success

Don’t Wait Until the End of the Semester to Care about Your Grade

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“I’lpen-162124_1280l do anything to pass this class!” proclaims the desperate failing student at the end of the semester. Unfortunately, the only option this student has to pass the class is to build a time machine, travel to the beginning of the semester, and actually do all of the assignments they failed to turn in.

This is a common problem facing students and faculty members alike. Despite the multitude of assignments given and grades assigned, college students often wait until the last few weeks of the semester to start paying attention to their grades.

Don’t let this be you.

In order to set yourself up for success, you should care about your grade from day one of the semester. Here are a few things you can do to stay on top of your grades:

  1. Any good professor will keep grades updated throughout the term so you always know where you stand in the course. You should check your grades frequently and contact your professor if you have any concerns about earning the grade you desire in the class. For example, if you do poorly on the first test you should talk to your professor immediately after you receive your grade to find out what you can do to score higher on the next test. If you wait until after you have failed all of your tests to ask for help, it will be too late to salvage your grade.
  2. Ask for a second chance. This one depends entirely on the teaching philosophy of your professor, but if you request a meeting and ask for an opportunity to revise an assignment for additional points, you may be able to raise your grade. Some professors will even give back some points simply because you took the initiative to meet with them. Just remember to ask politely and respect their decision if they say no.
  3. If you haven’t gotten any grades or have numerous assignments without grades, contact your professor. We often fall behind on grading because of our busy schedules, but requests from students sometimes light that fire we need in order to get the grading done.
  4. Read your syllabus so you know what the grading scale is for the course. Know how many points you need to earn to achieve your desired grade and track your progress as you go. The last thing you want is a surprise at the end of the semester because you didn’t understand the grading scale.
  5. Don’t rely on extra credit to save you. Your class may or may not include extra credit opportunities, but these opportunities are typically not enough to make up for numerous missed assignments or failing grades. Concentrate on the regular assignments, because that is where you will earn most of your points.
  6. Don’t beg when it is too little too late. You can’t go back in time and turn in assignments you missed or study for tests you didn’t study for. In the last few weeks of the semester there are typically only a few assignments remaining, and they will not be enough to save your grade. Your professor has given you plenty of opportunities to be successful in the class and it is not their fault if you didn’t take advantage of these opportunities when you had the chance.

In short, you should care about your success in the class from the first day and continue to care about it throughout the semester. Don’t wait until final grades are looming to suddenly pay attention or you may find that it is too late to save your GPA.

Treat College Like it is Your Job

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Laptop and Coffee

Imagine that you have just started a new job. On the first day after being introduced to your new boss by their title, you decide to constantly call your boss by their first name. Although you arrive at work on time for the first few weeks, eventually you start showing up later and later. Some days you don’t come in at all, and you tell your boss the reason for your absence is that you had somewhere more important to be. After you are assigned to a team task, you fail to communicate with any of your team members or show up to any team meetings. When your boss evaluates the little work you do complete, you loudly complain to anyone who will listen about how they evaluated you incorrectly. You then decide to send your boss lengthy emails telling them how to do their job better. Eventually, you stop showing up altogether.

Now you may be wondering, “Is this a true story? Did this person get fired?”

The answer to those questions are yes it is a true story, and no they didn’t get fired because they weren’t an employee. They were one of my students.

Any one of these unacceptable behaviors would easily get someone fired from the workplace, and yet countless college students behave this way in classes every day.

Here are just some of the behaviors that I see regularly in my college classrooms that would easily get someone fired if they were an employee:

  1. Consistently showing up late or failing to show up to class
  2. Sending emails to the professor that are in all caps, use profanity and insults, or that make demands
  3. Causing disruptions during lectures or when other students are trying to work
  4. Failing to complete assignments or trying to turn in assignments far beyond the deadline
  5. Complaining to everyone about class assignments or the professor
  6. Behaving rudely towards the professor in person
  7. Lying to the professor about why they did not complete an assignment

Chances are, you wouldn’t engage in any of these behaviors in the workplace because any one of them could get you reprimanded or fired. Yet, these types of behaviors are commonplace in college classrooms, and many students believe that acting this way is perfectly acceptable. However, if you wouldn’t behave this way at work, you shouldn’t be behaving this way at school.

You may have already heard the adage that you should treat college like you would treat a job. Although it may seem cliché to say this, there are a number of compelling reasons why you should.

First, a college classroom is not Saturday night at the bar with your friends. It is a professional environment that should be treated as such. Sure, the dress code might be a little less formal than in your workplace, but just because you are sitting in class in jeans and a t-shirt doesn’t mean that you should interrupt your professor and curse like a sailor.

Second, professional conduct facilitates student success. You probably won’t last long in your job if you aren’t showing up for your shifts, and you also probably won’t pass a class if you can’t be bothered to attend regularly or do your homework. The same behaviors that lead to success in the workplace also lead to success in the classroom. If you show up every day on time, listen mindfully to lessons, follow assignment instructions and meet assignment deadlines, and communicate respectfully with your professor, you will ultimately be setting yourself up for success in the class. Class time is also an opportunity to prepare for your future career, so you will want to act professionally unless your future career plans involve getting fired a lot.

Third, past behavior influences future outcomes. Say you have spent your time in college behaving disrespectfully towards your professors and doing the bare minimum to get by in your classes. You’ve managed to graduate and now it is time to apply for a job or to graduate school. You now need three references or three letters of recommendation. Who is going to write you a glowing recommendation? The professor you emailed in all caps, cursing wildly and demanding a higher grade? The professor who barely remembers you because you only showed up to class for half of the semester? The professor you constantly mouthed off to and interrupted frequently during lectures? Chances are, if you behaved unprofessionally in your classes, there won’t be any professors clamoring to write you a recommendation.

Based on all of the above, it is clear that treating college like you would treat your job is critical for your success. There are no compelling reasons why you should not approach your education like a professional. After all, there is a reason why people call it your college career.