Successful students are:

Involved in their studies and in campus life, investing both time and effort in the college experience; Resourceful, capitalizing on their surrounding resources; Interactive, collaborating with others; Reflective, self-aware learners who assess and monitor their own performance.

Success-promoting principles
and practices for students:

(Adapted from Thriving in College and Beyond, 2010, Cuseo, Fecas & Thompson, Kendall Hunt)

1. Be actively involved in the classroom, purchasing books prior to class, listening actively, taking notes, and participating.
2. Attend class regularly; treat class like a job.
3. Read actively and take notes to increase attention and retention.
4. Spend twice as much time on academic work outside of the classroom than in class. For a full-time student, college is a 40-hour academic workweek including occasional overtime.

Successful students interact and
collaborate with others including:

1. Peers, joining student clubs and campus organizations
2. Faculty members, by connecting with Professors and other faculty members after class, via email, schedule time during their office hours
3. Academic advisors, seeing an advisor to discuss current progress and seek advice for courses, majors and personal issues that may affect academic performance
4. Mentors, seeking out trusted mentors and role models. The Student Success Center maintains a list of available upper classmen, faculty and staff willing to mentor incoming students.
5. Forming learning teams, organizing or joining learning teams that collaborate on course assignments, studying for exams, or discussion.
6. Participating, in learning communities—SSU has on-going learning communities.