Please tell me everything is going to be okay?

The answer below ought to be your institution’s number one admissions resource.

From the time you look at colleges, a young adult has a lot going on their minds in terms of learning outcomes, placement, parent validation, etc. The undergraduate life of many comes much excitement, stress, worry and celebration. But, at what point do students know everything will be okay and be prepared for life outside of school. As it has been 642 days since I have graduated, yes I have counted, I have been tested daily on the value of my undergraduate education. Something I wish I knew since day one of college is the following concept of high impact practices, educational programs and services that aid in personal and professional development which leads to increase rates of student engagement and retention on higher education institutions. Below are descriptions of high impact practices from the Association of American College and Universities(AACU). These ought to be known as the keys to success in young Americans because of structured outcomes paths to incorporate as a student progresses in the undergraduate process.

Do you hear me admissions and enrollment offices? Make it clear and relay these concepts to experiences had at your institution.

First-Year Seminars and Experiences: Many schools now build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. The highest-quality first-year experiences place a strong emphasis on critical inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that develop students’ intellectual and practical competencies.

Common Intellectual Experiences: The older idea of a “core” curriculum has evolved into a variety of modern forms, such as a set of required common courses or a vertically organized general education program that includes advanced integrative studies and/or required participation in a learning community.

Learning Communities: The key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with “big questions” that matter beyond the classroom.

Writing-Intensive Courses: The effectiveness of this repeated practice “across the curriculum” has led to parallel efforts in such areas as quantitative reasoning, oral communication, information literacy, and, on some campuses, ethical inquiry.

Collaborative Assignments and Projects: Collaborative learning combines two key goals: learning to work and solve problems in the company of others, and sharpening one’s own understanding by listening seriously to the insights of others, especially those with different backgrounds and life experiences.

Undergraduate Research: The goal is to involve students with actively contested questions, empirical observation, cutting-edge technologies, and the sense of excitement that comes from working to answer important questions.

Diversity/Global Learning: Many colleges and universities now emphasize courses and programs that help students explore cultures, life experiences, and world views different from their own. These studies — which may address U.S. diversity, world cultures, or both — often explore “difficult differences” such as racial, ethnic, and gender inequality, or continuing struggles around the globe for human rights, freedom, and power. Frequently, intercultural studies are augmented by experiential learning in the community and/or by study abroad.

Service Learning, Community-Based Learning: In these programs, field-based “experiential learning” with community partners is an instructional strategy — and often a required part of the course. The idea is to give students direct experience with issues they are studying in the curriculum and with ongoing efforts to analyze and solve problems in the community. A key element in these programs is the opportunity students have to both apply what they are learning in real-world settings and reflect in a classroom setting on their service experiences. These programs model the idea that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and that working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life.

Internships: The idea is to provide students with direct experience in a work setting — usually related to their career interests — and to give them the benefit of supervision and coaching from professionals in the field. If the internship is taken for course credit, students complete a project or paper that is approved by a faculty member.

Capstone Courses and Projects: The project might be a research paper, a performance, a portfolio of “best work,” or an exhibit of artwork. Capstones are offered both in departmental programs and, increasingly, in general education as well.

After reading the following, your mind, as the student, is at ease knowing if you immerse yourself in these practices it will lead to a better life both personally and professionally after you have graduated from your undergraduate university. I feel if my family and I had received a mailer from a university while I was looking at colleges to attend way back in 2010 it would have made my college decisions process easier in the aspect of process, structure, and outcome. Isn’t that what we all ask for as humans to goals we set out. Also, it probably would have helped to read through all my course syllabi in-depth to ensure certain experiences were had. All in all, my undergraduate experience was an enlightenment on many levels, but just needed some verifications on year-to-year transitioning in the process because at times as a student, I got caught up in the moment and not knowing if what I was doing would lead to post-graduate success. As I am a post-graduate now, I realize even more that my degree gave me professional skills that are valuable in today’s job market. By no means, did I have negative experience as an undergraduate, now I am more devout in my career passions of higher education and realize that the process can only improve in the future. I credit my relatively smooth transition from child to adult, key word relatively, to my undergraduate experience having impactful experiences that I credit to the AACU for bringing towards reality to what college student engagement and success actually looks like today. I am deeply enamored about what a college experience can do to empower an individual to accomplish. As I start graduate school in the fall, I hope to explore this topic further and how it can be incorporated better on all levels at higher education institutions.