Student Survival Guide

As a new college student there are many ideas and tools to keep in mind for a successful learning experience. I will discuss six topics that will help to achieve this success. These topics include: Using Axia's Educational Resources, Upholding Academic Honesty, Setting and Achieving Goals, Managing Time Wisely, Fostering Reading Comprehension and Retention, and Applying Personality and Learning Styles.

Axia College of the University of Phoenix has many online educational resources available to students. Three resources I will cover are the availability to down load and save files in multiple formats, navigating the University Library and identifying key information within articles. When applying to Axia College it was important for me to have an all online experience. An all online experience allows a remarkably convenient learning experience. All course material is available for download in multiple formats. All material can be saved on a computer or audio files can be saved to a portable device for use at a later time. Being able to download mp3 or avi or any other multimedia files allows the student to get the information and listen to it at their own convenience from their own portable device.

The University Library is another exceptional tool that is available online. Students have access to thousands of books, articles, magazines and journals. Having an online library can save countless hours in research and has most of the benefits of a physical library. At Axia there are three databases to choose from including Ebscohost, ProQuest, and Thomson Gale PowerSearch. Each of them specializes in a different topic. However, at this time it is not possible to search all databases at the same time. Many of the resources at the Library are peer and scholarly-reviewed articles to ensure verifiable information. Searching for information in the Library for specific information can be done using the Boolean search. Using Boolean searching allows to find specific word and wild card searches for key information within articles.

Upholding academic honesty while enrolled in Axia or any other college or university is imperative to the students success. It is Axia's policy to be honest when writing academic papers. It is up to the individual to use their own work and own thoughts when responding to questions or writing papers. Students must avoid plagiarism and cite references from original works. When quoting direct information from a book or article it is important to use quotations where appropriate. It is ok to paraphrase so long as it is on the students own words at not close to the original quote. The purpose of college is to learn, so it does not benefit any body when plagiarizing. Plagiarism must be dealt with when it happens and can lead to suspension or expulsion. There are tools available in the Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) that can be utilized to minimize plagiarism.

At Axia for educational or at work for career it is wise to set long term and short term goals for the achievement students wish to accomplish. When writing down or planning long term goals, it is important to set several attainable short term goals and a time frame or schedule to achieve the short term goals. Setting attainable short term goals will help in reaching the long term goals. When setting goals one should look at areas where there might be an obstacle. Write the obstacle down and several ideas that can be used to overcome the obstacle. Look at how the goal can become more attainable or realistic. It is a good idea to set goals daily, weekly, monthly and to obtain them daily so that it is possible to see progress. Another idea when obtaining goals is to reward yourself and start working towards the next goal.

One way to obtain goals is through Time Management. An advantage of taking classes at Axia is the online environment. There are not any set times where a student has to logon to their class. Make a list of items that need to be accomplished. List them as items that have to be done, priority 1, items that need should be done, priority 2 and items that would be nice to get around to, priority 3. This allows for time to be spent between work and family and other personal responsibilities. When starting a class it is helpful to download the class calendar and syllabus for each class. This information gives an important timeline when assignments are due and when it is necessary to check into class. Try to avoid time wasters by creating a chronological list or a table of an average day. List the items in half hour intervals. It is important for some personal time, but by creating a list of daily activities, this should show where the biggest time wasters are. Once this