Introduction to College Studies

This course will expose students to a number of first semester issues and topics that will be introduced and presented by faculty from various participating departments college-wide.  Students will receive information and develop competencies in the following core area:

Orientation to Douglas College

1. Learning about the host institution
2. Determining the value of a post-secondary education
3. Becoming acquainted with the Douglas College grading system
4. Learning about Douglas College’s standards and policies
5. Understanding the Grade Point Average (GPA)
6. Understanding registration issues (e.g. transferring credits from other post-secondary institutions, late registration, repeating same courses, fee payments, refunds, etc.)
7. Petitioning and appealing grades and other college decisions
8. Understanding probation and academic performance regulations

Becoming a Master Student

1. Maximizing attitude and motivation
2. Developing learning and memory strategies
3. Becoming a strategic learner
4. Enhancing study skills: improving attention/concentration, listening, reading, highlighting, summarizing, note taking, researching, documenting, writing academic papers, preparing for exams, and test-taking strategies.
5. Becoming acquainted with the Douglas College Library: computer resources and labs at Douglas College, library catalogue, interlibrary loan, reserves, references, search engines, periodicals, audio-visual library.
6. Becoming a critical thinker: understanding arguments, argument identification, structures of arguments, evaluating premises, conclusions.
7. Developing college writing skills: summarizing, analyzing critically, evaluating sources, integrating sources into students’ writing, structuring academic argument.

Personal Development

1. Understanding emotional intelligence
2. Identifying personal style
3. Identifying learning style
4. Aligning personal style to education and career development
5. Understanding the habits of highly effective people

Time and Stress Management

1. Identifying priorities
2. Managing time effectively
3. Understanding procrastination
4. Keeping a balance between work, recreation and studies
5. Assessing current lifestyles and priorities
6. Understanding the importance of setting goals.
7. Identifying the symptoms of stress
8. Learning practical techniques for relaxation and health
9. Developing a money management process, reducing financial crises, creating an educational financial plan, learning about funding sources and student loan applications.

Introduction to Career Development

1. Learning about the changing labour market and factors that affect it
2. Identifying new occupational trends
3. Researching job futures
4. Career and lifestyle planning
5. Using the  world wide web and other resources for occupational information
6. Designing a laddered approach to lifelong learning
7. Developing an educational plan

Effective Communication

1. Learning about the communication loop
2. Developing assertive, respectful communication
3. Enhancing listening skills
4. Improving communication with instructors