5 Habits of Highly Effective Online Students 

Here in the Student Success Coordinator (SSC) Department, not only do we see a lot of students, we see what they do in their classes. Not surprisingly, the ones with the best grades have several things in common. Check out the 5 most common habits of highly effective students below to see what you’re already doing and maybe even find some areas where you can improve:

1.     Get into your classroom on Monday to see what you need to do for the week.

Look at everything on Monday, that way there are no surprises later in the week when you see that you have a big assignment due! Also, you can use your time management skills to plan everything out ahead of time according to how busy your week is—good time management early in the week means everything is finished by the weekend!

2.   Make sure to turn everything in on time—or early!

Getting things in on time means you’re not missing out on easy points—late work means either half or no credit, even if you did the whole assignment! Ouch! Also, getting things in when you need to means that your instructor can give you the help you deserve instead of having to rush to get your assignments graded. Even better, turning them in early means that you have more free time at the end of the week; did someone say “free weekend”?

3.   Do your quiz last.

Doing your quiz last means that you’ve already read everything you need to for the week and that you’ve completed all of the assignments—that’s like instant study time! Also, since you only have 24 hours to complete the quiz once it’s opened, you want to make sure that you know your stuff before you start.

4.    Know who to call for help.

If you get confused on an assignment, can’t get into your quiz, or have some other issue with your classroom, call us!! We don’t know there’s an issue unless you tell us (as fun as it would be, we are not psychic!!). If you don’t know how to answer a question on your assignment, that’s your instructor’s territory—they’re the pros, so ask away!! Anything else, your SSC can most likely handle—that’s what we’re here for! So, if you think you broke your classroom, don’t know how to order a book, or pretty much anything else—look on your classroom profile, help is just a phone call away!

5.    Don’t stress yourself out!

This may seem hard sometimes, but go easy on yourself! In most cases, you are your harshest critic. As long as you complete your work the best way you know how (and on time!), read everything you are assigned, and call for help when you need it, odds are that you’re doing just fine. If for whatever reason you feel like that’s not the case, reach out and ask for help!!

Okay, now let’s recap: do your work, get it turned in on time, ask questions, and stay calm. Easy enough, right? It will be, once you turn these tips into habits! Remember a habit takes 21-30 days to create so stick with it—and don’t give up!!

 Author: Kia McGee, Student Services Coordinator with Pinnacle Career Institute - Online Division