Monthly Archives: January 2009

Putting It All Down on Paper

planner.jpgYou can divide the world in to two parts: the people who write things down and the people who don’t. I was always happily a part of the take-things-as-they-come crowd until the day I blew my boss off for lunch.

I was on the faculty back then when I got an invite to have lunch with our new provost. I taught a Friday morning workshop about journalism to a group of high schoolers, then got in my car, drove to the supermarket, spent about $200, drove home, unloaded the groceries, put them away, picked up the kids from school, made a terrific dinner with said groceries, and sat down to eat, when my husband innocently asked, “How was lunch with the provost?” Yikes!

How could I possibly explain? It was Friday night and I stewed about the problem the whole weekend. How could I possibly tell my boss, the No. 2 executive in the university and the chief academic officer, that I simply forgot about him? There was only one recourse: a complete mea culpa with the promise from that day forward I would write everything down.

It’s one of the few promises to myself that I have kept religiously. I still use a rather large annual agenda and write down all my appointments and meetings. I refer to it several times a day. If a meeting is scheduled electronically, it only becomes real to me when I put it in the book.

It’s written somewhere that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Floss your teeth 21 days straight and you have created a routine, so the accepted wisdom goes. I (and my dentist who looks at my teeth three times a year) disagree. The only way I can make a habit out of something odious is to write it down and then follow the list. If flossing gets left off the to-do list today, there’s about zero chance it’s going to get done.

Now, we’re asking our students, your sons and daughters, to put it all down on paper. Our new Academic Success Center, an advising clearinghouse on campus, is inviting students who are at crossroads to come to Mooney Hall for a visit. We want students who are confused, students who are contemplating a switch in majors, students who are having little success tracking a difficult major and students who have had an epiphany about their future to come by for an informal chat. And to write down their options to make them real. Nothing like the truth staring you in the face in black and white to make it all real.

We are helping these students come to terms with what they are good at, what it will take academically to succeed and what kind of plan they need to have in place. One tool we will be using is the “four-year plan,” which asks students to anticipate the courses they need to graduate and to create a grid that fits the requirements in to the remaining semesters. This is especially useful for students who are contemplating a major change or have had little success tracking the major of their dreams.

Mostly, we will be asking these students to put it all down on paper. Sophomores who come to see us only have four more semesters to make their undergraduate academic dreams a reality or they will be on “overtime.” We want to help students graduate as economically as possible. Sometimes, seeing reality in black and white is a great wake-up call.

Some students are banging their heads against an impenetrable wall. If your son or daughter failed Developmental Math in freshman year but is still planning to be a Biology major, that student probably needs a frank conversation with one of our academic advisers. It will take them five more semesters to simply complete their math requirement and they won’t be able to take required science courses until their second semester sophomore year – if they pass everything.

This academic planning gives rise to some fruitful career conversations. Why, we ask, do you want to pursue this major? What are your career aspirations and is there a simpler path to fulfill your career goals?

The Academic Success Center in Mooney Hall is also inviting transfer students and others who are new and confused to visit and talk about Seton Hall processes, procedures and policies. We will supplement information they get from the faculty advisers in their majors and help them complete the transfer of courses and have those classes evaluated in the various departments.

If as parents you have concerns about your student’s path (rocky or smooth though it may be) suggest that they give the Academic Success Center a chance. They can make an appointment by emailing academicsuccess@shu.edu or by calling 973-275-2387. We look forward to helping them find their way.

By Tracy Gottlieb, Ph.D.

Dean of Freshman Studies and Special Academic Programs