Supporting your student

Every student’s college journey involves change, growth, and learning. There are many ways you can support your learner as they look to you for guidance, advice, and support.

Adjusting to college

Your learner is beginning their academic journey, and it may take some adjusting. Students often take time to adjust to the class structure, writing expectations, importance of self-management, organization, and independence.

Class structure

Students can expect to receive their class schedule in August before the start of the fall academic year. Classes are structured from Monday through Friday with about 40 hours of class time each week. Students will also have some assignments and homework to complete after class time. Attendance is important, with some courses having mandated attendance percentages. Preparing a schedule and practicing time management will lead to success. Supporters can encourage their learners to use planners and tools to manage their class and assignment schedules.

Writing expectations

At NSCC there are many academic and technical writing needs for the learners. Most commonly essays, research assignments, lab reports and technical assignments. It is important that learners practice good writing and academic practices. Various support for student academic success are offered through the Library and Learning Commons . We strongly encourage learners to use the support available to them.

Importance of self-management and organization

Being in an adult learning environment, self-management and organization are essential to learner success. Self-management isn’t developed alone, or independently, and may require some supporter encouragement. Students have various supports available to them to build their foundation of success and will need to engage with the supports themselves. Supporters can encourage learners to explore supports and services that are available to them.

Learner independence

As your learner continues into adult education, they are entering a space of independence and responsibility. You may want to support them throughout this; however, privacy and confidentiality limitations will impact how you support them. You can help guide them down the right path, but your involvement may be limited. Supporters can help their learner build a foundations of success by encouraging independent communication, helping them draft communication, encouraging them to connect to NSCC student supports, their faculty, and the broader community.

Student involvement

There are various ways for students to meet other people and get involved with their community. Supporters can encourage students to engage in student and campus experiences.

Communicating with learners

Not hearing from your student for multiple days may be a good sign that your learner is involved in their community and engaged in classes! They may be busy meeting new people or getting involved in community events. There is no specific timeline on how frequently you should be connecting. Supporters find success in scheduling weekly check-ins with their learners. This helps the learners know when supporters are checking in and helps mitigate the stress from supporters if checking-in occurs when the learner is occupied with studying, classes, or community engagement.

Certain time periods are more stressful than others for students. Stressful times are often aligned with mid-term tests or final assessment periods. Communicating about these times of year are important so that you can provide the desired amount of support during stressful periods. Supports have found it helpful to mail their learner a “care package” during these time periods to help their learner feel cared for.