The Importance of a Syllabus

Every semester I hand out syllabi to each of my classes - every student. And, every semester, I end up frustrated by the number of students who spend time to look up my email address and send me an email when they could just look at the syllabus. And, that's not even including the number of students that miss due dates for major assignments!

Believe it or not, but teachers generally hate giving bad grades - especially when a few minutes spent reading a syllabus could have saved a student the heartache of failing an assignment or even a course. I know you've all heard it countless times, but I'll say it once more for good measure -

READ YOUR SYLLABUS!

A syllabus is your contract with the Instructor. By staying in the class, you're agreeing to abide by the rules of the class - all of which should be in your syllabus. Syllabi also include a lot of information - due dates for assignments, contact information and office hours of your Instructor, assigned readings and homework for the week, etc.

It's amazing how much harm not reading a syllabus can do to a student's grades. :(

How to Survive a Busy Week

It's getting to be that time of the semester - the time when everyone has their first major tests or papers due for all of their classes. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, here are a few tips to help you get back on track....

1. Don't forget to breathe! - It may be a hectic week or two, but it's only temporary. Try to keep things in perspective.
2. Keep an updated daily "To Do" list. - If you can plan out your week ahead of time, things will go much smoother later on.
3. Leave extra space in your schedule. - You never know when a printer will die, you'll have computer problems, or a major traffic jam will disrupt your nicely planned schedule.
4. Don't wait until the last minute. - Something unexpected will almost always come up.
5. Make sure to schedule yourself some downtime. - We all need a little downtime and breathing room. Scheduling some fun into your schedule or just some time to relax can keep you from getting too stressed out. And, it'll help you stay healthy, too!

Good luck!

Time for a New Semester

It's that time again - time for a new semester of classes! In the spirit of getting you back on track, here are a few reminders to help get you organized and off on the right foot:

1. Make sure you have a calendar ready to use for the semester. If you need one, there are still extra handbooks available from Student Life. Stop by one of the Greeter tables (the one's with the red tablecloth and the "Ask me a question" signs) and pick one up. You can also stop by Georgiadis Hall Rm 206 and get one from the Office of Student Life if you miss the Greeter tables week.
2. Take some time to put all of the due dates and known assignments from your class syllabi into your calendar. Doing this will help you stay organized and on top of when things are due. You may also want to put a reminder if a big assignment is coming up the week before it's actually due. (Believe me - there's nothing worse than turning the page in your calendar on a nice Monday morning and finding out that you have a major paper or test due that day! Not a nice surprise!)
3. Check on all of your classes' pre-requisites and get a feel for what the teacher expects. If you don't meet the requirements for the class or decide that you need to switch to another time/teacher/class/etc., this week is the week to do it. Add/drop for 16 week classes comes and goes quickly (even faster for 8 weeks classes), so do it now!
4. Take the extra time to stand in lines! You'll need to count on spending extra time in both the bookstore and the ID lines. (ID's are permanently good, and parking decals need to be renewed every Fall. So, if you just took care of this in Fall 08, then there's one less line you need to worry about this semester.) You can also order and pay for your textbooks online through the college bookstore's website. They can have them bundled and ready to pick up. That can cut a few minutes off of your stay.

That's it for now. Be sure to check back, and good luck this semester!

-Prof M