Service Opportunity Big Event Saturday March 24 8-10am or 10am-noon Contact Anne Walton aw1837@msstate.edu orgsync instructions on page 38 put “FSS” in the Group box

FYE 1101 Freshmen Success Strategies Overcoming Obstacles Tonight we will talk about Overcoming Obstacles. “Obstacles” sounds like a daunting, negative word. We thought about using ”Challenges” or some similar word, but stuck with Obstacles. Fortunately, even Obstacles can be overcome. As the sign says, we don’t have to just sit and wait for the storm to pass, we can do something about the storm. We may even be able to embrace the storm, dance in the rain, and become stronger for the next storm. We have talked about a Specific, Measurable, Achievable yet Ambitious, Relevant, and Timely goal of earning a GPA of 2.00 or higher this semester. Can anyone tell us a potential obstacle to achieving that goal? Not even necessarily an obstacle that you have, but an obstacle that any student could have to achieving that goal. We’re going to talk about potential obstacles, and what we can do to overcome those obstacles.

Types of Obstacles External Internal Habitual External obstacles are outside of your control, such as the economy, natural disasters, and the political climate. Is it possible for an external obstacle like a bad economy to make it difficult for a student to succeed in school? (If the student needs to work to pay for school, does a bad economy make it difficult to get a job? To get a higher paying job?) What about natural disasters? Ten years ago, when Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, thousands of college students were uprooted and moved hundreds of miles from where they planned to get their educations. What can you do to overcome External obstacles? What can you do when the economy is bad? (improve skills, lower your demands?) Internal obstacles are ones that you have direct-control over, such as skills, time availability, cash flow, and debt. What can you do when you just don’t have enough time? (Prioritize, cut back on less important activities. Time Management) What can you do when you don’t have enough cash? (We’ll talk about Financial Management in a later class, but obviously you can do things to cut down on expenses, and you may be able to get some sort of job to increase cash available.) Habitual obstacles reflect how people get in their own way and can be removed only with behavioral change. Examples? (Excessive partying, drinking, sleeping, apathy) What can you do to overcome Habitual obstacles? (personal changes, behavioral changes)

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks.” - Michael Jordan If you sit at home and never try to achieve anything, you probably won’t encounter any obstacles. But when you start setting goals, when you branch outside the box, when you start trying to do more and more, you will encounter obstacles along the way.

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks.” - Michael Jordan If you sit at home and never try to achieve anything, you probably won’t encounter any obstacles. But when you start setting goals, when you branch outside the box, when you start trying to do more and more, you will encounter obstacles along the way.

Collegiate Challenges Responsibility/Independence Physical/Emotional Social Financial Balance Academic Responsibility/Independence: First time on your own, responsible for so many things. Making good decisions. Example: We have Supplemental Instruction available in 26 classes this semester. 380 freshmen are failing one of those classes – 75 of the 380 have attended SI, 305 have not attended a single time. Physical/Emotional: Tired. Stress. Social: Peer pressure. Social interactions are a big part of the complete college experience, but they require balance. Financial: Account balances due were March 9. Balance: Time. Responsibilities. Academic: Difficult classes. Classes being full.

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” - Michael Jordan Complete quote. Everybody who tries to achieve encounters obstacles. The key is to get past them.

90% of respondents to national poll identified Time/Priorities as #1 problem facing college students. Lack of knowledge and Getting help should go hand in hand. Social distractions. Interesting how few said that “Material is too hard” was a problem.

Overcoming Obstacles Start with a positive outlook. Be open-minded. Understand the problem. Define success. Be prepared. Start with a positive outlook. Your attitude colors almost everything you do in life. If you believe the hurdle is insurmountable, you may give up too easily. I can’t do this! But if you believe that you can, maybe you really can. Be open-minded. Always consider alternative solutions. - Don’t limit yourself to “That’s the way we do it” Understand the problem. Ask questions. Find the root cause of the problem. Compare to similar situations. Break it down into smaller parts. Truly understand the issues at hand. Define success. Make it measurable. Success means different things to different people. Be prepared. Get the resources that you need.

Feb 19 was not an obstacle for us, but it was a checkpoint Feb 19 was not an obstacle for us, but it was a checkpoint. Our first best chance to see where we stood in pursuit of our GPA goal. March 23 is our next best checkpoint. In reality, we have “anytime grade reporting”, so teachers can submit progress grades any day, as frequently as they want. We submit progress grades to Banner at least weekly, and frequently more than once a week because we want to provide the most accurate and timely information to you that we can. When you are pursuing a goal, especially a long-term goal, frequent feedback is critical to help you stay on course. Would you hire a contractor to build your home, then never even look at the home until it was finished? Or would you go by the work site frequently, check on how things were going, and give the contractor feedback?

Overcoming Obstacles Take one step at a time. Focus on the positive outcome. Reward progress. Be prepared to start over. Take one step at a time. Incremental. Feeling of accomplishment. Positive reinforcement after every accomplishment. We talked about this with unrealistic goals, where you keep failing time after time, which is so discouraging. Focus on the positive outcome. Work toward your goal. Reward progress. Helps maintain positive outlook. Be prepared to start over. As much as it may hurt, sometimes the road you are traveling is not going to go anywhere.

Academic Forgiveness This is not the solution to all problems, but we do have an Academic Forgiveness policy. A student may retake up to two classes – up to 8 hours. Both grades will appear on your transcript, but only the latter grade will be used in calculating your GPA. Over the past 10 years, 10,193 students have made an F in a 1000-level class and re-taken the class. (Notice that those students averaged over 7 absences per class). 7% of those students made an A in the class when they re-took it. 16% made a B. But 40% failed the class again (notice that they increased their number of absences to 11). You can benefit from Academic Forgiveness, but it is not automatic. Be sure to apply yourself 100% when you re-take the class.

Supplemental Instruction 507 freshmen are failing an SI-enabled class. 421 of those students have never attended SI. 487 have attended 3 or fewer times. Of students who have attended at least once, 75% have an A, B, or C. There are many tools that we have available when we’re trying to overcome an obstacle. Why would someone not use one of the available tools?

Tutoring at tlc.msstate.edu

SMART Goals I will create a To Do list each day. I will have ____ total absences for the remainder of the semester. I will attend SI ________ times. I will achieve a GPA of _____ or higher by the next Progress Grades.

Finishing Strong

Service Opportunity Big Event Saturday March 24 8-10am or 10am-noon Contact Anne Walton aw1837@msstate.edu orgsync instructions on page 38 put “FSS” in the Group box

After-Class Activity (course packet page 14) We have an online activity after each class. Follow the instructions on page 14 to complete tonight’s activity. The activities are due at 11:59pm each Tuesday night. Finally, every Tuesday, we will have an online activity. These are always quite short, and you can even do them on your phone. You can do it immediately after class, before you even leave the room, so you’re sure that you completed it. This is one point each week, so 15 total points of your grade.

If you did not scan your id card… Be sure to come talk to the designated Navigator after class. Attendance is part of the grade in this class. Be sure to bring your id card, and be sure to scan successfully every week.