1.3: 1.3 Professionalism in College

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Professionalism in college means that you attend class, participate, stay organized, motivate yourself, ask for help when needed, communicate respectfully with your classmates and instructors and follow the class policies and procedures as outlined in the syllabus.

The number one way to be successful in college is to attend class. For in-person classes, professionalism means you physically are present at every class session. Most of us learn better when we are actively engaged in the course material which we cannot be when we miss class. For students in virtual classes, attendance means you log into the course regularly and make the course part of your daily routine. Students cannot be successful in online classes without regularly logging into the course. At midterm, we often can tell how much a student has been attending by looking at the midterm grade in the course. Attendance is the key to success.

Participating in your college courses is paramount to your success. With in-person classes, participating means you actively engage in the class plus ask and answer questions when appropriate. For your online classes, participation may mean actively participating in class discussions and forums. When you participate, you get more out of the course, and learning is enhanced.

Regarding staying organized, you need to have a system. For your in-person classes, we recommend having a binder for each class. Binders make organization easy since you can store handouts, notebook paper, and graded assignments all in the same place. You also should have a planner or calendar so you can keep track of important dates, such as assignment due dates and exam dates (some tools will be explained in the Self-Management chapter). Many people use the calendar application on their phones which can be a great resource. Most calendar apps allow you to set reminder notifications that make staying on top of important deadlines much easier.

Motivation, which we will talk about in greater detail later in this text, is absolutely essential to doing well and completing college. Motivated students attend class, submit their best work, do not procrastinate, participate and ask for help when they struggle. Motivation is arguably one of the most important factors in college and life success.

During your time in college, you most likely will encounter a class in which you struggle. When this happens, you must be willing to ask for help in order to be successful. You can seek out help in several ways. One way is attending your instructor’s office hours or setting up an appointment with your instructor. After all, no one probably knows better how to help you in the class than the instructor teaching that class. Another way to get help is to attend free tutoring. HACC offers both free online and in-person tutoring depending on your needs, and more information is provided in the Resources chapter of this text.

Always communicate respectfully with your classmates and instructors. This communication expectation goes for in-class discussions and online discussion boards. When you email instructors, always be sure to include your name and the course in which you are enrolled. Many instructors teach multiple classes each semester and cannot help you unless they know to which course you are referring. Also important is using proper grammar and spelling when communicating via email.

Lastly, professionalism includes following the class policies and procedures as outlined in the syllabus. One of the most important policies to understand is the instructor’s policy on cell phone usage during in-person classes. Most instructors prefer that cell phones are put away and silenced during the class. Cell phones can be extremely distracting for you, your classmates and the instructor. You cannot learn in the class if you constantly are on your phone. You do yourself a disservice when you make your phone a priority over the instructor’s lesson.