Classes have begun, and your students have been sorting through the syllabus for each of their classes, doing their homework and participating in class.  They are probably also realizing that college level work is different than high school level work.  The volume of work is much greater – maybe reading a whole English novel or lengthy chapters of science texts in the course of just a few days.  Your student may feel that in the first few weeks of college level math, they’ve covered what took their high school algebra teacher an entire year to teach.

So, how do you help mentor your student as he/she begins to navigate the classroom and interact with professors?

One of the best messages you can pass on to your student is to take their academic temperature early and often.  “Do I understand the course material? Am I getting it? Am I succeeding?”  And if the answer to any of those questions is “no,” then the student needs to take control of the situation and get help.

“Help” can come in a variety of settings:  going to the professor’s office hours (regularly scheduled hours each week when the professor will be in his/her office) to go over course material and ask deeper questions; making an appointment at the Learning Assistance Center for tutoring or suggestions on how to study better, or at the Writing Center for help on papers or the Math Center for math help; talking to other students in the class to form a study group.

Sometimes first year students do not want to ask for help because they feel like they “ought to know how” to do well in their classes.  Most Wake Forest students are accustomed to being shining stars in high school; perhaps they haven’t ever struggled academically.  Suddenly they’re in classes with students who are just as good (or better) in a subject, the pace of the academics is faster, or it’s just plain harder to be the star pupil.  This can rattle some students’ confidence.  This is a great opportunity for family members to remind their student that a truly smart student is one who asks for assistance when he or she needs it.

In terms of helping them be successful in interacting with professors, encourage your student to come to class prepared and ready to contribute to the course discussion or lab.  Every professor provides a syllabus, or class outline, that shows all course assignments, dates papers are due, daily reading or homework, and exam dates.  Students are responsible for following that syllabus and being prepared.

Professors enjoy it the most when students are actively engaged in learning.  Students can – and should – bring their ideas to the table.  Each first year student will take two discussion-based seminar classes which are deliberately small, with around 18 people.  Students should feel free to speak up, ask questions, and voice their opinion.  Your student doesn’t have to agree with everything other students (or even the professor) say in these discussion courses – sometimes the best classes are ones where there are vastly differing opinions and ideas.  Those hearty discussions often prompt the most learning.

Professors also like to see students during their office hours.  Encourage your student to visit his/her professors and to get to know them as people, not just as faculty members.  Wonderful friendships can develop from the casual office hours visit, where student and faculty member discuss and share ideas and discover mutual interests.

You can help the University by reinforcing to your student that it is important to be vigilant about plagiarism and to respect the Honor Code.  Professors deal in the world of ideas and theories – so to take someone else’s idea, theory, or quotation and use it as your own (without proper citation) is a very serious academic offense on any campus.  Remind your student that even though it might seem that doing some late night research on Google and borrowing a few paragraphs is no big deal, it is a very big deal and one must always cite one’s work.

As the semester continues, and students have received grades on tests or papers, they become more comfortable with the pace of college level work and what is expected of them.  For now, parents and families can help by listening and providing encouragement, reminding their student to do the best they can, to get any help they need, and be honest.