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Fri Fun Facts: Check In

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Today’s Friday Fun Facts is dedicated to the check in. Periodically I have to take my car in to get its oil change and Canadian Tire will check the air pressure in my tires, as well as a host of other things. I am lucky to have a good dental plan and get my teeth cleaned twice per year. What about the check in at work? Some employers have annual reviews, and my  employer follows this procedure and some additional ones for the regular faculty.

But, I’m not so concerned with that right now. I’m thinking about the periodic check in that students should do with their schedules and classes. What does this include?

1. Going to class or at least having a plan for attending class. Now, you might work well with attending 75% of the lectures. I’d prefer to see students attend 80%, but hey, I’m on the other end of the equation.

2. Planning your time during the hectic post mid-term craziness. From here on out, my students are bombarded with deadline after deadline and then the final exam schedule. Free time is really an oxymoron, as they should have their time scheduled well in advance for paper writing, blog writing, and exam prep. I suggest you take out your phone or device and seriously plan out a realistic schematic of what you can do between now and December 20th.

3. This is basic–eat right, sleep right, and get some exercise in so that you can function. I’ve said it before–get a flu shot or step up the various routines to stay healthy. One of the best defense is hand washing. Yes, I said it and I’ve said this before on my blog.

4. Check in with your Teaching Assistant(s) and Professors! I wish I could say that I get lonely during my office hours, but I don’t. I have a bench out side my office and during my office hours the bench is kept warm. I have to say that I truly appreciate that my office hours are busy. This means that students are checking in with me to chat about assignments, ask for advice, chat about their schedules, help them in other ways, and overall serve as a mentor or coach to them.

5. Related to the above point–check in with the advising team in your department and Academic Advising.

6. This is really basic, but I have to repeat it: read your syllabus. Please read your syllabi! And, if you haven’t read it, please don’t ever say that to your Teaching Assistant or Professor. We really don’t like hearing that.

Enough! Check in–don’t check out!

Reminder for Grad School Applications

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It is that time of year, before the term begins or before it gets really hairy…this is the perfect time for students to think about their grad school options. My words of advice is to be organized. Most students will approach faculty in October or later and this is when professors are writing lots of students letters of reference for graduate school. Be organized. You should hopefully have put together a list of schools that you’re going to apply to. Remember to include more than one school with this list! You should have a sure bet school, the programs you would really like, and then the dream options.

How can you make this application process easier?

1. Ask professors weeks before the letters are due.

2. Provide us all the information we need.

This includes~ Who, What, Where, and When, Fill out all necessary forms. Really organized students provide me a Word or Excel file with the schools, deadlines, and any additional information.

I ask for a copy of your letter of intent and cv/resume. I might even meet with you and ask what your motivation is for continuing your education.

3. Remind us. Send an email a few days before a due date.

4. Thank us. This can be an email or a note. It’s not necessary to do more. Remember that your tenure line faculty actually get paid to mentor and do things like write letters. Keep in mind that part-time faculty do not get compensated for this extra work. Remember to thank them profusely–a card, bottle of wine or a face to face thank you is nice.

Good luck with this process! And, remember this process is nerve wracking!