical thinking concepts
  • Recognize the value of creative thinking in improving critical thinking skills
  • Explore critical thinking processes
  • Identify ways to uncover assumptions, debunk logical fallacies, solve problems and make decisions
  • Apply new skills to practical issues
• Utilize college resources effectively
  • Recognize the need to use college resources
  • Identify available college resources
• Develop career and educational goals
  • Review goal setting strategies
  • Analyze the connection between education and profession
  • Outline potential career paths
  • Identify career and educational resources
  • Develop an educational and a career plan
• Recognize wellness concepts relating to educational achievement
  • Integrate appropriate instructor-student behaviors
  • Explore the concept of diversity and individual differences with the community
  • Investigate decision making, motivation, procrastination, self-esteem and self-awareness concepts