Developing Habits of Success

Eight Fundamental Questions to Shape Your First-year Experience at BYU

Over the years, Freshman Academy has interviewed several thousand first-year students to understand significant factors which contribute to a successful first semester at BYU. We have found that successful students are “reflective practitioners,” constantly asking questions, thinking about and analyzing their educational experiences.

Among the many questions they ask themselves, eight seem to be fundamental, for the responses to these questions are tipping points for student success or failure. Take a few minutes to reflect on your own personal answers to these basic questions:

1. Why am I here? Why BYU?
2. What is expected of me? By teachers? By the University? By others?
3. What do I want to become? How might I change while at BYU?
4. How can I make the best use of time? Am I using my time wisely?
5. How will I approach study and learning for understanding?
6. How will I know how I’m doing?
7. What relationships do I want to establish during school? With peers? With faculty?
8. How can I learn from challenges and obstacles while at BYU?

The habits and actions of successful students

Students who make the most of their experience at BYU ask and answer the eight fundamental questions in similar ways. They . . .

• Cultivate a strong personal desire and commitment to a BYU education
• Gain a clear understanding of standards and expectations for university and community life
• Foster an attitude which supports personal growth and development
• Understand the value and wise use of time
• Develop effective approaches for study and deep learning
• Pay consistent attention to personal progress, i.e., self-monitoring or self-regulation
• Establish meaningful and supportive relationships with faculty, fellow students, and other members of the campus community
• Learn to deal with challenges and obstacles in a resilient manner

How Freshman Academy Nurtures the Practices of Successful Students

1. Freshman Academy helps students Cultivate a strong personal desire and commitment to a BYU education by

• Connecting students to university resources
• Emphasizing the AIMS of a BYU education
• Advocating Devotional attendance
• Encouraging participation in campus activities and organizations

2. Freshman Academy helps students Gain a clear understanding of standards and expectations for university and community life by

• Holding an opening community meeting which includes a discussion about community standards
• Facilitating interaction with residence halls and supporting the resident and hall advisors
• Encouraging students to meet with faculty members concerning assignments and classroom behavior

3. Freshman Academy helps students Foster an attitude which supports personal growth and development by

• Emphasizing the value of university core classes
  
• Encouraging visits to advisement centers
  
• Asking students to set goals and having peer mentors follow up on those goals

4. Freshman Academy helps students Understand the value and wise use of time by

• Providing students with a planner
  
• Offering workshops on time management
  
• Discussing time management strategies during peer mentor interviews

5. Freshman Academy helps students Develop effective approaches for study and deep learning by

• Providing opportunities for study groups
  
• Holding study group workshops
  
• Sponsoring study skills workshops
  
• Providing opportunities to connect learning from different classes; encouraging faculty to collaborate on curriculum and course content
  
• Organizing out-of-class activities that reinforce classroom learning

6. Freshman Academy helps students Pay consistent attention to personal progress, i.e., self-monitoring or self-regulation by

• Promoting student reflection
  
• Offering student development courses
  
• Encouraging students to try multiple learning strategies
  
• Having at least two interviews with the peer mentor during the semester

7. Freshman Academy helps students Establish meaningful and supportive relationships with faculty, fellow students, and other members of the campus community by

• Providing opportunities for meals and informal conversation with faculty members
  
• Holding out-of-class activities to get to know both professors and other students
  
• Incorporating a living-learning component in most FA communities which allows students opportunities for greater interaction and collaboration with other students
  
• Providing opportunities to develop a personal relationship with a peer mentor

8. Freshman Academy helps students Learn to deal with challenges and obstacles in a resilient manner by

• Supplying peer mentors as resources for their students to support their students through challenges.
  
• Encouraging the formation of study groups in each community where students can find support and give service to others
  
• Offering feedback sessions with peer mentors
  
• Connecting students to university resources, such as the Counseling and Career Center, Women's Services and Resources, and academic advisement