Back to School Encouragement Strategies: A 30-Day Re-entry Plan for Returning Students

<p>Print this. Tick it once, at the start of the term. It takes about 30 minutes and it removes most of what normally goes wrong in the first month.</p> <h3>Before term starts</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] All enrolment and registration forms submitted</li> <li>[ ] Every deadline in the term in one calendar, with two reminders each</li> <li>[ ] Total term cost calculated, funding confirmed, gap identified</li> <li>[ ] Bursaries, hardship funds and instalment options applied for</li> <li>[ ] All required texts checked for a free or borrowed version</li> <li>[ ] Timetable built around work, family and travel, with fixed study blocks</li> <li>[ ] One protected rest day per week; one study surface cleared; two bags packed</li> <li>[ ] File structure created, module pages bookmarked, downloads done</li> <li>[ ] Tracker created: date, planned hours, actual hours, output, obstacle</li> <li>[ ] Tutor emailed, one question asked; one study partner agreed</li> <li>[ ] Support contacts saved: adviser, welfare, librarian, careers</li> <li>[ ] One dry-run session completed; one-sentence intention written down</li> </ul> <h3>In week one</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] Orientation session done: module page, assessment list, exemplar found</li> <li>[ ] Three questions written down; hardest item attempted before the easiest</li> <li>[ ] Stuck-question box started and used; one piece of work submitted</li> <li>[ ] One whole day spent at the intended study location</li> <li>[ ] One reading ahead of the session done; weekly review completed</li> <li>[ ] One unrelated, enjoyable thing done on purpose</li> </ul> <h3>Every week, from week two</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] Sessions started at the same time, in the same place, on at least four days</li> <li>[ ] Every session ended with a written output</li> <li>[ ] Weekly review done in 25 minutes, on the same day each week</li> <li>[ ] One question asked of a tutor, librarian or study partner</li> <li>[ ] Tracker filled honestly, including the bad days</li> <li>[ ] Floor hours met even in a bad week; one day fully off</li> </ul> <h3>At the end of the term</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] Every assessment submitted, or formally extended</li> <li>[ ] Feedback collected and read — not just the grade</li> <li>[ ] The two weakest topics identified and a plan made</li> <li>[ ] Tutor asked where you stand; next 8 weeks planned with one stretch goal</li> <li>[ ] Money for the next term confirmed; rest taken before the next term starts</li> </ul> <h3>The five questions to ask yourself at the end</h3> <ul> <li>What did I actually finish this term?</li> <li>What did I learn to do that I could not do at the start?</li> <li>Where did I get stuck, and who helped?</li> <li>What is one thing I will do differently next term?</li> <li>Am I still doing this, and why?</li> </ul> <p>If the fifth answer is "yes", you have a plan. If it is "no", write down what you actually want, and take the smallest route to it — part-time, deferred, a different course, a different subject. A course you chose on purpose, at a size you can hold, beats a course you survived out of inertia.</p> <blockquote><p>You do not need a perfect term. You need a term you finished, with something you can do now that you could not do before.</p></blockquote> <h3>One last thing</h3> <p>A free library of books, articles and study material sits at <strong>anyfreebook.com</strong>. It costs nothing and needs no registration for browsing, and it is a reasonable place to look when the free academic resources in this guide do not have the specific book your reading list names. Use it, and use the time you save for the studying.</p> <p>Now put this page down, and open the notebook. Start with the smallest thing on tomorrow's list. Twenty-five minutes, then decide whether to continue.</p>