{"id":822,"date":"2011-04-11T13:21:14","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T18:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/?p=822"},"modified":"2014-04-29T17:07:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T22:07:33","slug":"the-number-one-requirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/the-number-one-requirement\/","title":{"rendered":"The Number One Requirement"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\"connection\"By Melissa Tedrowe<\/strong><\/p>\n

This past Friday, April 8, I attended a UW system-wide conference about supporting the academic success of “at-risk” students — most commonly, students who are the first in their families to attend college; students returning to college at a “non-traditional” age; students from low-income backgrounds; and students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education.\u00a0 As I listened to the sessions, many of which were packed with quantitative and qualitative data about what places a student “at risk,” I heard a stunning refrain.\u00a0 The single most powerful predictor of whether a student will succeed or slip through the cracks comes down to one word: connection. \u00a0\u00a0 You can teach the best curriculum, adhere to the most sophisticated educational models, give students access to the fanciest computer labs, etc., etc., but at the end of the day what matters is that students know that someone cares about them.\u00a0 “I felt invisible,”\u00a0 “My professors didn’t have time for me,” “Everyone was too busy”: These are the words of students who, after lingering on academic probation, decided college wasn’t for them.\u00a0\u00a0 The difference between success and failure in one student’s case?\u00a0\u00a0 She found an advisor willing to give her twenty minutes of undivided attention twice a semester.\u00a0 That’s forty minutes total of the advisor’s time. Amazing.<\/p>\n

No one suggests that reaching out is the only piece of the academic success puzzle.\u00a0 But everything I heard on Friday tells me that without it, little else matters.\u00a0 So I’m reminded that as busy as I may get heading into the end-of-semester (a time of overwhelm for many students),\u00a0\u00a0 I need to\u00a0 keep reaching out.\u00a0 Even the small gestures matter:\u00a0 making eye contact and smiling warmly to the students who pass in the hall, offering a simple “You ok?” to a student who seems upset.\u00a0\u00a0 Such gestures say, I see you.\u00a0\u00a0 I’m glad you’re here. \u00a0And I want you to stay.<\/p>\n

Melissa<\/p>\n

PS:\u00a0 If you don’t believe me, take a listen to Gary Sandefur, Dean of L & S. \u00a0 http:\/\/www.chickasaw.tv\/#\/people\/VideoModule\/1475<\/p>\n

(Coincidentally,\u00a0 this video podcast appeared in my Facebook newsfeed as I was finishing this blog entry.\u00a0\u00a0 Guess we’re all on the same page right about now.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Melissa Tedrowe This past Friday, April 8, I attended a UW system-wide conference about supporting the academic success of “at-risk” students — most commonly, students who are the first in their families to attend college; students returning to college at a “non-traditional” age; students from low-income backgrounds; and students from groups historically underrepresented in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Number One Requirement - Another Word<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/the-number-one-requirement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Number One Requirement - 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