Following the Rules in High School

Choosing Responsibility in College

High school is mandatory and available for free.

College is voluntary and expensive.

Time is structured by others.

The student manages his/her own time.

Permission is needed to participate in extracurricular activities.

The student decides whether to participate in co-curricular activities.

The student can count on parents and teachers to remind him/her of responsibilities and to guide in setting priorities.

The student must balance responsibilities and set priorities.   The student will face moral and ethical decisions he/she has never faced before.

Each day the student will proceed from one class directly to another, spending 6 hours each day – 30 hours a week, 180 days a year – in class.

The student may have hours between classes; class times vary throughout the day and evening and the student may only spend 12 to 16 hours each week in class.

Most classes are predetermined.

The student arranges his/her own schedule in consultation with an adviser.  Schedules tend to look lighter than they really are.

Students are generally not responsible for knowing what it takes to graduate.

Graduation requirements are complex and students are expected to know which requirements apply.

Guiding principle:  Students will usually be told what to do and corrected their behavior when it is out of line.

Guiding principle:  Students are expected to take responsibility for what they do and don’t do, as well as the consequences for inappropriate decisions.

Going to High School Classes

Succeeding in College Classes

The school year is 36 weeks long; some classes extend over both semesters and some don’t.

The academic year is divided into two separate 15-week semesters.

Students may study outside class as little as 0 – 2 hours a week and this may be mostly last-minute test preparation.

Students are expected to study at least 2 to 3 hours outside of class for each hour in class.

Students seldom need to read anything more than once and sometimes listening in class is enough.

Students need to review class notes and text material regularly.

Students are expected to read short assignments that are then discussed, and often re-taught, in class.

Students are assigned substantial amounts of reading and writing which may not be directly addressed in class.

Guiding principle:  Students will usually be told in class what they need to learn from assigned readings.

Guiding principle:  It’s up to the student to read and understand the assigned material; lectures and assignments proceed from the assumption that that has already been done.

High School Teachers

College Professors

Teachers check completed homework.

Professors may not always check completed homework, but they will assume you can perform the same tasks on exams.

Teachers remind students of incomplete work.

Professors may not remind students of incomplete work.

Teachers approach you if they believe you need assistance.

Professors are open and helpful and may suggest tutoring or other outside assistance, but they also expect students to initiate contact if assistance is needed.

Teachers provide information missed during an absence.

Professors expect students to be accountable for work missed.

Teachers present material to help understand the material in the textbook.

Professors may not follow the textbook.  Instead, to amplify the text, they may give illustrations, provide background information, or discuss research about the topic being studieds.  Or they may expect the student to relate the classes to the textbook readings.

Teachers often write information on the board to be copied in a notebook.

Professors may lecture non-stop, expecting students to identify the important point in notes.  When professors write on the board, it may be to amplify the lecture, not to summarize it.

Teachers impart knowledge and facts, sometimes drawing direct connections and leading the students through the thinking process.

Professors expect students to think about and synthesize seemingly unrelated topics.

Teachers will often remind students of assignments and due dates.

Professors expect student to read, save, and consult the course syllabus.

Guiding principle:  High School is a teaching environment in which the student acquires facts and skills.

Guiding principle:  College is a learning environment in which the student takes responsibility for thinking through and applying what has been learned.

Assessment in High School

Assessment in College

Testing is frequent and covers small amounts of material.

Testing is usually infrequent and may be cumulative, covering large amounts of material.  The student, not the professor, needs to organize the material to prepare for the exam.  A particular course may have only 2 or 3 exams in a semester.

Makeup tests are often available.

Makeup exams are seldom an option.

Teachers frequently rearrange test dates to avoid conflict with school events.

Professors in different courses usually schedule exams without regard to the demands of other courses or outside activities.

Teachers frequently conduct review sessions, pointing out the most important concepts.

Professors rarely offer review sessions, and when they do, they expect the student to be an active participant who comes prepared with questions.

Guiding Principle:  Mastery is usually seen as the ability to reproduce what was taught in the form in which it was presented, or to solve the kinds of problems that the student was shown how to solve.

Guiding principle:  Mastery is often seen as the ability to apply what was learned to new situations or to solve new kinds of problems.

Grades in High School

Grades in College

Grades are given for most assigned work.

Grades may not be provided at all for assigned work.

Consistently good homework grades may raise your overall grade when test scores are low.

Grades on exams, major papers and projects, plus class performance and participation may comprise a course grade.

Extra credit projects are available.

Extra credit projects are not generally offered.