College Involvement
Experience has shown that people who are successful in most ventures are immersed in the process. The venture becomes part of them: their thinking, time planning, and expectations. One's esteem, identity and definition of self are often expressed through functions, such as, "I'm a college student" or "I'm a professor." Functional involvement becomes who we are, and to some degree, the depth of our involvement enriches our identity, and the way others perceive us.
To be involved in the college scene often takes one of several dimensions depending on whether one is a resident or a commuter, one's age, and ones family life. Successful students may have campus jobs, be involved in poetry readings, discuss issues with faculty, or support the basketball team. In their major department, many successful students know several faculty members, not only from class, but also through participation in informal discussions, department organizations, or research.
Many successful students know the key issues in their major fields, often learned from the informal communication networks between faculty, students, and administrators. Involved students participate in campus wide activities that may range from working on a campus newspaper to playing on an athletic team, to being an officer within the student government.
Friends on campus are also important to successful students. They help with study, interpersonal problems, and provide a sense of camaraderie on campus. Mentoring groups, peer leaders/advisors, cohort groups, study groups, students with children groups, all are helpful in staying involved in college.
As an instructor, counselor, or advisor, you can help students increase their college involvement through guiding them through introspection and to effective institutional and intra-classroom interventions.
Questions to Prompt Student Reflection
- What are some of your extracurricular activities?
- Do you have good friends at college?
- What student organizations do you belong to?
- How many faculty members do you know?
- Do you ever discuss issues in your field with faculty?
- Do you study with peers?
Counseling Interventions
The following are some suggested counseling interventions you can offer:
- Explore the concept of involvement
- Develop discussions with counselors and faculty
- Develop research interests
- Discuss the nature of teaching
- Develop peer involvement
- Deal with relationships outside of school that may interfere with college involvement
Institutional Interventions
The following are some suggested interventions related to College Involvement. Encourage students to utilize one or more of these services:
- Work-Study programs
- Athletic events
- Theater/Drama/Forensics
- College newspaper
- Cultural organizations
- Department organizations
- Student government
- Faculty research programs
- Peer Counseling programs
- Campus student recruitment
- Off campus community involvement programs
- Service learning
- Campus-wide organizations
- Discipline organizations
Ten Steps to IncreaseCollege Involvement
- Study with friends.
- Maintain contact with a school counselor, advisor, or an instructor you like.
- Get to know each of your instructors.
- Associate with successful students.
- Get involved in non-academic activities on campus.
- Take a part-time job on campus.
- Learn the names of leaders in the field represented by your favorite course subjects.
- Learn the current research questions in your favorite course subjects.
- Organize one or two out of class activities in your schedule.
- Discuss major-field issues with faculty.