Life after HS (for students) Preparing Your Students for Post Secondary Education Dr. Carter Tiernan, University of Texas at Arlington College of Engineering Going, Graduated!

Getting to college  What are the problems? → Applying late to their college of choice or only applying to one school with no fall back plan → Assuming that going to community college first is always going to make it easier in a 4-year program → Not applying for financial opportunities

Getting to college  How could the students do better? → Fill out a basic online application at beginning of senior year and know application deadlines → Talk to admissions AND an academic counselor in the desired major at school of interest about community college credit → Have financial info prepared by mid-January → APPLY ON TIME (Yes, it’s obvious but…)

Choosing a major  What are the problems? → Not having any ideas about what their skills or talents are → Choosing a major based on how much money they might make → Choosing because someone thinks they “should” → Choosing the simplest thing so they can play instead of learn, i.e. avoiding the “hard” majors like engineering or science

Choosing a major  How could the students do better? → Students can explore aptitudes with a variety of online tools or other assessment instruments to get suggestions for aptitude → You can recommend possible paths for students who are unsure of their interests → Encourage students to think about what kind of work they might want to pursue for 40 years – not just the day they graduate

Choosing a major  How could the students do better? → Remind them that their choices are the most important – not what someone else might want → Encourage students to make choices that are positive for them and that they think will make them happy in the long run → Help them realize that playing around in college and not passing classes will cost them money

Learning the expectations  What are the problems? → Students are expected to be responsible, manage their own time, and be disciplined enough to do their own work without significant follow up → Students have huge freedom with minimal immediate feedback for poor choices but significant long-term consequences → Students must be proactive to get help from available resources

Learning the expectations  How could the students do better? → Set high expectations for student accountability in turning in assignments and other tasks → Encourage students to take responsibility for their progress in class by verifying current grades with you and by articulating requirements to make their desired grade → Teach students to assess their own understanding and to seek help in improving their knowledge through many sources

Succeeding in STEM  What are the problems? → Deficiencies in student preparation especially in mathematics → Students not able to see connection of class topic to ultimate goal → Students not understanding the benefit of breadth and depth of knowledge → Lack of understanding of the need for rigor and intellectual foundation of degree plans

Succeeding in STEM  How could the students do better? → Strongly encourage students to plan to complete Calculus in high school – increases student success in college Calculus → Encourage students to practice good writing and presentation skills → Help students practice analytical thinking and problem-solving where they must struggle with a problem on their own or with a small team of peers

Succeeding in STEM  How could the students do better? → Talk about STEM programs and how lower level concepts must be solidly understood in order to progress therefore early courses are foundation for later more detailed topics → Discuss engineering disciplines and breadth of applications to explain breadth of coursework in engineering programs → Reinforce importance of rigor, understanding, and ethics in engineering as protecting public health, safety, and welfare

Graduating!  What are the problems? → Students not focused on completion and get frustrated with day-to-day issues → Students experience failure without inner resources to overcome it → Students experience failure but won’t take advantage of support systems to overcome it → Students need additional financial support

Graduating!  How could the students do better? → Teach students to keep goal in mind when reacting to immediate pressures → Help students learn to use failure to motivate increased effort toward success → Help students view failure as information about where they need to improve learning and how to look for assistance in learning outside the class → Talk to students about all types of financial arrangements for college including scholarships, grants, loans, work-study, and campus jobs

Life after HS for students SUCCESS! Dr. Carter Tiernan