Marybeth Norcross

Setting Academic Goals

If setting academic goals isn’t part of your preparation, it should be. Goals provide structure to your academic life. Setting and prioritizing goals helps you focus on what’s important and ignore other distractions. Without specific and realistic goals, you will find yourself making random decisions you may regret.

Set Your Academic Goals

Goal setting starts with your vision of what you want from the academic program you are pursuing. What do you want to do with your education? What is the 5 or 10-year result of being in school? Knowing what you want to accomplish with your education is powerful motivation, especially when you are struggling.

Write a declarative statement for each of your goals. Formatting your goals in the right way increases your likelihood of achieving them. Use positive language. State what you want, not what you don’t want. Say, “I will get a B or better in Equipment and Techniques this semester”, instead of “I don’t want to flunk Equipment and Techniques this semester”. Thinking positively will empower you to be more successful.

One of the most effective ways to format your academic goals is to write SMART goals. SMART goals are effective because they are both realistic and relevant; making it more likely that you will persevere and achieve your goals. Align your goals with the following SMART concepts.

Create an Action Plan

Goals aren’t accomplished simply by writing them down. You need to create a plan of action in order to achieve your goals. Break each goal down into a set of smaller tasks and subtasks. Checking off each of these tasks and subtasks will give you a sense of accomplishment and feed your motivation to successfully complete your goals. Remember, your goals will never be accomplished unless you take action.

Identify Resources/Challenges

Obstacles and setbacks are a natural part of life, but you also have resources available to you to help you overcome them. Try to anticipate the challenges you may face. Make a list of potential obstacles and identify the resources that will support you.

Maintain Your Motivation

As you work on achieving your goals, you may have trouble staying motivated to push through to the end. One way to combat that “slump” you will likely experience is to ask others to help hold you accountable for achieving your goals. We all perform better before an audience, and having people who will celebrate your successes and remind you to stay on track can be a powerful motivation booster.

Another way to maintain your motivation is to visualize your future accomplishment. What will the accomplishment your goal look and feel like? What will be the benefits from achieving the goal? Will you have more personal time? Will your future goals become more attainable? Whatever it is, visualizing the benefits can help motivate you to progress to the next step.

There’s an App for That!

There are numerous ways to track the progress of your goals. If you like to use old fashioned hard copy methods you can put your goals into your calendar, journal, or on a piece pf paper taped to your bathroom mirror. Just keep them where you can see them every day. If you like a tech solution, there are a number of apps for goal setting and habit tracking available for your smartphone or tablet. You can use any app that meets your needs, but I recommend that you check out these two apps.

CheckMark is a great tool that was designed to help you achieve daily goals. This app is extremely useful for helping you complete the tasks and subtasks associated with your goals. It’s easy to use and the design is very simple. The goals you input are the ones that your want to achieve today, not tomorrow or in the future. The goals expire at the end of the day, whether they are achieved or not.

Smart Goals is an all-in-one goal setting, bucket list (dreams) and habit tracking app. The goals feature helps you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goals. It allows you to create smaller tasks and subtasks, or milestones, that lead toward the accomplish of your bigger goals. You can re-order your goals or convert goals to dreams or dreams to goals. It is a strong tool for tracking your long-term progress, and it’s editing tools allow you to make changes in your goals as you encounter life changes.

Make goal setting a part of your academic preparation. You will be able to focus on what is most important and complete your academic courses successfully. Your specific and realistic goals will help you make the right decisions to achieve the academic and professional life you envisioned.

6 Tips for Student Success

The start of a new academic year is filled with a sense of new beginnings, possibilities, and optimism. It’s a fresh start. It’s about what you can achieve as you strive toward academic excellence. It’s a chance to take control of your intellectual development and drive your professional success.

Now is the time to set yourself up for academic success. Here are six tips to help you start out on the right path.

1. Set Your Academic Goals

If goal setting isn’t part of your academic preparation, it should be. Goals provide structure in your academic life. Setting and prioritizing goals helps you to focus on what is most important and ignore other distractions. Without specific and realistic goals, you’ll find yourself making random decisions you may regret.

Set goals that are time-specific and measurable, so you will know when you have accomplished what you set out to do. Make sure you re-evaluate your goals on a regular basis. If things aren’t working, ask yourself what you need to change. Do you have to change your behavior? Would your goal be more achievable if you broke it down into smaller chunks? Is your goal realistic? Determining the answer to these questions will get you closer to achieving your goals.

2.Check the Technology Requirements

Several of the colleges and programs at UAMS require students to have a laptop. Therefore it is wise to understand what the technical requirements are before you start. Make sure your computer will work with Blackboard and any other online tools your instructor uses. You don’t want to waste time solving compatibility problems after your courses have started. Check the 2015 Laptop Buying Guide for more information.

3. Master the Online Tools

Access your courses in Blackboard as soon as they are available. Instructors set up their Blackboard sites differently, so it is a good idea to navigate around the site to learn how things are organized and where information is stored. Many instructors use online tools in their courses, so take the time to learn what they are and become familiar with how they work. That way, you aren’t trying to learn new tools when deadlines become pressing.

4. Employ Time Management Tools

Success at UAMS is dependent on time management. You have multiple courses, projects, exams, study groups, and deadlines, and keeping up with them can seem like a part-time job. To help you manage it all, get a calendar and combine it with a To Do list. I prefer to use an online calendar and to-do app that will sync across all my devices, but if you prefer a hard-copy calendar and to-do list, that’s fine too.

As soon as you can, download the schedules for all your courses and put all your assignments, projects, tests, and deadlines for all your courses on your calendar. This will show you when you are going to be the busiest. Break down your big projects into manageable chunks and work on them a little at a time so you aren’t overwhelmed when the deadline is upon you. Keep tasks on a To Do list and check them off when complete. Having a good system for your calendar and tasks will keep you organized and make your academic life much easier.

5. Sharpen Your Study Skills

Good study skills are a requirement for student success at UAMS. Even if you’ve never had to study much before, you will need strong study habits to meet the rigorous academic requirements at UAMS. Don’t wait until you are falling behind to develop you study skills. Take control and start now!

Preview what you have to do and prioritize your workload. Don’t try to cram for tests. Instead, spread your studying out over time. Organize the information and test yourself. Find someone from class to review with before a test. Try to select someone who doesn’t understand the material as well as you. Answering their questions will strengthen your own understanding.

6. Know Where to Find Help

At some point during your time at UAMS, you may need help. Become familiar with all the services that UAMS and the Student Success Center have to offer. You might find yourself falling behind in your courses or struggling to pass a class. Don’t wait to seek help. Go get the support you need right away.

Over the next six weeks we will be exploring these tips in more detail. Check back for more information and tools you can use to achieve more in your academic pursuits. And please, stop by the Student Success Center on the 3rd floor of the UAMS Library to discover more ways we are here to help you achieve academic excellence.