Assignment 1: You’ve Got This: Planning for Success

When you leave your first term course, you will enter into your program of study. You want to make sure all necessary variables that impact your future success (including both strengths and weaknesses) are identified and solutions proposed. Planning cannot prevent a tragedy, but it can prevent a single event from snowballing into a disaster. What steps have you taken to make sure that you will have access to the Internet regardless of weather conditions?? Have you reviewed your program of study? Do you know what the add/drop timeline looks like? Have you spoken to your advisor?/p> 

Graphic Credit: Microsoft Corporation. (Producer). MC900441310 [Illustration of a green check mark]. Retrieved February 6, 2014 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=check+mark&ex=1#ai:MC900441310
 

Make sure that you pay attention to the details when you are first starting out. Students are often proud of multitasking, but when you first start a program online, you need to provide your full attention to the task at hand. Encountering curriculum that is both professionally and personally useful is transformational. Walden University wants to help you discover that school can be an oasis of serenity once you fully engage with the learning process. Knowledge, once applied, is fully yours. Each component of the courses you are taking will be applicable to your professional and personal life in some manner.

It is hard to learn when you are sad, hungry, angry, or exhausted, so it is important to take care of your basic needs as part of your plan for success. Making a space to learn, and creating a ritual around learning can buffer it from the other parts of your life. It is like finding a sunny place for a plant to thrive. You need to be in the zone to learn, and you might have to take some time to think deliberately about what that space would look like. 

Being a Walden student can mean learning on the go. Your success plan will follow you throughout your time at Walden. The course materials that you’ve created this term will serve as a reminder for you of the brave steps you are taking to complete your undergraduate degree. You’ve got this, and we’ve got your back the whole way!

In this Assignment you will develop a Personal Success Plan that includes both short-term and long-term goals.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review your Weekly Journal entries, your initial Discussion posts, Assignments submissions, and Self-Assessments.
• Consider how you have grown or changed your perspective throughout this course.
• Were you surprised by any of the scores you received? What resources will you use this term to enhance your skills in the areas that you’ve covered?
• Review the Personal Success Plan Checklist and Worksheet (Word document).
• Watch the Scholar of Change videos.

Assignment Instructions:

By Day 5

Submit your Personal Success Plan using the Personal Success Plan Checklist and Worksheet in this week’s Learning Resources.

Personal Success Plan Checklist and Worksheet

Walden’s Personal Success Plan offers students a blueprint for professional and academic success. Life can interrupt even the best made plans, but the Walden University staff and faculty are here to help.

Use this checklist and worksheet to seek and use your newly acquired academic knowledge with the additional resources we provide for your success.

Under each category you will find many components that you can use like a checklist. Then you will find a space to fill in some information about your goals in this category. Talk about your plans in this area: have you already done this? What do you need to do? How will you do it? When?

Finally, at the end of this document is a space for you to write a few paragraphs about your short term and long term goals.

Emergency Management

(Resources available via your academic advisor)

·  Complete Authorization to Release Information form. (Note to Academic Advisor: please locate, under “Program Forms”), to establish an emergency contact.

· Learn about the Student Assistance Program.

· Learn more about Walden drop dates (if necessary, you will need to complete a Withdrawal Form); understand what a leave of absence means.

· Learn how to contact Disability Services for any ongoing medical concerns.

What are your plans for Emergency Management? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Family Life

· Clearly explain your educational goals to your family and closest friends.

· Identify childcare options, if necessary, so you are able to focus on your school work.

· Establish a dedicated study area and print your course schedule, so you know what is due on a weekly basis.

· Discuss your new academic priorities to those who matter most to you.

What are your plans for Family Life? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Classroom Management: Walden Resources Available

· If you need to request an extension on an assignment, contact your instructor within the classroom and provide evidence for your request.

· Review the class syllabus in Week 1, note all due dates on the schedule so you can see potential conflicts with work and life obligations.

· Review Walden’s Academic Calendar.

· If you have questions or concerns about classroom expectations, contact your faculty and your advisor.

What are your plans for Classroom Management: Walden Resources Available? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Self-Enrichment

· Plan a routine to take care of yourself.

· Develop a support circle of friends and family to encourage you to move forward in your degree.

· Identify a health mentor (colleague, friend, health professional, or guidance counselor) to whom you can go to for guidance.

· Make time for healthy food decisions and regular exercise. 

What are your plans for Self-Enrichment? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Technology Support & Plan

· Create a plan for if your internet goes out or your computer goes down; know how to back-up assignments.

· Identify the software that is new to you that you need to practice; recognize any gaps in your technology tool kit, and ask about additional resources.

· Locate a technology mentor to help you (face to face or virtual; learn about Walden’s student support services).

What are your plans for Technology Support & Plan? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Professional Guidance

· Establish a financial plan for your time in college.

· Consider your program and potential career path during and after your degree.

· Update your resume (Walden’s Career Services offers a free software called Optimal Resume).

· Identify and catalog your professional skills; determine what skills are necessary to obtain your professional goals.

· Sign up for a Walden Career Services Webinar.

What are your plans for Professional Guidance? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Time Management

· Schedule an appointment with your advisor, and look closely at your competing obligations.

· Contact and review resources on time management at Walden’s Career Services Website.

· Utilize time between terms for designing an action plan; work to make school a crucial space in your intellectual life.

· Make steps to create a space for learning in your life, and never miss an opportunity to gain useful knowledge when it is presented to you.

What are your plans for Time Management? Discuss what, how, and when you’ll accomplish these tasks as part of your success plan. (address at least 2 of these)

Short Term and Long Term Goals

· Think about why you are here at Walden.

· What do you hope to gain: academically, professionally, personally?

· What do you hope to learn and apply?

· How do you think you can plan to include social change in your personal and/or professional life?

· What specific ways to this class and the assignments you’ve completed help you form these goals?

Use this space to write at least 2-3 paragraphs about your Short Term and Long Term Goals.

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