How have you begun to establish a relationship with your college or university? How can you develop this relationship in a manner that will have positive effects on your academic self-concept?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Explain to students why it's important to establish an "intimate" relationship with their college or University. Draw an analogy to a friendship relationship. Intimate, fulfilling relationships take hard work to establish. For instance, it's not good enough for students to simply know the location of their campus Career Services Office. That's a superficial relationship. Instead, they should visit the office, get to know a staff member, and take a self-assessment inventory. Students will continually learn about their institution and position themselves within it during their entire educational process. First, they will find their way around, discover traditions, and learn about resources by talking with others. Of course, not everything they learn will be true and/or helpful to them as they develop their academic self concept. Hearing from an upper-class student that tells them it isn't really important to attend class, for instance, or to take Professor Y because she doesn't demand much work, could have negative effects.