Category: College

It is hard to imagine an education system that tells students that they don’t need to go to college after graduating. It is emphasized from the start the importance of attending college after high school to receive higher education. Even so, both high school students and their parents are wondering if college is even worth the time, money, and effort of attending. Students are finding themselves in immense debt after finishing their years of education and ending up with almost nothing to show for it. Though today it may seem like a college degree is a requirement in order to be successful, more and more people are finding that the cost of college cannot compare to the possibilities that could be found by considering different paths for their future.

In 2011, Peter Thiel, one of the co-founders of PayPal, offered to pay each of the 24 winners for a new fellowship of $100,000 to not go to college in favor of developing business ideas instead (Wieder). Thiel believes that the traditional college environment does not involve ideas in students that could be thought of elsewhere, tackling the world. These ideas are the ones that could be used successfully to lead new excursions that would impact society and develop new companies and jobs for the future. The traditional college environment just does not provide opportunities to develop these ideas quickly. To add to this, college costs are rising, and “students today are taking on more debt and recently tightened bankruptcy laws make it more difficult to shake that debt” (Wieder) Factors like this complicate the decision to pursue a college degree even further. According to a 2011 report on the national survey of 2,142 adults ages 18 and older, 57% of Americans agree that colleges fail to give students good value for the money they have spent to attend and 75% of Americans say college is too expensive to afford (Pew).

When more than half of the adult population thinks attending college or a university is too expensive and not worth the investment, then there is a problem. There should be other options presented to students in high school that will encourage them to discover a future that does not require going to college. Supporting this claim is data from a think tank that addressed the issue of new entry-level wages for men and women leaving college. Surprisingly, though there is an emphasis on going to college in our society, college graduates now are earning less than they did ten years ago (Shierholz). Even now, “with unemployment expected to remain above 8% well into 2015, it will likely be many years before young college graduates- or any workers – see substantial wage growth” (Shierholz).

People don’t necessarily need to attend an institution of higher learning to learn how to accurately judge situations and act accordingly. Anyone can become an agent of change, change that is capable of producing meaningful advances in the world. A perfect example of this is the great minds of Silicon Valley who have made such major advances in the world of technology beyond a college education, this proves that a piece of paper with an official stamp can be seen as useless. People should not feel as if they need a degree to justify and demonstrate that they know how to think and act critically, this is an invaluable skill that can be learned outside of higher academia.

An argument can be made against the increasing cost of tuition by pointing out that people can get financial aid to alleviate the burden of paying for school out of pocket or taking out student loans. The reality is that not everyone qualifies for financial aid and it is something that students need to apply for every semester with no real guarantee that tuition will be covered entirely. “..Congress may soon cut federal financial aid” (Leonhardt) is a warning stated from an article in The New York Times by author David Leonhardt, an M.I.T economist. This statement can be discouraging for students who depend on this kind of help to fund their years of education.

Michael Roth, The president of a liberal arts university suggests, “Post-secondary education should help students discover what they love to do..” This means someone will have to be in school for six or more years until they finally go into the workforce and start at an entry-level position. That means time and money are spent on finishing college to then only hope to find a job in the chosen career field.

Whether it’s from parents, teachers, or friends the constant pressure of going to college after high school is there, “Some people are hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents, when they would rather be learning to build things or fix things.” (Crawford) College graduates are finding that their degree is landing them down a career path with mundane and meaningless work. Working in a cubicle for 30 or more years and then retiring does not sound very appealing to most, yet that’s the route that is guaranteed with a college degree. Careers with a clear purpose like plumbers, police officers, mechanics, etc. have clear representations of how they are contributing directly to society as opposed to someone who might be sitting in front of a computer monitor inputting mind-numbing information for a huge corporation. The opportunity to live a more enriched life through a more rewarding career path could very well be outside of college, Choosing college straight out of high school leaves many not only questioning their day-to-day job but with immense student debt.

With all this evidence supporting the lack of need for college learning, it is important to refer back to our society’s education system and focus on developing our young adults’ characters. “For a young person to succeed in the world, 61% say a good work ethic is extremely important and 51% say the same about knowing how to get along with people” (Pew). These traits and others can be developed outside of higher education and better prepare young adults for life in the real world. The cost of college cannot be compared to the opportunities that could be found elsewhere.

[ One of the greatest debates of our time is the topic of college education: specifically, who should go to college and how important it is to attend. O’Halloran (2018) states, “Given the crises that public higher education is currently facing, we are in desperate need of creative solutions” (p. 33). Some contend that too many people are going to college, while others believe not enough are going to college. Nemko (n.d.) reports that “According to the U.S. Department of Education, if you graduated in the bottom 40 percent of your high school class and went to college, 76 of 100 won’t earn a diploma, even if given 8 1/2 years” (para. 2). “Yet,” he reminds us, “colleges admit and take the money from hundreds of thousands of such students each year!” Murray (2015/2008) reports that “about a third of all those who entered college hoping for a B.A. will leave without one.” According to Hrabowski (2015), “fewer than 10 percent of Americans from the lowest income quartile have earned a college degree by age 24, compared to 80 percent of those in the top quartile” (p.261). The subject is an important one, and one about which many have something to say, and in this essay, I will present the perspectives of several experts and commentators in the field.

Bluedorn and Bluedorn (2003) point out that “College is not the classical way to learn a livelihood” (p. 443). They go on to inform us that college used to be attended only by a small minority of the population. Most were taught a trade by their father or through an apprenticeship, or, if the training involved learning from books, they were taught by a private tutor. Murray (2015/2008) likewise points out that before the mid-20th century, the B.A. was not considered the standard of respectability and success as it is today. Furthermore, according to Bluedorn and Bluedorn, “college today is what high school was a century ago—or less, in some ways.” In other words, a person than with a high school education has as much or more of an education as a person today with a college education. Bluedorn and Bluedorn believe that an important purpose of K-12 schooling should be to teach children how to teach themselves, all throughout their lives. Anything missed in primary and secondary education can be learned independently later on—a liberal arts education is not necessary. Murray (2015/2008) expresses a similar idea when he argues for a body of core knowledge to be taught to all American youth in elementary and middle school, rendering a liberal arts education in college unnecessary.

Saying “too many people are going to college” is not the same as saying that the average student does not need to know about history, science, and great works of art, music, and literature. They do need to know—and to know more than they are currently learning. So let’s teach it to them, but let’s not wait for college to do it. Liberal education in college means taking on the tough stuff. (p. 237)

Murray argues that college-level liberal arts material is so academically rigorous that only those in the top ten percent of academic ability are able to both engage and enjoy it. Those below the 90th percentile, roughly, may be able to take on the stuff of a liberal arts college degree, but probably won’t enjoy it.

However, is it more economically beneficial to attend college or not attend college? While the conventional wisdom of our day has it that those with bachelor’s degrees typically earn more than those without them, Murray makes the case that it is often better for an individual to pursue something they are very good at, outside of college, rather than pursue something they are mediocre at, in college. He states, “The income for the top people in a wide variety of occupations that do not require a college degree is higher than the average income for many occupations that require a B.A.” (p. 247). Nemko (n.d.) comes down hard on society’s demand that everyone attend college, pointing out flaws in the oft-cited statistic that those people with B.A. earn more than their non-B.A.-holding peers. To begin with, he contends that it is a slanted statistic, since those who attend college are “brighter, more motivated, and have better family connections” (para. 4) in the first place—which were those being at least some of the factors that lead to them attending college—so they probably would have earned more anyway. In addition, while the supply of college graduates is increasing, the demand for them is decreasing. Furthermore, the statistic does not even cover the concern of those who attend college yet fail to graduate. Nemko states,

According to the U.S. Department of Education, if you graduated in the bottom 40 percent of your high school class and went to college, 76 of 100 won’t earn a diploma, even if given 8 1/2 years. Yet colleges admit and take the money from hundreds of thousands of such students each year! (para. 2)

Having gained little knowledge that is of practical help to them, he argues, almost most of these dropouts obtain from higher education is “a mountain of debt” (para. 3). Along that line, Bluedorn and Bluedorn contend that college is not worth the tremendous monetary cost, and “There may be a better investment of your time and money” (p. 443). Furthermore, Nemko reminds us that “Colleges are businesses” (para. 7), and their primary goal is to make money. They still make money even if a student doesn’t graduate. “Colleges make money whether or not a student learns, whether or not she graduates, and whether or not he finds good employment” (para. 12).

Also, Nemko makes the case that colleges do a poor job of fulfilling what they are meant to do: educate students and prepare them for the real world.

In the definitive Your First College Year nationwide survey conducted by UCLA researchers (data collected in 2005, reported in 2007) only 16.4 percent of students were very satisfied with the overall quality of instruction they received and 28.2 percent were neutral, dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied. A follow-up survey of seniors found that 37% percent reported being “frequently bored in class” up from 27.5 percent as freshmen. (para. 8)…

A 2006 study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 50 percent of college seniors failed a test that required them to do such basic tasks as interpreting a table about exercise and blood pressure, understanding the arguments of newspaper editorials, or comparing credit card offers. Almost 20 percent of seniors had only basic quantitative skills. For example, the students could not estimate if their car had enough gas to get to the gas station. (para. 9)

Nemko points out that, unlike any other industry, universities are allowed to cheat the public by making boatloads of money with little government oversight or accountability while failing to properly provide the service they promise to provide.

Year after year, colleges turn out millions of defective products: students who drop out or graduate with far too little benefit for the time and money spent. Yet, not only do the colleges escape punishment, they’re rewarded with ever greater taxpayer-funded student grants and loans, which allow colleges to raise their tuitions yet higher. (para. 10).

Bluedorn and Bluedorn (2001) also argue that “College degrees don’t mean much anymore.” Often, college graduates lack practical knowledge about the real world, requiring the companies that hire them to put a great deal of resources into necessary training. What matters is not whether someone has a college degree, but whether he “actually knows what he’s talking about, understands what he’s doing, and can apply it in the real world” (p. 443). They also see a collapse of formal postsecondary education due to the dawn of the Internet era. The Internet has made it even easier for a person to teach him- or herself. Murray (2015/2008) makes a similar point when he shows the Internet to be a major factor in how “for learning how to make a living, the four-year brick-and-mortar residential college is increasingly obsolete” (pp. 241-242).

So, is it really necessary for everybody to attend college? Murray contends that the “everybody should go to college” mantra is only hurting those who cannot go or who fail when they do go. He states, “As long as it remains taboo to acknowledge that college is intellectually too demanding for most young people, we will continue to create crazily unrealistic expectations among the next generation” (p. 251). Before the mid-1900s, he argues, there were a number of socially acceptable reasons for not attending college. But starting around that time,

The acceptable excuses for not going to college have dried up. The more people who go to college, the more stigmatizing the failure to complete college becomes. Today, if you do not get a B.A., many people assume it is because you are too dumb or too lazy. And all this is because of a degree that seldom has an interpretable substantive meaning. (p. 253)

His conclusion concisely sums up his own arguments as well as those of others I have quoted who critique modern higher education and doubt the necessity of most people attending college:

Imagine that America had no system of postsecondary education and you were made a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch. Ask yourself what you would think if one of your colleagues submitted this proposal:

First, we will set up a common goal for every young person that represents educational success. We will call it a B.A. We will then make it difficult or impossible for most people to achieve this goal. For those who can, achieving the goal will take four years no matter what is being taught. We will attach an economic reward for reaching the goal that often has little to do with the content of what has been learned. We will lure large numbers of people who do not possess adequate ability or motivation to try to achieve the goal and then fail. We will then stigmatize everyone who fails to achieve it.

What I have just described is the system that we have in place. There must be a better way. (p. 253).

There are also a number of voices who oppose the view that too many people are going to college. While they concede that American higher education is by no means perfect, college is still a great option for students if they choose the right institution for them. Marks (2015), for example, claims that the fact that college is not worth it in every case does not mean that too many people are attending college. Just because “too many students are unprepared for college” and “too many students are unprepared for college,” it does not follow that too many are attending. An important point he makes is that if employers actually do actually use a college education as a screening test (i.e., only interview candidates with bachelor’s degrees or higher)—a claim that Murray makes outright—that is all the more reason to encourage college attendance. While Murray makes the point that the B.A. screening test demonstrates how broken our system is, Marks takes the obvious pragmatic approach, saying that whether this is a good thing or not, it is something we have to deal with—it is all the more reason to obtain a college degree.

O’Halloran (2018) directly criticizes many of Murray’s points. First of all, she contends that—contrary to what Murray implies—people are not “stuck at certain skill levels for their whole lives” (p. 34). Much of Murray’s reasoning is based on the presumption that if an individual falls at a certain percentile of skill or ability, around the time of their graduation from high school, they are locked in for the rest of their lives. “Those who believe that human beings are capable of learning new skills and sharpening old ones and that this is in fact the entire purpose of education should take offense at this notion” (p. 34). She takes exception to the idea that Murray seems to hold, that academic ability cannot be simplified to a “measurable quality.” There are so many factors and personal skills involved in succeeding in college that it would be very hard to determine that one person has low academic ability (and thus should not go to college) while another has high academic ability (and should attend college). However, it seems to me that O’Halloran and Murray’s differences on this point may be due to divergent concepts of academic ability. While O’Halloran apparently defines it as “the skills required for success in college, which include listening, reading, writing, memorization, mathematics, interpersonal communication, time management, self-advocacy, and test-taking—among others,” what Murray means by “academic ability” seems to be more along the lines of raw intelligence. According to O’Halloran, anyone can go to college and earn a liberal arts degree; college itself can aid in those skill areas in which a given student is weak—that is a key role of college.

Murray’s The second major point of Murray’s that O’Halloran takes exception to is his idea of teaching all primary students a body of core cultural knowledge. She suggests that this core knowledge amounts to a whitewashed, sugar-coated view of American history, in which the only perspective given is that of the white oppressors who took over the continent. However, I counter that even if one can infer all that from Murray’s brief summary of his idea in his essay, one has not refuted the essence of his idea, only his application of it. The essence of his plan is to give elementary and middle school children a foundational liberal arts education, and the only one they will ever need—except for the more academically adept who want to pursue this in college. O’Halloran goes on to argue,

Contrary to Murray’s vision of elementary and middle school students simply memorizing a government-approved Core Knowledge curriculum, liberal education fundamentally entails critical thinking: the ability to engage with multiple conflicting views, to treat accepted wisdom skeptically and to form one’s own opinion. How anyone could believe that rote memorization in middle school is an acceptable substitute for critical thinking at the college level is, frankly, beyond me. (p. 35).

It is doubtful that Murray would say he simply wants to promote rote memorization instead of critical thinking for K-8 students. He would most likely say that O’Halloran has misunderstood his proposal. However, even if this were not the case, O’Halloran would be failing to address the similar, but more thoroughly developed, ideas of Bluedorn and Bluedorn (2001), who penned a 600-plus-page book on how homeschool parents can teach their children the liberal arts—focusing in large part how to think for themselves and teach themselves.

In conclusion, Murray, Nemko, and Bluedorn and Bluedorn are of the view that college is not all it’s cracked up to be. Most people attending college are doing so unnecessarily, and they often end up in worse shape, especially financially, as a result. There are quite a number of viable, less expensive alternatives. On the other hand, Marks points out that there are many students who decide not to attend college when it actually would have been better for them to attend. And O’Halloran, while she makes many helpful points in her critique of Murray, largely misses the thrust of his argument because she gets caught up in the details.

I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, when I was in middle school I moved an hour away to another small town where I am currently living. Since I grew up in a small town I would like to attend a smaller or private college. I like to think I am like most modern American women; I have goals for the future that I intend to make happen. I have a normal background; my parents are divorced and I live with my step-father, mother, and sister and I see my dad on weekends. I have always had high grades which I am very proud of myself for because I do not shine in every subject. I work in the summers as a lifeguard at the community pool in my town, during the school year I work in the kitchen of a seafood store, and I also babysit occasionally.

I feel that St. Vincent College is a perfect fit for me! One reason is that it is a private school. After growing up in a small town I never really had to deal with large groups of people so, in order to be comfortable, I prefer a private school. Another example I think I am a good fit for this college because it is away from home yet it is not too far from home. I can go live the college life yet still come home if I wanted to. Lastly, I feel that the Pathology Department here at St. Vicent College is a perfect fit for me. Having researched the pathology department I decided it had the best Pathology department out of all my top colleges, for many reasons. For example, the graduation rate of St. Vincent College, the student population, and the fact that it is a Catholic School. The graduation rate is a huge factor in why I want to attend college here, over half of the students who attend college here graduate. The student population

I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, when I was in middle school I moved an hour away to another small town where I am currently living. Since I grew up in a small town I would like to attend a smaller or private college. I like to think I am like most modern American women; I have goals for the future that I intend to make happen. I have a normal background; my parents are divorced and I live with my step-father, mother, and sister and I see my dad on weekends. I have always had high grades which I am very proud of myself for because I do not shine in every subject. I work in the summers as a lifeguard at the community pool in my town, during the school year I work in the kitchen of a seafood store, and I also babysit occasionally.

I feel that St. Vincent College is a perfect fit for me! One reason is that it is a private school. After growing up in a small town I never really had to deal with large groups of people so, in order to be comfortable, I prefer a private school. Another example I think I am a good fit for this college because it is away from home yet it is not too far from home. I can go live the college life yet still come home if I wanted to. Lastly, I feel that the Pathology Department here at St. Vicent College is a perfect fit for me. Having researched the pathology department I decided it had the best Pathology department out of all my top colleges, for many reasons. For example, the graduation rate of St. Vincent College, the student population, and the fact that it is a Catholic School. The graduation rate is a huge factor in why I want to attend college here, over half of the students who attend college here graduate. The student population is also a factor because since it is a private smaller school, it gives you the opportunity to meet and bond with a wide variety of people and professors. The fact that St. Vincent College is a Catholic college makes me feel a little more comfortable from growing up in a mostly Catholic town, even though I am not Catholic I still understand the ways of the Catholic Church.

In conclusion, after growing up in a small town, I feel that I am the best fit at St. Vincent College because it is a private school, it has a great Pathology department, and it is not home but it is close to home. St. Vincent College offers me the best opportunity to succeed in my future goals.

Academic Advising is a complex process that will affect whether a student will be successful at a university or not ​(Balenger & Sedlacek, 1991). Good academic advising involves ‘the dissemination of educational and career-related information students confronted who are in the process of developing and creating academic and career plans. One of the main ways for academic advising to be successful is constant contact between advisor and advisee while creating goals and milestones in areas related to academic, vocational, and personal issues so the student may find academic and continued success.

There has been a new focus on the American Higher Education arena. That focus is on student success. Current research suggests that higher education retention can never be the primary aim when supporting students because if retention is the primary goal, then there is never a motivation to graduate. College student success is and should be a goal of all involved with higher education.

College must first be accessible to all. In order for colleges to be accessible to all, they must be affordable. If you look at the past five years, the rising costs of college have fallen on the shoulders of students and families. Next higher education institutions must not only teach their students, but they must also engage their students outside of class. When thinking of student engagement, previous research shows that college students, more specifically freshmen and sophomore students need to be engaged in their educational experience to perform better, to not only have greater learning gains but also achieve higher levels of success.

When we think about student success, they are merely two simple words that when used together become a powerful, force-changing goal for the American Higher Education System. This goal comes to fruition in many different methods and ways and varies by institution. Some institutions focus on special populations of students choosing to create programs that focus on their success such as increasing first-year student retention rates and creating summer bridge programs that provide a space for historically underrepresented students. First-year experience programs that work in tandem with freshman orientation and other new student activities that ensure new student’s success on campus. There are many types of special student populations that make up the American Higher Education system, they include but are not limited to juvenile delinquents, incarcerated males, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or LGBTQ youth, and non-traditional learners and adult students. There is one single thing they have in common that student success personnel should pay attention to; There is not a single student in all of higher education who does not want to be successful, or who has the idea that they just want to fail. When it comes to student success every institution in the American Higher Education system, large publics, small privates, minority-serving, community colleges, technical and trade, and even online and for-profit institutions want each and everyone wants their student to succeed. When it comes to student success there are many different contributing factors.

We know that all students want to succeed, but too many do not, and the causes are not all their own fault. There are many many reasons that students aren’t successful and some are successful. While most will students find it rewarding to establish meaningful supportive relationships with university faculty and staff (Strayhorn, 2011), some students find frequent and personal interactions with faculty and staff, intrusive and overwhelming. Practitioners in higher education should know that college student success is a function of many factors inside and outside of a student’s scholastic life. The success of college students is just a function of the many processes of higher education and in regard to that success, it is important to note that academic preparation prior to college, usually via programs like dual enrollment, and early college programs plays a relatively minor part of that research (Strayhorn, 2011).

Registering for courses, securing financial aid, developing strong study skills, and mastering difficult courses are independent factors that contribute to college student success. Students must learn to overcome these small but sometimes very obscure roadblocks in order to finish college and move on to their first career. College student success professionals must now think about the holistic development of their students Research on college retention and student support services now that students develop as the whole person as they progress through and complete their college experience and those professionals must be able to help each step of the way.

Diversity is important to college student success. One of the main and most important steps in college student success is access to higher education. The current feeling of our nation and the American Higher Education system is that college should be accessible to all who want it. There have been several movements to expand access to higher education and most have been successful. Today there are about 25 million students enrolled in the American Higher Education System, and those students are spread among 4, 300 institutions of higher education (Cornman, Young, & Herrell, 2012).

Women now are the new majority of students in higher education. This a change as history shows the American Higher Education System was once dominated by men. About a fifth of all new college students are identified as first-generation college students, meaning they are the first in their families to pursue a college degree. Racial minorities also now make up a greater part of the American Higher Education System. This is more than ever possible as throughout history blacks were barred from college education and education in general. As our campuses are becoming more diverse college student success professionals now must make sure that first-generation students, low-income students, women, students of color, veterans, and LGBTQ students all are welcome to campus, feel as if they belong, and are set to academic success and lifelong success (Drake, 2011).

College student success professionals are responsible or should be for building bridges to success for all students no matter what labels of diversity a student may have. Merely getting students to a higher education institution means nothing if they don’t feel like they belong and if they are not successful. We must remember that access without success is useless and pointless, but access with diversity and success is priceless.

Academic advising regardless of institutional type or the make-up of the student body has an important impact on college student success. Research has shown that that many students who are the happiest successful academically are those who have developed a solid relationship with an academic advisor, a faculty member, or just someone who can and is willing to listen to their concerns and help them navigate their college experience.

What exactly constitutes good sound academic advising that can lead to college student success? Joe Cuseo reminds us that any definition of advising “must be guided by a clear vision of what ‘good’ or ‘quality’ advising actually is—because if we cannot define it, we cannot recognize it when we see it, nor can we assess it or improve it” (Cuseo, 2003, p. 13).

Over the past few years, we have started to look at academic advising as a prescriptive role, or catering to the direct needs of students, or simply put – meeting students where they are at. We have begun to find out that while academic advising is more than emphasizing registration and record keeping, while purposely neglecting attention to our student’s educational needs and the personal experiences that our students are having in the institution, advisors are missing a tremendous chance to influence directly and immediately the success of college students.

In Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter (2005), the author stresses the point that while academics matter while a student is in college, just as important are the efforts of college student professionals task of connecting students to the campus and having meaningful relationships with your students is (Whitt, Kinzie, Schuh, & Kuh, 2008).

The word culture has several meanings. In the context of the American Higher Education System, culture refers to attributes of a particular group as well—its beliefs, arts, music, cuisine, institutions, and customs. Higher education from a college student success view also has it own culture. For example, acronyms like NASPA, ACPA, ASHE, and NACA, are mean something to student affairs professionals in the higher education landscape. Some believe that shared beliefs also make up the culture of higher education. A good example would be that student affairs professionals, advisors, and college student success professionals all hold the same belief of “our students first” and this belief is important when thinking about college student success.

What constitutes college student success? Defining this coined term is the first step in understanding and advancing “college student success” in the American Higher Education System. Personal validation. College student success is more likely to happen when the students themselves feel as if they matter and they belong. Self-efficacy students obtain more success when they feel their individual voices are heard and their efforts matter. Personal Meaning When students find meaning in their college experience and see how their efforts will pay off, they are more apt to be retained and achieve academic success. Active Involvement. Out of all the college student research available one of the most tested and proven theories is involvement. The probability of student success increases commensurately with the degree or depth of student engagement in the learning process, i.e., the amount of time and energy that students invest in the college experience—both inside and outside the classroom (Boyer, 1986).

While the literature offers no specific terms that define college student success it does define college student success as; practices and programs that most effectively implement the central principles of student success are those that validate students as individuals, generate a sense of relevance or purpose, balance challenge with support, and encourage students to learn in a manner that is active, interactive, reflective, and mindful (Cuseo, 2003).

Higher education institutions are responsible for environments that are enriched for college student success. Most importantly in the context of this paper advising students for success is very critical as the institutions that make up the American Higher Education System are trying to raise their enrollment numbers and improve their degree attainment rates so that they can be autonomous and independent in the fiscal matters. Academic Advising for college student success has always been an important and challenging task in higher education. It is important because it is related to the student’s success, satisfaction, and retention – the very fundamentals of why most students go to college in the first place. Interaction between college student success professionals and students is very vital for college student success, it is critically important to the student development process. Research shows that learning is a social process, therefore the relationships that students have while enrolled in college affect their success. Relationships specifically those those with college student success professionals —are one of the most powerful tools that aid in a student’s personal and professional development.

It was once thought that college student success professionals, were responsible for helping students navigate academic rules and regulations. These often underpaid staff members are expected to share their knowledge of major and degree requirements, help students schedule their courses, and generally facilitate progress to a degree in a timely manner, however, there is more than this in ensuring our college students achieve success. College student success professionals must now do more than advice about classes they must be an individual with very strong written and oral communication and organizational skills, be very good at communication and collaboration skills, and must be proven problem solver who understands the culture of a college/university. This professional must be willing to help to look at how they can help the whole student with all pieces of their educational journey.

College student success is more than the student’s success it is the success of the entire institution. Academic advisors or these new student success specialists should recognize higher education as a culture and know something about the adventure called higher learning. These advisors should hold high, but attainable, expectations for all students and be ready and able to help their students succeed these professionals care about their students and they find creative and meaningful ways that students matter.

Higher education is a pivotal moment right now. No more is acceptable to just help students get by. The students and families are holding inustions accountable for their student success. They expect these institutions to know their students—their names, where they are from, what they bring with them, and their strengths and weaknesses. Some individuals in higher education think meeting students where they are at, but this is advising in its purest form. Academic Advisors help students navigate college by making clear what students need to know and do to be successful, they help students find a sense of belonging on campus. One of the main ways for academic advising to be successful is constant contact between advisor and advisee while creating goals and milestones in areas related to academic, vocational, and personal issues so the student may find academic and continued success.

References

1. Balenger, V. J., & Sedlacek, W. E. (1991). The Volunteer Potential of First-time Entering Students: Interest Areas and Incentives. Journal of The Freshman Year Experience, 3(1), 59.
2. Boyer, C. M. (1986). Achieving Educational Excellence: A Critical Assessment of Priorities and Practices in Higher Education. The Journal of Higher Education, 57(3), 324–327.
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Why do we go to college? Why school in general For all my school years I haven’t enjoyed school I’ve wondered why is it that I must do 12 years of something I don’t want to do just to learn about stuff I’m not going to do. I’ve never been interested in college or school in general until I got older and got into game design, I started to want to figure out more and more about game design, and that made me interested in technology college that’s when I started looking into tech-based schools with game design degrees and singled the main two out of the many.

Gwinnett Technical Institute and Full Sail University but there can only be one, although Gwyneth is a great school, Full Sail University is better for me because Full Sail offers a better variety of gaming degrees with 13 masters, 39 bachelor, 37 associates, 2 graduate certificates, while their lunch box program, provides tools to help with your studies, while also having connected and network all around the entertainment field such as with the MCU and game companies like Activision, “Over 99 of Full Sails grads were credited on 15 nominated projects at the 2018 game awards” so you can also get the true experience. Full Sail University’s campus is an out-of-state college in Orlando Florida so I’ll be able to see while meeting new people away from home a welcomed change, Full Sail also has online options so if I wanted to stay home I could, Not to say there isn’t anything good about Gwinnett technical institute you don’t need all too much to get into the school because of their requirements being low with a 2.0 GPA with an SAT and ACT score of 16 in reading, 15 in writing and language, and an 18 in math while offering nearly 150 different credit-award options in different program areas, “The Game Development diploma is a sequence of courses designed to provide students with an understanding of the concepts, principles, and techniques required in the development of computer games.

Program graduates receive a Gaming Development diploma. Program Length: 5 Semesters minimum” Applicants to Gwinnetttech’s Game Development program must meet all Admission requirements complete an application and pay the application fee. Now Gwinnett Technical College tuition is $ 2,136 per year while their game development program offers two pricey careers Grant’s as for Full Sail yes it has many advantages over Gwinnett Technical College in my opinion but it has a very big downside and that downside is Full Sail’s tuition since Full Sail is a for-profit which is “educational institutions that are corporations and often have shareholders. They operate as a business, and the product they sell is education. Their goal is to provide quality education, and in doing so generate a positive return, or profit, for their shareholders”. And they tend to be the schools on the pricey side though Full Sail does offer financial aid it doesn’t tend to help all too much, Full Sail tends Tuition and fees are $38,966 before aid and $26,398, and Prices tend to vary depending on what you do and as of 2019-2020 Full Sail is now offering two scholarships the Creative minds and Dedication scholarships but the requirements for admissions to them is, a GPA of 3.0 or higher; an SAT score of 927 or higher; an ACT score of 19 or higher; it’s an amazing school but it’s a bit too pricey but when you look into all Full sail provides you it is somewhat understandable but costs are what most students at Full Sail struggle with. So, do I still think Full Sail is a better option for me Then Gwinnett Technical College? Yes, prices may be high but I feel Full Sail brings me closer to my Goal by gaining more knowledge and experience.

On October 17, 2019, Jackson State University celebrated its 142nd Founders’ Day Convocation. The auditorium was filled with professors, deans, chairpersons, students of Jackson State University, and all people that supported it. The convocation was started by the prelude presented by the Jackson State University Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Darryl E. Harris. After the prelude, the Jackson State University Orchestra continued and presented the processional. Watching and hearing the orchestra at that time was something special for me and everyone that have an appreciation for instrumental music. Francis Key sang the national anthem with a jaw-dropping performance and voice. Followed by the national anthem, one of our own students sang Lift Every Voice and Sing or also known as the Negro National Anthem. Lift Every Voice and Sing was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900. The reason it was written was to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday. After all, he was the man who helped African Americans to free themselves from slavery.

In the invocation, Rev. Kevin Kosh, Jr led us with prayer, Grant Broadway welcomed us to the ceremony, and Naysa Lynch presented her phenomenal speech. Grant Broadway, also known as Mr. Jackson State University, a health major, mentioned how proud he was of the sonic boom and how he has much respect for Jackson States’ history, in his welcoming speech. I was not surprised by Grants’ love for Jackson State. After all, he is Mr. Jackson State University. Followed by Grants welcoming speech, Naysa Lynch, also known as Miss Jackson State University, presented The Occasion. Naysa reminded us that Jackson State University was not built in one night, but it took years of hard work to accomplish what we have now and that we must respect what our predecessors did. She also admonished us that even if we came a long way, we still have a long way to go. Her speech was very inspiring and opened our minds. Directed by Dr. Loretta, Jackson State University Chorale sang, ‘I Thank you, Jesus.’ The song was very pleasing and showed off the talents that lie in each member of the chorale. After the song, the long-awaited guest speaker, Yolanda Owens, was introduced by her nephew Carmen Owens, a very bright young lady that is already thinking about her career and college experience.

Yolanda R. Owens is a proud graduate of Jackson State University. During her time at Jackson State, she was a member of W. E. B. Du Bois honors college student majoring in mathematics. After graduation, she became a member of the Jackson State University National Alumni Association and later got the title of the eighteenth president of the association. Mrs. Owens love and her vision for Jackson State allowed her to do a plethora of amazing things. She is also a fourth-generation student in her family. Her father was a member of the Jackson State band or also known as Sonic Boom of The South. Yolanda’s speech was inspiring and very catching. She talked about the history, purpose, and future of Jackson State University; Jackson State is lucky to have her as one of its alumni. In her speech, she reflected on her favorite movie Black Panther. She recalled a scene in the movie in which a challenger dared to challenge the king of Wakanda; while the battle was in progress, the king’s mother shouted:’ Show them who you are.’ Yolanda repeated what the king’s mother said three times. She told the audience to show them who they are, in other words, to show them what they can so no one should underestimate them. She then told us in order to do that, we must first know who we are. She motivated, inspired, and lectured us with those words, and we did not even recognize them. After motivating us a bit, she moved on to her reflections on one of the past Jackson State Presidents, John A. Peoples Jr. Yolanda said that John was her favorite Jackson State President because he managed Jackson States’ budget right, and he fought for Jackson State University during the civil rights period. She told us that Jackson State University is a University that started from scratch, literally from 20 newly freed slaves. She reminded us that we came a long way and we have a bright future in front of us.

After Yolanda’s astonishing speech, we heard from our own current Jackson State president, Dr. William Bynum Jr. He gave us a spirit and words of encouragement. He then told us his reflections on Jackson State University’s foundation. He said’ Even if Jackson state is founded near a cemetery, I don’t see a cemetery, I see a birthplace’; When he said that, it was clear his words were really thoughtful, he told us that Jackson State is not a place where untalented people come from, but were talented and educated individuals rise to conquer the world. He transferred his message in a very abstract way. After our president enlighted us, Dr. Robert Luckett presented the acknowledgments. Dr. Robert acknowledged many people, including one of Jackson State’s family members that just passed away three weeks ago. Rev Kevin Kosh Jr then closed us with prayer, concluding the convocation. After the convocation ended, an enormous quantity of students ran to exist like they were freed from prison.

This was the first Jackson State University Founders’ Day Convocation I ever attend, and I have no regrets about it. Even if attending it was not an option, I enjoyed being there. I loved everything about the convocation, especially the orchestra and choral. Listening to those speeches made me learn a lot about Jackson State and encouraged me to learn more as time passes. The preparation, the setup, and everything about the convocation were great. I look forward to the next founders’ day; hopefully, there will be fantastic guest speakers, good music by the orchestra and choral, and more.

Psychosocial is defined as pertaining to the influence of social factors on an individual’s mind or behavior, and to the interrelation of behavioral and social factors’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2012). Psychosocial factors, in the context of health research, can be defined as the mediation of the effects of social structural factors on individual health, conditioned and modified by the social structures contexts in which they exist (Martikainen, Bartley, & Lahelma, 2002).

Psychosocial students’ mental health in State Universities has been an increasing concern in our present times as the COVID-19 pandemic situation has brought this susceptible population into a restored focus. Mental health issues are the leading encumbrance to academic success. Mental illness can affect students’ motivation, concentration, and social interactions crucial factors for students to succeed in their education.

A large number of studies support that the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its corresponding disease (COVID-19) have dramatically impacted people’s mental health and behavior, with very few studies suggesting otherwise. Some medical facilities have seen more deaths from suicide, presumably because of exceedingly poor mental health, than from COVID-19 infections. Substance disorders in many people who were previously sobriety are expected to relapse during COVID-19, which will cause long-term economic and health impacts.

Although impacts are felt across populations and especially in socially-disadvantaged communities and individuals employed as essential workers’ college students are among the most strongly affected by COVID-19 because of uncertainty regarding academic success, future careers, and social life during college, among other concerns. Even before the pandemic, students across the globe experienced increasing levels of anxiety, depressive moods, lack of self-esteem, psychosomatic problems, substance abuse, and suicidality. Therefore, students may need additional resources and services to deal with the physical and mental health repercussions of the disease.

The 2019 Annual Report of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health announced that anxiety continues to be the most common problem among students who completed the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms, with clinicians also reporting that anxiety continues to be the most common diagnosis of the students that seek services at university counseling centers.

In 2018, slightly over 50% of students reported anxiety as the main reason for seeking services. Despite the increasing need for mental health care services at post-secondary institutions, alarmingly only a small portion of students committing suicide contact their institution counseling centers, perhaps due to the slur associated with mental health. Such negative slur surrounding mental health diagnosis and care has been found to correlate with a reduction in adherence to treatment and even early termination of treatment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus the mental health of various affected populations. It is known that the prevalence of epidemics accentuates or creates new stressors including fear and worry for oneself or loved ones, constraints on physical movement and social activities due to quarantine, and sudden and radical lifestyle changes. A recent review of virus outbreaks and pandemics documented stressors such as infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and slur.

Much of the current literature on the psychological impacts of COVID-19 has emerged from the earliest hot spots in China. Although several studies have assessed mental health issues during epidemics, most have focused on health workers, patients, children, and the general population. For example, a recent poll by The Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 47% of those sheltering in place reported negative mental health effects resulting from worry or stress related to COVID-19. Nelson et al have found elevated levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms among general population samples in North America and Europe. However, with the exception of a few studies, notably from China, there is sparse evidence of the psychological or mental health effects of the current pandemic on college students, who are known to be a vulnerable population. Although the findings from these studies far converge on the increase of mental health issues among college students, the contributing factors may not necessarily be generalizable to populations in other countries. As highlighted in multiple recent correspondences, there is an urgent need to assess the effects of the current pandemic on the mental health and social well-being of college students.

The aim of this study is to identify major stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and to understand their effects on college student’s mental health. The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic poses a threat to societies’ mental health. This study will examine the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and identify the factors contributing to the psychosocial effect of the Pandemic in the Philippines.

As the virus spreads globally, studies on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have accumulated among different nations. Italian series of studies have reported that the COVID-19 pandemic was an important stressor comparable to a traumatic event.

Stress is a physiological, psychological, and behavioral process that occurs in individuals as a response to environmental stimuli. Previous studies have demonstrated that stress causes various mental health problems. Although moderate pressure is beneficial to stimulate individual protective behaviors and improve environmental adaptability by developing a warning system, long-term or intense stress causes psychological impairment and physical disease. This phenomenon has been explained through a stress system model, which suggests that adverse life events (stressors) can directly lead to individual stress responses or indirectly affect an individual’s physical and mental health through their coping style, social support, personality traits, and awareness.

Coping style refers to individuals’ cognitive and behavioral efforts to maintain mental balance in stressful situations. Previous studies demonstrated that coping style functions as a mediator between stress and psychological health. Adopting appropriate coping strategies against stressful situations is positively linked to the quality of life. Additionally, the role of coping strategies in medical settings has been well-documented. For example, task-based coping strategies appear to prevent the onset of depressive symptoms and help reduce the severity of hypertension. Disease awareness (which refers to the self-evaluation of knowledge about disease transmission, common symptoms, potential treatment, and risk factors associated with the disease) is critical to control and prevent COVID-19.

Furthermore, having knowledge about a specific disease can influence individuals’ perceptions and behavior towards it. Earlier studies have shown that a higher level of COVID-19 knowledge is beneficial for the public to maintain an optimistic attitude and maintain appropriate preventive measures and care-seeking behaviors. Additionally, research during the SARS outbreak suggests that the public’s knowledge was associated with a reduction in symptoms of anxiety, fear, and panic. Limited disease knowledge may aggravate psychological distress and emotional responses. Therefore, coping styles and disease awareness play a significant role in handling the psychological stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. There is already extensive literature regarding mental health and psychosocial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in terms of survey tools, most studies have used general scales (such as the Symptom Checklist-90 or the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale) rather than scales specifically targeted for public health emergencies. Further, although researchers have conducted nationwide surveys in China, information on specific regions remains limited. Understanding the potential psychological changes associated with the pandemic among College students in PSU is essential to improve individuals’ mental health through targeted interventions.

Right from birth, human beings are accustomed to living among people. It is a practice/ability that stays innate, and active throughout the lifetime. As you graduate, you are ready to embark on a new expedition and are in the pursuit of collecting tips for building community in college.

A quick and easy tip is to attend as many college events as possible. Building a community in college becomes a necessity, primarily for the sole purpose of surviving the next few years in the educational institution.

Man is a social animal, and seldom a lone wolf. He lives, works, and functions better in the warmth of a like-minded community. Relationships built during school, college, and work are instrumental in shaping an individual’s life, and broadening his/her outlook in general.

A new city, a new dorm, and new surroundings can be quite overwhelming. As a starter kit for college, we have prepared a list of the top 8 tips to help you build your niche community in college.

Building community in college

If you think high school is difficult, you are misled. If you consider joining your dream college as the only tasking affair, you are misled again. The real challenge is fitting into your college culture, adapting to the inevitable changes (that come with college), and surviving your tenure in the school.

All the aforementioned ‘challenges’ alleviate considerably when you are with your clique. They not only help you understand the ropes but also support you in times of need or adversity. Starting from tutoring you on your college lessons to helping you beat boredom, your college community is your tribe.

Make the first move for engagement

The last thing you want to do is allow your social anxiety to guide you. You need to simmer down your apprehension about engaging with people. Be the first to approach, and extend a hand of friendship. Instead of waiting on people to seek you out, be the first to start a conversation. This exhibits your friendly demeanor, makes you approachable, and displays your confidence. It is a human tendency to gravitate toward people who are outspoken, illuminate confidence, and have zero inhibition in making the first move to interact with people.

Be a part of college events

Whether it is an informal bash or a ‘tech-fest’, college events are great icebreakers. An innovative, quick, and proven hack of building a community in college is by attending random events on campus. You are subjected to a diverse crowd, and are more prone to meet ‘your crowd’.

Frat parties, Sorority house meets, football games, and even your annual Science exhibition can be incredible platforms for you to meet people that complement your vibe. You might consider an event ‘tacky’ or hilarious but instead of indulging in its hilarity all by yourself, why not share the amusement with someone else too?

The perks of the bigger fish in the fish-bowl

This is when you use your talents at your disposal. Your stand-out skills hold enormous power and are an efficacious way of gravitating fellow students toward you. You might have the best vocals, or have a ‘golden receiving arm’, or you might be a ‘whiz-kid’, all these attributes help you get noticed. You do not necessarily need to be the most popular kid in the school, but getting recognized even by a small crowd can help a long way in building your college community.

Connect over social media

Sometimes the enormity of a place can render you clueless (we feel you!). But, thanks to the World Wide Web, the world has become a global village. In circumstances when you believe the chances of physical interaction with a peer, or a group seems bleak, you can always switch to connecting with them over social media. This is primarily a ‘win-win’ situation for introverts.

Without the awkwardness, social anxiety, or the need to physically track down people, introverts find solace behind the screens of their computers, phones, or whatever 21st-century device they use to access/social media. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and even Twitter (for that matter) have successfully connected millions from every nook and cranny of the world. Building your community has never looked this easy!

Patience is your key

Weaving your college community is not an overnight process. Well, in some cases it is! But, there is absolutely no rush. You do not wish to jump into a circle without knowing its inmates. Relationships, as easy as it is to form them, can quickly turn sour on myriad grounds. However, life is not a bed of roses, and you seldom hit the ‘right crowd’ jackpot on the first go. In fact, many only ‘stumble’ onto their perfect ‘tribe’ towards the end of their college tenure. This, however, does decipher your previous relationships as failures. It is all about learning, and growth. A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor!

You can build your community in the classroom!

What can be better than finding your ‘clique’ right in the classroom? The semantic nature of your interests in the same subject augments your chances of building your community in the college. You may concept life-long connections with your project mates, or develop an amicable relationship with the girl sitting behind you.

Classrooms are the best places to help you find your troop. Along with the flow of academic enlightenment, students bond over an assortment of subjects. It is easy to expand your network when you are occupying a shared space and involved in a common engagement.

Invite people to hang out after hours

A quick trip to the mall, or just hanging out in your room can do wonders for your new bond with your peers. This demonstrates your genuine interest in them and showcases your effort to get along. Over the period, it may surprise both the parties of all the undiscovered (but now discovered) similarities they withhold. You may even develop each other’s lingo!

For people who are poles apart, Coulomb has bestowed us with the law of attraction, which suffices to the rule of opposites – opposites attract! You may find commonality amidst your varying virtues, and diversity in a squad also alleviates the mundane.

Rejection is the pillar of success

Drawing an analogy to the idiom “failure is the pillar of success”, rejection can be your stepping stone to successful networking. People are wired differently, with diverse tastes and some are just plain picky. You might have to undergo the ordeal of facing rejection from people when you approach them. However, this should not deter you, or dampen your spirits. You are not a pariah, you are not an outcast. You belong to this crowd, to this place.

College is not exactly a walk in the park, it will challenge you, and even make you cower at times. The idea is to hold your ground and keep doing the work. The same group of people who have ostracized you may warm up over time. It is also unnecessary to fret over someone who fails to find meaning in their efforts. Be courteous, and move on!

Conclusion

Building the right community in college is an integral practice one needs to formulate right from the first day of school. Venture in the crowds, pay heed to all activities and develop an approachable persona – these are the prime requisites for networking. Your college community is often deemed as the alpha and omega. They become your ‘life-supporting systems’ throughout the school, thereby amplifying the importance of participating in the ‘right’ community.

Abstract

The experiment was taking an in-depth look at how the sound, the tempo, and the pace of music can affect a student’s concentration, study habits, and performance. The goals of the study were to determine if, in fact, music has an effect on comprehension and accuracy. Students participated in this research study that consisted of ten study problems, and five-word problems. Each testing phase consisted of fast music and slow music, and then there was a phase of silence with no music at all during the testing. An example of the procedure is students would be presented with images and would later have to come back and determine if they had seen that image before. The goal was to see if the student would have better recognition with slow music, fast music, or no music at all. The word problems were to determine how a student’s comprehension changed with music, no music, or silence. Overall, the results revealed that students are more accurate on study items than word problems. The interaction tells us that music does have an effect. Not much of an effect on studying pictures and images, but there is seen to be an effect on word problems and comprehension with music in the background. Music seems to have little to no effect on studying pictures, but there is a different effect on a student who is working on comprehension problems. These particular research findings tend to align with other research findings that have examined in the past that music does have an effect on students’ concentration skills and abilities.

Keywords: music, comprehension, study, problems, concentration, research, tempo

How the power of music can affect an academic student’s performance

Have you ever wondered about the effects music can have on someone’s concentration, performance, and study habits? Not just anybody, but specifically college students. College students are considered to be some of the most stressed people in the world. I’m interested to know how music affects their various study habits and if music is helping, or potentially hurting the student. It is well known that college students experience intense amounts of stress. Many researchers are well aware of this. But some research has found that music can be considered of the most powerful stress relievers for college students across the world, along with exercises and reading (Shapiro, 2015).

Since anxiety is well known among college students, researchers have taken an interest to see if music can help calm the anxiety of students in testing situations. The findings from research on the impact of music in occupational settings revealed that a single music relaxation session decreased participants’ anxiety significantly, compared to a control group with absolutely no music involved (Smith, 2008). The results of this study confirmed for researchers that music can help decrease tension, stress, and anxiety which are so frequently seen in workplace environments. If music can help people in the workplace setting such as an office, then surely it will be able to help college students researchers thought.

Another issue seen in students can be their attitude towards what they are studying or working on. Sometimes music may help or hurt the situation. For instance, if a student is working on an assignment, they take no interest in, music may help them to finish that dreaded assignment with a positive attitude. On the other hand, if a student is working on an assignment, they have an immense amount of passion for, music may make the overall experience even better for them. This next study takes a look at how a student’s attitude toward music during studying can affect their concentration. It discusses the current trend of just how popular music is among college students. Since this trend is around, it creates a specific attitude within people around this particular age. Apparently, the students do not listen to music all the time while they are studying. The majority of the students in this study claimed that they only listen to music while studying when they are in the right frame of mind. Only a small group of students listen to it most of the time while studying ((Kumar, Wajidi, Chian, Vishroothi, Ravindra, & Aithal, 2016). The psychological basis for this attitude could be regarded the music as an alternative to keep them motivated. Music is also considered a positive mood changer as it exerts a positive perception of the work being done by the student (Kumar, et al. 2016).

Next, another question that arises among researchers is how would a student’s concentration levels be affected if the student is listening to music they preferred. This question can range to everything from the genre, to tempo, to music artist, to a music playlist. Researchers in the past have shown that reading comprehension was impaired when concurrent lyrical music was played. However, this seems to contradict the music and cognition literature, which proposes that listening to music that one likes increases cognitive performance (Hallam, Price, & Katsarou, 2002). But this study goes on even further to show that students did not perform as well on tasks with lyrics. In this study, students did their best under silent conditions.

Lastly, another research question can be how can unpleasant music or unpleasant sounds during studying affect concentration and performance. Many times, it is close to impossible for a college student to be able to work in complete peace and quiet. Perhaps they are at the library where people are loud and sudden noises are constantly being made. Or perhaps the students are at their own home where they may have a sibling who has the music or television blaring in the background. As can be seen, students cannot always hide from the background noise. One study even went as far as playing music backgrounds to increase stress and see how it would affect a student (Jezova, Hlavacova, Makatsori, Duncko, Loder, & Hinghofer-Szalkay, 2013).

When we are inspecting anxiety within college students, we want to observe how music is also affecting that. Specifically, in this study, test anxiety was observed. It was determined that performance will be at its highest when the student experiences a moderate level of arousal (Lilley, Oberle, &, Thompson, Jr, 2014). Thus, if students are especially anxious about a test due to the grade consequences, listening to fast-tempo, obnoxious music prior to the test may increase their already-heightened arousal level, leading to relatively poor performance on the task at hand. On the other side of things, listening to slow-tempo, calm music prior to the test may lower their arousal to a more optimal level, leading to relatively greater performance on the test (Lilley, et al. 2014). Some students will be told the test will be hard and will greatly affect their grades, whereas the other students will be told just to be positive about the test. The prediction is that students who are instructed to simply try their best and not worry about a test will be optimistic, experience less anxiety, and perform relatively well on the test. In contrast, greater anxiety and poorer performance may result when students are warned that the test will be difficult and that their performance is critical to their grade in the course (Lilley, et al. 2014). When students’ grades were not threatened or in danger of facing a drastic change, there was no obvious difference in test scores between participants in the different music conditions, However, for participants whose grades were threatened to change, test scores were significantly lower for participants who listened to the obnoxious as opposed to the calm music (Lilley, et al. 2014).

The next study relevant to our research is a study on the attitude towards music while studying. Martin, Wogalter, and Forlano (1988) showed that reading comprehension was impaired when concurrent lyrical music was played. In this study researchers asked participants to undertake a reading comprehension task in the presence of the following sound conditions: quiet liked lyrical music, disliked lyrical music, and instrumental music (Perham, & Currie, 2014). This study, like ours, included comprehension tasks while listening to music. The reading comprehension task consisted of four passages (‘Silent film industry’, ‘Diversity of life’, ‘Values and integrity of journalism, and ‘Emergence of genetics’), along with their accompanying six questions, were taken from the ‘10 Real SATs’ (The College Board, 2000) (Perham, & Currie, 2014). Participants provided the liked music from their own music collection. The requirements were that it contained lyrics and songs were repeated so that they lasted the length of the task condition (10 min). Chosen songs were from artists such as One Direction, Frank Ocean, and Katy Perry (Perham, & Currie, 2014). The results of this study found that performance was greatest in the silent condition (Perham, & Currie, 2014). This study is relevant to our study in the sense that, these researchers also wanted to see how music affects comprehension and if preferred music can even affect that. For this study, students did best under the silent condition and with no music at all.

The last study relevant to our study had a lot of the same objectives as we did for our study. The objectives were to observe the effect of different types of music on the concentration and performance of students, to understand the effect of listening to music on the concentration and performance of students, to analyze the individual perception about the role of music in concentration and performance of the student (Kumar, et al. 2016). This test like ours also involved a questionnaire beforehand and wanted to determine how often students listened to music while studying, and under what conditions. Figure 1 involved taking a look at the incidence profile of students listening to music while studying and the duration of listening to music while studying. 47% of the students believe that music helps them to pay attention while studying. Figure 3 concluded that for the group of students who do not listen to music while studying, 97.5% of those students said that listening to music while studying would distract their concentration. Figure 4 found that the most popular music to listen to while studying is pop (82%). Finally, the experiment-based study noted that students who have a habit of listening to various types of music while studying could not score well without music (31%). But it was also concluded that there was a higher percentage of correct answers by students who are listening to soft music (75%). (Kumar, et al. 2016). This study unlike ours seems to lean towards the conclusion that music does help studying and concentration. Kumar, et al. (2016) concludes that “Music could help the student to concentrate while studying to the extent when they prefer to listen to music. This positive finding is relevant to justify the current trend of listening to music while studying as it does not pose any adverse effects on the concentration of students. In fact, it might also improve performance in their academics. Similarly, individual preferences of particular types of music seem to play a significant role in helping students to concentrate”.

Our study will be measuring how the tempo of music affects the concentration and accuracy of students’ performance. We are manipulating the tempo and pace of the music, and seeing how it affects students while they study images and complete word problems. Our goal of this research study is to determine if music benefits, or hurts students’ concentration overall. By manipulating the tempo and pace of the music, we can see how that affects a student’s performance. With our control condition being no music at all, that can also help determine if simply no music is the solution for students and that music while studying does not at all benefit their academic success. The question is, does music help or hurt a student’s potential success? Some researchers suggest, turning on the medicine that is music! But, we as researchers are not entirely confident that is the advice college students should be listening to.

Based on most previous research, it was hypothesized that music would distract a student during studying. Since auditory stimuli can be so distracting, background noise, music with lyrics, or instrumental music could all be seen as potential distractions to a student. If both sound, tempo, lyrics, and no lyrics all tend to affect a student, then participants in the research study should be more likely to not be able to study the images accurately. The participants also will most likely become distracted by the music during the word comprehension problems of the testing phase. Participants should be more likely to succeed in the silent condition. No distractions around will help them succeed to their highest potential in studying images and word comprehension problems.

Methods

Participants

During the study, there were 12 participants. Both males and females participated in the research study (M:4, F:8) with an average age of 22.92 years, SD (7.93 Years). Participants’ ages ranged from 19 years old to 46 years old. We recruited these 12 participants as they all attend the Ohio State University: Newark Campus. All of the students are also in a class known as PSYCH 2300 Research Methods taught by Dr. Robinson. The only problem when we ran our study is that 2 participants did not complete the study fully. We had to exclude 2 participants because they did not fully complete the test trials. We ran 12 participants for training but only 10 for testing on paper. Subject 829 did not give testing data but did give training data.

Stimuli

The stimuli in the study were memory stimuli, and word and comprehension stimuli. So, in total, there were thirty pictures and fifteen-word problems. The stimuli were presented as long as the student needed. The student pressed the space bar when they were ready to move on to the next image or word problem in the study. The students were first presented with the images, then later moved on to word and comprehension problems.

The memory stimuli consisted of various creatures. What would happen is the student would be presented with many different images of creatures. The student would take the time to observe and memorize certain aspects of the photo. Once they felt they spent enough time studying the image, they would move on to the next one and press the space bar.

This is one example of the type of photo the student would see during the study phase. In each study phase, the student would see 10 different pictures. It’s a test of have you seen this before? Yes or no. It is chance performance. The goal is to see how well the students can study the images and memorize details while in the presence of music.

The word and comprehension stimuli were math problems the student had to solve while in the fast, slow, or silent music condition. An example of a word problem the student saw during the research study was, “During the summer, Tristan earns extra money mowing lawns for $20 an hour. He mows 6 lawns an hour and needs to mow 21 lawns. How long will it take him to complete 21 lawns”? The student would then have 4 multiple choice answers to choose from in forms A, B, C, or D. The motive was to find out how accurate students could be answering these complex math problems while listening to music at the exact same time.

The current study featured 1 independent variable which was the music or type of auditory playing. There were 3 levels of the independent variable, fast, slow, and control. The dependent variable was the proportion of answers the students got correct. What the students studied may also be considered an independent variable in the study. The songs included in the study were Far Horizons as part of the TES V Skyrim Soundtrack during the slow condition. In the fast condition, participants listened to the song F-Zero X Dream Chaser by Taro Bando & Hajime Wakai.

Apparatus

The computers students used in the study were Dell Optiplex 3040 desktops. The software on those computers is DirectRT (v2016). The software was used to present the stimuli to the students and to record their responses to the stimuli. The monitor was presented on a Dell 1909W monitor with 1440 x 900 resolution. The monitor revealed the visual stimuli. Headphones used to play the music conditions to the students were Kensington KMW33137 at approximately 65-68 dB. The headphones were used to present the auditory stimuli to the students. Fast, and slow music conditions

Procedure

The procedure began with students going to the Psych lab on the date March 6, 2019. Students were instructed to take a seat at a computer that was logged on and had all testing data open and ready to go. Participants experienced 3 different training phases. For each training phase, there were 10 pictures during each phase and 5 different word problems. The test was all grouped together with 30 study problems, half the images were old, and half of the images were new. Each picture was questioned as to whether the participant had seen that image thus far. These conditions all come when the participants were listening to music. In Phase 1 the participants heard fast music during their task, phase 2 consisted of slow music during the task, and in phase 3 the participants heard nothing but silence during the task. The students sitting in the back row tested the silent condition first. While the back row was testing the silent condition, the middle row was in the testing phase of the slow music condition, and the front row was in the testing phase with the fast music condition. All students were instructed to follow the instructions on the screen and that pressing the space bar would transition them to the next image and or word problem. The middle row and the front row were instructed to place the headphones on since their testing phases involved music conditions.

During the study, there were 3 conditions. Fast, slow, and silent conditions. During each condition, there were 10 study problems and 5-word problems. The testing phase was all intermixed and the student would be presented with a study item and would need to determine if that study item was old or new. The student needed to decide for themselves if they had seen that image before during the procedure. Half the study items were old, and half of the study items were new. The chance performance for study items was 50%. The chance performance for word problems was 25% with a comprehension check.

Once students completed the test, they went on to complete a questionnaire asking about their favorite music genres, what tempo of music they prefer, and if they listened to music while studying at all. As a result, the research study had the opportunity to not only go through testing phases and different conditions but also having a questionnaire involved helped us to better understand just how often students do listen to music while studying, and exactly under what type of conditions they would listen to music while studying.

Results

The question was do outcomes differ if the participants are hearing fast or slow music during a task? We submitted the proportion of answers correct to a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. The ANOVA tells us that every person did every condition. This is going to reveal the proportion correct during training because we are only taking a look at the training data. Training data was examined first, next was accuracy on the word problems, and then w We submitted the proportion of correct answers during training to a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. The one-way ANOVA revealed that there is a main effect of condition, F(2.22)= 3.73, p =.040. The only difference was the accuracy in the fast mean (M= .83, SD= .17) was greater than slow mean (M= .67, SD= .16), t (11)= 2.59, p = 0.25.

Degrees of freedom for numerator and denominator, f value, p-value. Below .05 has a significant effect. The one-way ANOVA revealed that there is a main effect of condition because results are below .05. F(2.22)= 3.73, P=.040. These results reveal that two of the means differ from one another. Next, we followed up on the ANOVA with a paired t-test. The purpose of the t-test is to compare different conditions. The only one that had a difference was fast vs. slow. The only difference was the accuracy in the fast mean (M= .83, SD= .17) was greater than the slow mean. The mean and standard deviation for the slow condition are (M= .67, SD= .16), t (11)= 2.59, P= 0.25. With the Bonferroni test, the fast condition revealed that the participants were more accurate in listening to the faster music, rather than the slower music. (F=.78, SE=.04), P=.017. The pairwise comparison with Bonferroni adjustment revealed that fast was greater than slow. Next, the results revealed that the silent condition did not differ from any of the groups. Slow music (S=.65, SE=.03). The analysis showed a main effect of type F(1,9)= 7.45, P=0.23. Study (M=.82, SE=.04). Word problems (M=.64, SE=.05). In conclusion, for the study 82% accuracy in examining images, and 64% accuracy on the word problems. Fast and slow do differ. The main effect of the condition looks similar to the training data. Results showed that participants are more accurate on study items, such as the images, rather than word problems. The interaction tells us whether music does have an effect or not. Music does not seem to have much of an effect on studying the images. 3% difference in performance as a function of what you’re listening to on picture recognition. But music does appear to have an effect if a participant is working on a comprehension problem of some sort. As a result, music seems to have no effect on studying pictures and further recognition of those pictures. But music does have an effect on word and comprehension problems in participants.

Discussion

The goal of the current study was to investigate how music, specifically fast versus slow music affects students while studying and completing word comprehension problems. To address this question we had, we had participants complete word comprehension problems and study images while listening to the various music conditions. We manipulated this by changing the pace and tempo of the music. The goal was to determine if fast or slow music was a distraction to the participant and interfered with their studying and performance. We also wanted to find out how the silent condition affected them as well.

The results revealed findings that showed students are more accurate on study items than word problems with music involved. During study items, students performed best and the most accurate when the music was fast-paced, then in the silent condition, and finally performed the worst in the slow music condition. The overall conclusion is that music does not seem to have much of an effect on studying images. But there is an effect if a student’s task is word comprehension. Music hurt the student in this condition.

Unlike previous research that suggested that music actually helps students. Our study did not necessarily reveal that music helps students with performance and concentration. Our study showed that music negatively affected students when it came to focus on accuracy and performance for word problems. Kumar, et al. (2016) study results mentioned that music could help the student concentrate to the extent that they prefer the music. This study also said that listening to music while studying does not pose any adverse effects on the concentration of students. In fact, the researchers suggest it might even improve performance in the student’s academics (Kumar, et al. 2016). Our study results did not have the same findings. More specifically, our study suggests that music does not help students during word comprehension solving.

Previous research has also suggested that slower music will lead to lower arousal levels, causing students to perform better on tests and any type of assignment involving a grade (Lilley, et al. 2014). Our study did not reveal these findings either. Our study showed that the slower music condition did not improve participants’ accuracy and performance. The worst scores of accuracies in our study and testing phases were during the slow condition. This study suggests that slower music will improve students’ performance and help decrease their anxiety levels. Our research study suggested that faster music conditions improve performance and accuracy in testing conditions.

While this study helped identify more clearly how music affects students’ concentration and performance, there were a few limitations to the study and research procedure. If our sample size was larger, our results could have had the potential of generating more accurate results. Our research could have been more supported if our sample size was larger. Also, our study only involved student participants in one psychology course on campus. This was due to easy access, and the study would cost nothing for data collection. Our results also could have generated better and more accurate results if we used more students on our Ohio State Newark campus. Our data collection process may have also shown other limitations. This research study was conducted on the last day of psychology class before spring break. Students may have been tired and ready to go home and completed the research study in a rush. This may have reflected the results in some way and their performance in the research study. Finally, there may have been some invasive manipulations in the study. This means physical changes in the participant’s body. This study was conducted at 8:00 AM, many students may have had coffee, causing anxiety and jitters in the body.

Additional research should examine students’ study habits more in-depth. Some students may be able to handle intense amounts of distraction during the course of study. Others may have to be in complete silence to get any work done. It would be interesting to understand the types of conditions certain people need to perform at their best. Some students most likely do perform better with music, while others may struggle with that noise and distraction. To build off of the proposed study, researchers should have participants take a questionnaire beforehand asking for a choice of songs, which song every participant knows. Most likely there will be a song on the list that every participant knows and recognizes. To build off of this research, researchers should take a look at how a song people recognize and know the lyrics and beat, affects distraction, performance, and accuracy. If a song is familiar, or unfamiliar, how would that affect a student? This study was looking more at tempo, to build off of the study, researchers can identify results of how familiarity would change the students studying.

In conclusion, the current findings of this research study point out the changes in a student’s accuracy and performance in fast music conditions, slow music conditions, and silent music conditions. Students performed at their best during the fast music condition and performed the worst during the slow music condition. This study suggests that fast music can help improve accuracy and performance during the studying of an image during a testing phase. This study also suggests that music does not help improve performance on word comprehension study problems.

Senioritis is a term used to describe the waning motivation and effort of students in their final year of high school or college. It is often associated with the feeling of apathy, procrastination, and laziness that many students experience near the end of their academic careers. It is a serious issue that can affect a student’s academic performance and reputation.

To understand senioritis, it is important to recognize the unique position that seniors are in. After years of hard work and dedication, some students find it hard to stay motivated and put in the same level of effort as they did in the past. With graduation looming, some students may begin to feel overwhelmed and start to lose focus on their studies. This can lead to a decrease in academic performance and a lack of progress in completing assignments and projects.

Senioritis can also manifest itself in other ways. For example, some seniors may begin to engage in more social activities than usual, such as attending parties or spending more time with friends. This can lead to a decrease in academic performance and a lack of focus on studies. Additionally, seniors may become more likely to procrastinate, as they may feel that there is no reason to put in extra effort when graduation is so close.

Seniors can have serious consequences for students. If not addressed, it can lead to poor academic performance, which can potentially result in a lower grade point average or even a failure to graduate. Additionally, it can negatively affect a student’s reputation, as it may be seen as a sign of laziness or lack of dedication.

To combat senioritis, it is important for students to stay motivated and focused on their studies. Reminding oneself of the rewards of a successful academic career, such as a well-paying job or admission to a prestigious college, can be helpful in maintaining focus. Additionally, it is important to set realistic goals and stay organized to ensure that assignments and projects are completed on time. Finally, it is important for seniors to recognize that senioritis is a common experience for many students and to take steps to manage it in order to ensure a successful academic career.