NC State students face a bunch of issues, many of which are caused by University policies. These problems include mental health issues, as discussed by Technician columnist Lauren Richards, and a lack of hybrid classes, as shown by Anu Mishra’s column.
A significant issue students face is an excess of unnecessary work, resulting in them feeling unprepared when they graduate and step into the world since they didn’t feel like they were taught life skills. This issue isn’t talked about enough.
Classes with busy work tend to emphasize memorizing useless information, but memorizing does not equal learning. It only makes students forget after they aren’t focused on material in class anymore, which is why I think a lot of students don’t do well on cumulative tests.
One way busy work can be replaced is if the professors instead gave students assignments they know are solely based around the tests given. It would not only be a better use of their time, but would also be super helpful once the test comes around. I find myself having to guess what assignments I should study for the test, but this process would eliminate that all together.
Another great alternative are hands-on assignments. Lots of students love doing hands-on projects, and in turn these projects will help students understand the content more effectively. It’s a more creative way of teaching instead of just doing a normal lecture where the professor is reciting the textbook.
If professors connected to the content more and conveyed it to the students, it would make them remember it more. Learning is way easier when I can tell the professor is really into it and tries to make it as fun as they can. Obviously, it’s hard to make calculus feel fun, but I would appreciate some effort at least!
The huge influx of busy work students receive results in not feeling fully prepared once outside of college. Research has even shown employers agree those fresh out of college are not prepared for the professional world. The research also talks about how while many students often have high problem-solving skills, they lack in other skills like critical thinking, professional etiquette and more. Additionally, most students believed their writing and oral skills were up to par, only 42% of employers surveyed agreed.
It’s not enough to just show up to class and get good grades anymore. Students need to be provided with more overall experience of the professional world so we’re more prepared once we’ve graduated.
NC State can fix this problem by having more experience-based classes, more internship opportunities and more variety of classes dealing with “adulting.” The adulting classes could consist of things like being taught how to fill out tax forms, how to budget, how to apply for jobs and learning professionalism.
NC State’s Career Development Center already has some great resources, but I think it needs to be advertised and talked about to students more because I had no idea of the many resources and classes they offer until I researched it. To quote a few of their programs, they offer resume advising, interview preparation programs as well as a few career courses like USC 401: Transitions for the College Graduate.
As long as changes like these are put in place and NC State communicates these types of opportunities already available to students, college students will feel more prepared once released out into the world. They’ll have a better opportunity to be able to know what we’re doing instead of being confused about how to go about adulthood.
