by Chrissy Downunder

Time Management College Classes

High school students with learning disabilities often take for granted that school “procedures” remain pretty much the same once they transition to college. It is this misconception that often causes students academic upset. In order to succeed, students need to be prepared for the unique challenges college classes present.

For one, high school students are usually in school from about 8 AM to 3 PM and have major subjects every day. In college, you may have only two classes per day that range from one to three hours long. College classes usually meet on either Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday. In college, classes can be arranged with breaks in between. Students won’t have the same mental fatigue that comes from sitting in classes all day. They can use this time to review their notes from the previous lesson (an excellent study technique), begin their homework, or study.

In high school, students spend about 30 hours a week in class. In college, each credit represents one hour in class, and students usually attend classes 12 to 15 hours a week. For students with disabilities, a full-time load may be 6 to 9 credits/hours, depending on what their documentation says they can reasonably handle.

High schools provide students with textbooks. In college, you must budget money for books; the cost can easily exceed 0 with 15 credits. Freshmen usually experience “sticker shock” on their first visit to the college bookstore. If possible, buy used textbooks, making sure they are the correct editions. Do not purchase books with highlighting or notes as they can be distracting. Also, check to see if a new book comes with a CD-ROM. If so, make sure the used book does, too.

Let’s discuss homework. In high school, assignments are shorter and usually due the following day. In college, students usually have two to three days to complete assignments. Therefore, homework comes in greater quantity and requires a lot more time. In addition, college students are asked to be more interpretive and less literal, so higher level thinking skills are called into play. In addition, professors often assign long-term papers or projects that require a good grasp on time management. Time Management College Classes

High school teachers often collect homework; professors rarely do. Once students catch onto this, it becomes a temptation to skip homework, which is a perilous policy. Homework provides the requisite practice for thoroughly learning a concept. Students who feel they are “pulling a fast one” by not doing the homework soon realize their cover is blown when it comes to exam time. Those who study by cramming, trying to learn in a short time what they should have learned in distributed practice, very often end up doing poorly on the test. Studying is best done in short, frequent intervals.

In high school, students don’t have many choices as to the courses they take, while college offers a wide choice. This has both its up and down sides. The up side is that you can take what interests you. The down side is that students can register themselves and possibly end up with professors who don’t fit their learning style, courses that are too difficult for them, or even classes that don’t fit into their program of study. Students with disabilities should always consult the disability services office regarding the schedule and professors that suit them best.

In high school, attendance was taken in homeroom, right? In college, many professors don’t have attendance policies. Their philosophy is that students are adults who can choose whether or not they wish to attend classes. The veiled danger in this is the sudden presumption that “attendance doesn’t count”. College classes, however, move so swiftly that missing even one class can set you behind. Professors expect you to return to class fully caught up and ready to move on, unlike in high school where you could make up the work afterward.

If you are having difficulty in a particular class, high school teachers might ask you to come for extra help. Professors are unlikely to do that. In college, the onus is on the student to ask for anything he/she needs. The assumption is if you need help, you’ll request it. The professor can help you during office hours. Meek students can spend an entire semester in the dark because they were fearful of approaching the professor. In college, students need to be assertive and ask for what they need!

Finally, another difference between classes in high school and college is size. In high school, the maximum number of students was probably near thirty. Freshman classes at a university can be held in a large lecture hall with a capacity of 300 students! Once a student declares a major and is taking courses specific to it, the class size becomes smaller. Community colleges are known for their small classes, about 25 students, even for freshman classes.

Differences between high school and college classes present a challenge for freshman, but particularly those with disabilities. The danger lies in unstructured time, often considered “free” time by freshmen. Considering that students have two to three hours of homework/studying for every hour in class, this amounts to approximately 27 hours of work per week just for 9 credits! The hardest lesson of all is realizing that what looks like “free” time is hardly that. The sooner students adopt effective time management practices, the easier college will be. Time Management College Classes

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