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How to Coach First-Year Students to Success

Madison, Wis.—August 21— Coaching first-year students is more important than ever, according to Carol Carter, author of Keys to Success, which is used by 200,000 students across the U.S. in first-year programs. Many traditional-age students don’t know how to function on their own and need explicit help in succeeding academically and professionally.

This is where coaching comes in, both in and out of the classroom, said Carter during the recent online seminar “Coaching Skills that Promote First-Year Success.” Instructors, academic advisors, and student life and services staff all need to adopt a coaching approach to helping freshmen.

According to Carter, this approach includes:

1. Pointing out students’ strengths and showing them how to channel the strengths. If, for example, a student chats often with neighbors during class, an instructor could help the student use his or her social skills in a way that contributes to class rather than distracting from it.

2. Accelerating students’ progress. Coaches can ask students how they could take an idea a few steps further. The coach might ask a student where he or she could look to investigate a new concept discussed in class, for instance, or the next step in making an idea for a student activity a reality.

3. Motivating students to action. If a student identifies a professional goal, the coach might ask the student what he or she is willing to do to achieve that goal—moving them to participate in an internship, for example.

Carter shared several other aspects of coaching during the seminar. If you missed the live program and would like to order a transcript or CD of the event, visit our online catalog.

Magna Publications is a leading publisher of newsletters and other information products in the higher education segment. Magna also manages onsite and online conferences on topics of interest to higher education.

For more information please contact David Burns, Publisher, Magna Publications, Inc., at 608-227-8109, or dburns@magnapubs.com.