click on the link to download the Microsoft Word version of Faculty Tips

Faculty TIPS

I've collected these tips from some of your instructors at Skyline College. While the tips are mostly from instructors and professors of English, they'll help you do well in any course you take. Help yourself.

Mr. Felix Perez, in The Learning Center, offers workshops and classes for success in college, and Ms. Joyce Lee, in the Skyline Counseling Office, has posted a site for workshops and counseling for student success. On reserve in the library is the excellent book How to Succeed in College, by Walter Pauk. It contains very useful advice on how to make the most of your time, including study tips.

Following this list of Skyline TIPS is a link to "The Student Survival Guide," a commercial Internet site offering a list of wry tips for success in college classes.

The Insiders' TIPS are numbered in no particular order; browse to find hints that could help you succeed in class

Insiders' TIPS for success in your classes at Skyline College.

1. ASK! Ask for any help you need. Ask your instructor. Ask your classmates. Ask for help in The Learning Center, building 5, room 5100. Ask a librarian in the Skyline Library. Just ASK!

2. Put yourself in the way of success.

3. Reading is the key to success in every course.

4. Help yourself first.

5. Participate in class activities and process information while you sit in class.

6. Take good class notes.

7. Teachers really do want you to succeed.

8. Come to every class meeting.

9. Come to every class meeting prepared to do well.

10. Be on time to class and to appointments.

11. Go to office hours. If your instructor's office schedule does not fit your schedule, ask for another time you can come by for help. ASK! nicely. (See # 1.)

12. Don't hide in the back of the classroom - or anywhere else.
    (See # 2.)

13. "Excuses are like, uh, elbows; everyone has one."

14. Fool yourself, as needed. Pretend you're glad to be in class, and the hour will go more easily and productively. (See # 2.)

15. Organize your course materials as soon after class as you can. Heavy-duty 3-ring binders are an excellent tool.

16. Get HELP! at student services, building 1, room 315.

17. Or go to the student services site on Skyline's web page.

18. Buy the books and materials for the class.

19. If you can't afford all the books at the same time, buy the books you'll need first.

20. If you can't afford any of the books for class, let your instructor know.

21. Feign attention. (See # 14.)

22. Bring a pocket dictionary to every class. (Look up the word "feign" in #22.)

23. Set aside time in every day for class work.

24. Arrive early for class to get yourself organized and prepared for the day's activities.

25. Do the extra credit. It makes you look good, and it may help your grade later in the semester.

26. Miss a class meeting? Ask the instructor if you can attend another section of the same class.

27. Miss a class meeting? Get in touch with the best student in the class.

28. Don't miss class meetings, unless you have to.

29. Sit with the best students

30. Sit where you can see and be seen.

31. Don't be afraid to succeed.

32. Before you get the grade, if you're not satisfied with your work when you hand it in, hand it in and then ask for a chance to meet with the instructor in order to re-do the work.

33. If you don't like your grade, go to office hours and ask the instructor what you can do to do better next time.

34. Let your instructors know your special needs - whatever they are.

35. Smile. (See # 14.) It makes the work easier for everyone, including yourself.

36. Start every semester strong; that way, you'll have a buffer to fall back later on.

37. Invest yourself in your classes.

38. Don't pack up, zip up and rattle around before the class is over.

39. Don't miss two classes for the price of one by coming to the next class unprepared.

40. Be prepared to take class notes.

41. Have materials in hand before the class begins.

42. Never, ever ask: "Did we do anything in class last time?"

43. Work done in school is work you do for yourself; it does and will pay a lot better than the work you do for someone else.

44. Invest in yourself.

45. Sit in the front of the room.

46. Sit where you can hear and be heard.

47. Good behaviors become second nature. (See # 14.)

48. Come to office hours.

49. Don't eat loud foodstuffs in class.

50. Answer the first questions asked in class; the questions get more difficult as options dwindle.

51. Follow directions. (See # 1.)

52. Clean up after yourself.

53. Be considerate.

54. Tape record every class you can for review. (Ask the instructor's permission first.)

55. ASK AGAIN - nicely.

56. Dress appropriately for class. (See # 47.)

57. Don't write on your hands; instead, keep a notebook for appointments and reminders.

58. (Tattoos are indelible.)

59. Mix into class groups willingly and often. (See # 5.)

60. Make personal arrangements with the instructor before or after class, or better still during scheduled office hours.

61. Never, ever ask: "Did I miss anything important in class last time."

62. Don't laugh at any student - ever.

63. Side conversations can make it look like you don't care what's going on in class.

64. Come to class on time.

65. If you must arrive late to class, enter quietly.

66. Plan on tight parking on campus.

67. Stay for the whole class period.

68. If you must leave early, let your instructor know before class starts, so you can be sure to get any handouts. (Leave quietly, if you must leave early.)

69. No pagers, please.

70. Computers can save you hours of time and can be purchased new for just a few hundred dollars.

71. Computers on campus are virtually free on campus and come with expert help.

72. Most experts advise 2 - 3 hours work outside of class for every hour spent in class. Do the math.