Recalling my own stressful first year in college to connect with the experiences of our students.

As a former Ball State University student, and now employee, I am compelled to tell you about my previous learner experiences because they are like many students before and after me. In many ways, some of the pressures learners face have changed, but some have persisted and become more precarious. I will share some of my experiences to help ground ourselves as we continue to welcome students to our community. 

Acclimating to the University 

I grew up about fifteen miles west of Muncie in a town called Frankton. Due to proximity, most of my graduating class became first-year students at Ball State the following Fall. Many of us didn’t make new friends because we could hang on to our small-town circles. I felt I was starting college behind on social skills and organizational understanding compared to the students from the cities and suburbs.

Instead of feeling comforted by the presence of my high school classmates, I felt I lacked the ability to make any new friends. In addition to struggling socially, my high school friends and I quickly began to make incorrect assumptions about college life. This included expectations for completing schoolwork, class attendance, and more. We sensed that attendance was “always optional,” among other assumptions, and those needed to be dispelled.

Many of the stresses I felt during my first few weeks of class were exacerbated by university tools and systems I was unfamiliar with. For example, this was the first time in my life I regularly checked an email address. I felt pressure to stay connected. I was not yet familiar with how to add and drop courses from my schedule. I wasn’t sure how to best structure my learning calendar and was stressed when I had to run to class because of the short transition time.  

How can we support students in acclimating to the university, such as navigating unfamiliar systems? Consider guiding students to available resources right away in the first week of class, such as the Basic Needs Hub, where they can access food, housing, wellness, and financial resources. While first-year students are connected with an academic advisor to help them navigate their schedules and Ball State systems specifically, faculty can share with students a comprehensive list of academic and student support services all in one place in Canvas, available in our Ball State Canvas Course Template. A faculty member directing me to these services would have saved me many tears during my first term.  

Another support you can provide is to consider how your individual course schedule fits into the larger semester schedule. We can try to create a rhythm with our coursework that has a consistent flow and coordinates with planned breaks in the semester. Consider whether you are setting deadlines before or after a break in the schedule. Be mindful of the amount of work you are giving students at the end of the term. Ask students for their feedback along the way. 

Financial Hardship

As a Ball State student, I needed money, so I jumped at the most immediate opportunity by working part-time at The Atrium. There was a lot to navigate before starting this job. I bounced around various buildings on campus to complete my pre-employment process. This was the first time I ever encountered a W-4 form for employment, which is scary for most adults, let alone an 18-year-old. I was informed I needed to purchase dress pants and work-safe dress shoes. I wasn’t prepared for a part-time job to have start-up costs.  Today’s students still grapple with these challenges, such as buying required work clothes. On top of that, they also need to purchase materials and textbooks for their courses. 

How can we help address this for learners? We can be mindful of the cost of our course materials. Textbook Affordability at Ball State (TABS) is an initiative focused on providing faculty with resources in searching for more affordable course materials for students. This program will assist you in finding affordable options for your courses, including Open Educational Resources, which are available and free to anyone.  

Further, if you require additional course materials, consider if these will be valuable to your students outside of the course. If you require them to use specific software, do you believe it will benefit them in other courses or their professional life? If the answer is no, you might consider more affordable tools they could use which would meet the learning objectives of your course

Listening to Our Students 

Consider additional ways to counter feelings of overwhelm among learners, like creating assignments that allow students to share and express problems they face as part of the Ball State community. As a public-speaking teacher, I ask students to constantly think about their audience. For our classes, that always starts with the audience of “Ball State Students.” This gives me an opportunity to build activities and assignments related to how the class feels about certain aspects of campus life.  

For example, from conducting these activities this semester, I know my students have been struggling with changes to the university shuttle service and to dining. Since I teach at noon, this prepares me for the possibility they are coming to class frustrated from these aspects. These activities serve the dual purpose of giving them a space to vent and be heard, and for me to learn about their lives outside of the 50-minute blocks I see them. Although our class time always feels precious, saving some for activities like this can connect you to your students in meaningful ways. 

Conclusion: Telling Our Stories 

I want to tell you about my experiences as a Ball State learner because they are similar to those of many students before and after me. In many ways, some of the pressures have changed, such as moving forms online and improving our scheduling processes. Other pressures such as living arrangements and searching for employment, have persisted and become more precarious, especially as our local businesses have changed.  

Importantly, our stories never finish. They don’t have neat endings. I nearly dropped out of college in my first year before returning in year two and starting to become the learner who finished a PhD program. Today, I see the things that challenged me early on in my learner journey, nearly to the point of dropping out, evolving and still weighing on our students. This story is, and continues to be, about how we can help each other. I often think about what I would want my “Inner-Freshman” to have in his life to feel safe and secure as he began his journey in higher education.

What does your “Inner-Freshman” need? And how can you give that to your students?