Transition strategies although are not only specific to new students, as all students incur changes throughout their years of attending university such as timetable changes and going into each new semester also requires transitioning. Social Support There are many transition strategies used by students to be successful at university. As every student is different there will never be one single transition experience as each student will learn and adjust their own ways and interpret strategies differently.
Some specific strategies which are more important than others are such as a receiving social support. For first year students especially that have either came straight out of high school or from employment or family commitments social support is a major strategy that can and should be used. Forming friendships that make those support networks at university can help with the transition.
Lectures, tutors and other members from the university, peers and family members are all sources of social support, they can help relieve times of negativity and stress. (Request, B. , & People, J. (2007) up. 3-44) And in a new environment having those networks make it easier to adapt to that environment (Levy (2012) up. 72-75. ) This is important as without friendships and social support it becomes easy for students to lose motivation and not enjoy the full experience university has to offer.
This can then lead to an unsuccessful transition and the student may not complete their full course or may not pass their units resulting in a Another important transition strategy is organization, a student who is well organized with their independent learning and study is going to more likely ruinations easier into the university environment than a student who isn’t organized as being organized allows the student to not succumb to stress with the workload that comes with university study like attending lectures and tutorials, completing readings, study and keeping on top of assignments by their due dates.
They have a willingness to complete the work they receive and maintain a balance between there social life outside university including work and sports, spending time with family and friends and their full time studies. Responsibility is a large part of organization as it is up to the student to make their own choices and decisions about their attendance and managing their time efficiently and conforming to the expectations of the university.
This can be a bigger step for students straight out of high school as most of them have not been exposed to the independent side of living and managing compared to mature aged students as being older they are more likely used to managing their time already and have experienced deadlines and routines prior to returning back to study (Earl (2012) up. 3-264) Problem Identification Some university students do not engage in successful transition strategies as they struggle to make connections within the university and can not adapt to the environment. Some mature aged students especially ones that have busy households with children or demanding jobs for example have a lot more to manage and incorporate into their timetables compared to younger students who may still live at home and not have as many outside curricular lifestyle choices they have to manage as well.