How well do you know ISU?
You realize you're struggling academically but aren't sure WHY. Does ISU have a service specifically designed to help you figure that out?
YES. The Academic Success Center offers one-on-one academic coaching, where students examine academic concerns/barriers and develop a personalized plan.
You know you're going to miss class next week. What's generally the best move?
Communicate with your instructor ahead of time.
True or False: Changing your major means you're falling behind or failing at college.
False. Changing direction after learning more about your interests, goals, and options can be part of the college process.
True or False: Students learn better when instruction is matched to their learning style (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
False. Preferences exist, but evidence does not support the learning-styles matching hypothesis.
TRUE OR FALSE: If you have access to the lecture slides and already took notes on the readings, creating another set of notes would mostly be a waste of time.
FALSE. Creating restructured study notes can require you to identify important ideas, organize relationships among concepts, connect information across sources, and put the material into a form you can effectively study from.
When will dropping a course result in a W on your ISU transcript?
Beginning on the 6th day of classes (Period 2).
What should you do first when you have a question about a course policy?
Check the syllabus/course materials.
Two students graduate with the same major and GPA. Should we expect them to be able to attain the same job after graduation?
No. What students do during college—courses, work, internships, research, leadership, organizations, relationships, etc.—can make their experiences very different and make the jobs they are qualified for very different.
True or False: The easier studying feels, the more you're learning.
False. Ease during practice is not necessarily a good indicator of durable learning.
TRUE OR FALSE: An autonomous learner should be able to decide whether they understand something without testing themselves.
FALSE. Effective learners use evidence of learning rather than relying entirely on feelings of familiarity or confidence.
TRUE OR FALSE: Academic Warning becomes part of your permanent academic record.
FALSE. Neither Academic Warning nor Academic Probation is part of the student's permanent academic record.
You receive a grade you don't understand. What is the first thing you should do?
Review the assignment, feedback, rubric, and course policies.
True or False: Your major determines exactly what career you'll have.
Some careers require specific credentials, but many majors can lead to multiple career paths.
True or False: Getting an answer wrong while practicing can still contribute to learning.
True, particularly when the learner subsequently receives the correct information/feedback.
You studied hard for an exam and earned a 62%. What would provide the strongest evidence of autonomous learning afterward?
Diagnosing what went wrong and changing your approach for the next exam.
TRUE OR FALSE: If your semester GPA falls below 2.0, you are automatically put on academic probation.
FALSE. For example, a student with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 who earns a semester GPA of 1.00–1.99 is placed on Academic Warning. A first-semester ISU student earning 1.00–1.99 is also placed on Academic Warning.
You need help with an assignment. What information should you include in your email?
A useful subject line (course name, section, your name, reason for email), an appropriate greeting, the course/assignment, explanation of your specific question or problem, and a clear statement of what you need help with.
True or False: The purpose of college is to prepare you for one specific job.
False. College can develop broad knowledge and transferable skills as well as preparation for particular careers.
TRUE OR FALSE: Getting less sleep to spend more time studying is generally a good strategy for improving exam performance.
FALSE. Sleep plays an important role in learning and memory, and sacrificing sleep for additional study time can undermine the learning and performance you're trying to improve.
You've been studying for an hour. What question is more useful than “How much longer should I study?”
“What can I actually do/remember/understand right now?”
Like students at most universities, you pay mandatory fees in addition to tuition. Name some of the services and resources your fees—and your status as an ISU student—give you access to.
CyRide, gyms and recreation, Memorial Union, student organizations and events, discounted concerts and athletics, free legal services, health and wellness services, academic coaching, tutoring and SI, writing help, career services, counseling, accessibility services, campus technology, lectures and speakers, and other student support services.
You email your professor at 8:00 p.m. Sunday about an assignment due Monday. When is it reasonable to send a follow-up because you haven't received a response?
After a reasonable response window stated by the instructor/course policy
It makes sense to attend college even if you have no idea what you want to do afterward.
IT DEPENDS. College requires a substantial investment of time and money. If your main reason for enrolling is simply to figure out what you might want to do, it may be worth considering lower-cost ways to explore first—such as working in different jobs, job shadowing, volunteering, or taking courses at a community college.
TRUE OR FALSE: A study strategy that produces the highest performance while you're practicing will usually produce the highest performance on a later exam.
FALSE. Conditions that improve performance during practice do not necessarily produce the strongest long-term learning.
TRUE OR FALSE: If your lecture notes are complete and accurate, there is little benefit to reorganizing them after class.
FALSE. Restructuring your notes requires you to actively work with the material—deciding what's important, organizing relationships, making connections, and creating a resource that supports later retrieval and studying.