Please note that these are only suggestions, and your instructor may have more specific instructions.
Plan! Finding the Rhythm of Your Course
As you continue in the semester, try to find a regular rhythm for the course. Things can shift and change, so it’s a good idea to check in to your course site (such as on WordPress, Blackboard, or Slack) at least once per week. Reflect on what time you have scheduled for completing coursework outside of class sessions. Do you need to make any changes, or schedule more time?
One way to think about this is to consider, as a check-in with yourself, “keep doing, start doing, stop doing” as a way of recalibrating as you go. What’s working? What new positive habits could you add to your semester? What isn’t working? Building regular preparation or “homework” time into your schedule can simply help nudge you along and prevent panic later. Have you been meeting the weekly deadlines? If yes, great! If not, consider what modifications could be made to meet these goals. When you receive an assignment, make sure to review your instructions and take time out right away to gauge what you need to do to complete it and when you’ll work on it. If you’re still not sure how to approach it, check out the Writing Center’s guide for Understanding Assignment Instructions. Also don’t be afraid to ask your instructor or a classmate for suggestions. If you are confused and/or have questions about the class content at this point, it’s a good idea to reach out for help now, either virtually or in person depending on your class mode, instead of waiting.
Learn! Understand the fundamentals of academic integrity
You will find a section on Academic Integrity in most course syllabus with links to official college policies about academic honesty, and in general this reflects the expectation that students will do their own work, properly cite the work of others, and practice integrity in their coursework, including all assignments and tests. However, expectations around citing authorship can vary greatly according to cultural context, and each discipline may have its own specific conventions for how to incorporate and credit the work of others. Researching and considering existing work in the field can help to strengthen and enrich your own work, but it’s important to clearly attribute the work of others and clarify your own contributions.
If you’re unsure about how to do this properly in your class or on an assignment, reach out to your professor. Others in the class may have similar questions and this could provide a wonderful opportunity for dialogue to clarify this for the whole class.
Engage! Baruch offers a lot to students—take advantage of this
This is a great time to take stock of the Baruch resources available to help you learn, both physically and online.
- Schedule a one-to-one session at the Writing Center for help as you draft your assignments, or attend one of their skill-focused group workshops. Their team of professional consultants is available to help you deepen your writing and English language skills.
- The Student Academic Consulting Center (SACC) meets with students for tutoring on specific courses (here’s a list of courses supported by SACC). You’ll see that SACC also offers weekly workshops, final exam reviews, and helpful information on how to make the most of your tutoring session.
- The Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute offers resources for online presentation skills (PDF) and appointments for working on communication-intensive courses. They have helpful models and advice on creating effective slides and speeches.
- If you are an English-language learner and non-native English speaker and want to work on your oral communication skills, the Tools for Clear Speech office offers a range of ways to help you achieve more effective and intelligible communication, developing skills that empower you to succeed in your classes, careers, and beyond. You’ll find online asynchronous tutorials as well as appointment-based tutoring and feedback in a positive and welcoming environment.
- The Baruch Honors Program features undergraduate research and fellowship opportunities for all Baruch students.
More Tools and Services. . .
- For productivity, or to get started on that writing assignment. . .
- Try the Pomodoro technique and use a Tomato Timer to keep yourself on task.
- Check out “Cheat Codes” – a series of pro tips on free software, writing strong paragraphs, time management, space management, and even email etiquette, for students by students.
- Explore the Writing Center’s Baruch Writing Guides with tips for writing case analyses, analysis & argument, and choosing research topics.
- Perhaps take some time to try out new platforms and boost your own profile
- You could make a professional site for yourself on Blogs@Baruch.
- Explore the resources available through Maker Hub for video editing, digital presentations, and other tech tools.
- Not sure if you may be plagiarizing?
- Take this Newman Library tutorial on how to avoid plagiarism, or just refresh your understanding of what you need to do to make sure you’re not plagiarizing.
- Need to discuss an academic, social, emotional, and/or financial issue?
- The Office of the Dean of Students advocates on behalf of students in partnership with various campus stakeholders, and promotes and advocates for the integrity, accountability, safety, wellbeing, and equity of all students.
↓↓ Use the buttons below to view tips and resources for different parts of the semester. ↓↓