I recently reviewed this issue with Meghan Harte Weyant, executive director of student success at Rollins College, and talked about some of the strategies that young scholars can use, some of the resources they can use, to start navigating effectively as early as possible in their academic careers.
Q: Students really do have a hard time navigating the academy, as we call it. Why do you think that is?
A: Because it’s confusing. Colleges and universities are unlike primary and secondary school in a number of ways. There are a lot of options in college from navigating systems like financial aid and housing to choosing course offerings and majors. On top of this, students are typically experiencing it all the first time in their life. Because of this, we’ve found that for some students, support systems may be unclear … the path to graduation may be unclear … and for others their ultimate goal may even be unclear.
Also, a certain amount of amnesia sets in for those of us who have been through the academy or in our roles for a number of years. We forget how confusing it can be for our students. For example, students often have a hard time deciphering what their immediate priorities should be once they enter the academy, and they have an even harder time determining when and where to get help in executing those priorities.
Q: Learning to navigate the system is actually challenging, even for those students that are generally aware of the benefits. Would you say there are specific barriers that impede student success in this area?
A: Yes, I think the road map to graduation is often unclear. I also think we often don’t do the best job of making students aware of how social, financial, health and wellness, and other factors outside of the academic can strongly influence academic success.
