College failure has been more common than not in recent years, many students just go off to school unprepared and unaware of what to even expect. Often in High School the teacher say they are preparing you for college, but in many cases it is nowhere near what college is really like. In High School you were forced to attend, your teacher held your hand along the way and you were required to take classes you may have not wanted to take or interested in. In the article, “Do Student Success Courses Actually Help Community College Students Succeed?” written by authors from the community college research center (CCRC), they explain that studies have shown college success classes to highly improve the success rates of college students.
Many community colleges offer success courses, and some even require them. These courses help prepare students what to expect in the near upcoming years. They teach students about different resources around campus to utilize for success, studying habits, time management, how to set clear goals and even how to navigate the many different websites and online class programs. This article describes that these courses have been very affective, which is proved by lots of research. Some research was done in Schools of Florida, where students taking “student life skills” or “SLS” were more likely to earn a community college credential, transfer to a state university, or remain in college after five years. The study shows that students not taking the SLS course were usually rated with higher failure rates.
Many college success courses have specialized textbooks for their school, like we do here at TCC for example and they help the students specifically here at TCC and helping us be successful. The books can teach you about resources on campus, support groups, and how to succeed at your college. This article concludes that many students come to community colleges with very limited understanding of the opportunities and demands of college life and lack the skills and orientation needed to thrive in college. Student Success coursed more often than not contribute to positive outcomes by helping students early in college by developing goals, becoming aware of resources, and have an overall clear idea of what it takes to succeed in college.
Works Cited
Zeidenberg, Mark; Jenkins, Davis; Calcagno, Juan Carlos. “Do Student Success Courses Actually Help Community Colleges Succeed?” Community College Research Center: CCRC BRIEF. (June 2007): Volume 36. Web. 10 October 2013.