Academic Difficulty Conversations – How to have them!

Student Conversations

Assisting students experiencing academic difficulties, For Faculty and Staff Advisers 

For a printable handout of this information, please click here

 

Identifying a student experiencing academic difficulties: 

• Low Midterm GPA
• One or more low test scores or large project scores 
• Consistent low scores on small, regular work (worksheets, quizzes, etc.)
• Student self identification through conversations, emails, requests for extra credit, etc.
• Currently or formerly on academic probation

 

Exploring the Issue with the student: 

• Question: Tell me about this (grade, score, GPA) – how did we get here? 
  • Listen: Give the student a chance to tell his or her story. In some cases, this open-ended conversation starter is all that you’ll need. In other cases, you might need to ask some follow-up questions.
  • Normalize: As students tell you about their struggles, try to “normalize” the experience of academic challenges.
  • Emphasize: While it may be normal to experience academic difficulty, we need to emphasize that it is important to address the root causes of the issue to improve academic performance. 

• Question: What was going on in your life outside of class?

• • • Listen: As the student responds, look out for “red flags” in the student’s account
      • health issues (including mental health)
      • personal/family tragedy
      • financial worries
      • working an unrealistic number of hours
    • Identify: The presence of any of these factors may mean that the student has the academic abilities to succeed at college-level work, but is not able to perform at his/her best. 
    • Refer: If there is the presence of outside factors, then it would be good to direct the student to appropriate resources, such as Counseling (UWill), Financial Aid, Peer Mentoring (Penji), etc.

• Question: What does a typical week look like for you? How do you keep track of your time?

• • Listen: As you listen to the students’ response, look out for non-academic factors that might be interfering.
  • Reinforce: Aside from reinforcing the importance of prioritizing the academic demands of college, this is also a good time to remind students of a realistic workload for their credit load. 
  • Skills: Discuss practical time management systems and task prioritization methods. 

 

Create a plan for success with the student: 

A plan for success should include the following elements.

• Goal Setting
• Time Management
• Study Skills
• Learning Strategies
• Organization
• Resource Utilization
• Self-Care
• Feedback and Reflection
• Motivation and Persistence

Student Success Center and Peer Mentors can also help students with a plan for success. Please refer any students.