UGA Students ‘Get Smart’ at Academic Workshops

Several people on the campus understand that the high school-to-college transition can be challenging for students. So they've decided to remedy this challenge with a series of workshops.

“It’s a critical year, just percentage wise,” said Keith Allen, academic coordinator for housing and retention in the Division of Academic Enhancement. “If there’s a class that you’re going to lose the most students with, or they’re not going to succeed, it’s that first year.”

“Get Smart Month,” sponsored by the Department of University Housing, the  Division of Academic Enhancement and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, happens every fall semester.

Topics discussed at the workshops range from academic advising to computer safety to time management.

“My primary concern is [students’] success in the classroom,” Allen said. “I want the students to have a clear perspective as to how to navigate their first year in class and have applicable skills that we can equip them with to succeed.”

The latest workshop, “Professor Expectations: Differences between College and High School Coursework,” focused on the depth of learning required to succeed in college.

Elizabeth Hardaway, workshop facilitator, explained to students that their academic participation becomes more active in college courses. For example, professors do not regularly remind students to check their syllabus for upcoming assignments and tests.

"Good students — the level of students that come to UGA — have had special relationships with their teachers in high school and the anonymity of a big class can sometimes be discouraging,” said Hardaway, who is coordinator of the office of transfer academic services in the Franklin College.

Natalie Brown, a first-year marketing student from Snellville, found the workshop series to be useful.

“[I learned that] you should get to know your professors, take out time to study and gain a source of independence, because you’re on your own now,” Brown said.

Hardaway wants students to jettison the idea that assertiveness is negative, and realize that stepping outside their comfort zone can change their college experience.

“[Students] need to take the initiative to create their own learning environment,” she said.