Resources for Students

Note-taking, study skills, and test preparation are methods and strategies designed to increase your chances of remembering crucial information in a test situation.

How does memory work? There are two basic types of memory – short-term memory and long-term memory. When you first learn something or have a particular experience your brain stores that information in short-term memory. For a variety of reasons, including the sheer abundance of information we each process daily, short-term memories are soon forgotten. Forgetting for the brain is much easier than remembering.

If you can recall information at a later date, then you know that this information has been placed in long-term memory. The best method for creating a long-term memory is through rehearsal.

Rehearsal involves repeating – such as re-reading information in a text, re-writing class notes, using flash cards to drill yourself on facts, and so on. Through this process you re-familiarize your brain with the information so that it will remember it.

Good learning begins with good class notes that:

• Indicate each main idea,
• Show relationships between main ideas,
• Organize minor ideas and details in support of each main idea,
• Remind you of important dates and events such as tests.

Through readings and lectures you are trying to:

• Decide what the Topic of the lecture/reading is
• Decide what the Main Ideas related to the topic are
• Decide what the Supporting Ideas related to each main idea are
• Decide what Examples, if any, are important
• Decide what Relationships exist in the information

The questions you should ask are: Who, What, Why, How, and When

In order to graduate from CSUN, you will need to earn at least a "C" average in certain areas. A "C" average on a 4 point scale translates into a 2.0 average. If you do not meet these grade point minimums you may not be eligible to graduate, even if you have completed all other requirements of the degree. The areas you must earn a “C” average in are the following:

• CSUN GPA (all units attempted at CSUN)
• Cumulative GPA (all units attempted at CSUN plus all units transferred in)
• Upper Division Major GPA (all upper division courses used to complete the major)
• Upper Division Minor GPA (all upper division courses used to complete the minor) (if applicable)

What is Academic Notice?

When your cumulative or CSUN grade point average drops below 2.0 you will be placed on Academic Notice. You will stay on Academic Notice as long as your grade point average is below 2.0 or until you are Disqualified. Academic Notice serves as an academic warning that you have a serious problem beginning to develop in your studies. As long as you are on Academic Notice, you will be limited to no more than 12 units of enrollment per semester.

What is Disqualification?

Disqualification is academic dismissal from the university and this dismissal may be permanent. Undergraduate students on academic notice will be disqualified when:

• Freshman (0 – 29 units earned) CSUN or Cum GPA falls below 1.50
• Sophomore (30 – 59 units earned) CSUN or Cum GPA falls below 1.70
• Junior (60 – 89 units earned) CSUN or Cum GPA falls below 1.85
• Senior (90 or more units earned) CSUN or Cum GPA falls below 1.95

Expected GPA Calculator

To determine your expected GPA, use the tool linked below. This calculator is for informational purposes only and its accuracy with a student's actual GPA is not guaranteed. Students are encouraged to review their records periodically with their adviser. To use this calculator, you will need a set of current unofficial transcripts showing your current GPA, Total Units (aka Credits) earned, and current course enrollment information (course name, expected grade, and units).

Expected GPA Calculator

In a very real sense, registration in a course is your commitment to complete the requirements of that course to the very best of your ability. There are a variety of skills and strategies which will assist you in attaining this goal. One of the more important strategies is “incorporating the class requirements into your overall semester schedule.” This takes planning.

Each class has a number of tests and/or requirements that you must meet by a particular date. In turn, each of these assignments can usually be broken up into a set of manageable tasks. Turning assignments in late or not at all will lower your grade and hurt your overall chance for success in the class.

How do you plan to meet these requirements on time?

Syllabus

You will be given a Course Syllabus for many of the courses you enroll in. In the syllabus, the instructor will outline the requirements of the course, its goals and objectives, curriculum, grading policies, assignments and due dates.

Calendar

1) Read over each course syllabus

2) On each, find all of the graded projects and/or tests which you will be required to complete during the semester,

3) Note each assignment and its due date.

Create Tasks

Each project or test you will complete has a set of preparatory tasks associated with it. For example, to prepare for a midterm – you should have read a certain number of chapters, taken lecture notes, outlined the chapter, and made sense of all of the information together. All of this should have been done before you started to study for the test. For each graded project or test you have been assigned, create a list of tasks which you will need to do to best complete the assignment. Estimate how long it will take you to complete each task.

Day Planner

On a Day Planner indicate when each of your tests or projects is due. By working backwards from each of these dates, begin planning each task you have defined – assign each task a due date and note this on the Planner.

Advisement Goals

Academic advisement is more than simply working with an advisor to help you select courses; it should also encourage you to understand and appreciate the connection that exists between the courses you are selecting and your academic and career goals. Each course you elect to enroll in, as part of your college program, is an opportunity to learn. Through good advisement, you begin to organize this learning into a cohesive program that makes sense to you. This allows you to see your program ‘globally’ that in turn encourages the confidence in you to make additional academic decisions that are in your best interest. Without this ‘global’ understanding it might seem that you are simply following directions and obeying rules that someone else is making – that you have no choice in the path you are following.

Through advisement, you and your advisor work as a team to create a workable educational plan that ties your goals into university programs and policies. It is a relationship built on trust and responsibility and both you and your advisor have specific responsibilities and goals.

What are some of your advisor’s goals and responsibilities?

• To assist you in your consideration of life goals – by relating interests, skills abilities and values to careers and the purpose of higher education.
• To assist you in developing an educational plan consistent with your life plan.
• To provide accurate information to you related to your program, university policies and procedures.

What are some of your goals and responsibilities?

• To develop an understanding of how your goals relate to your overall academic program by asking questions and discussing your goals with your advisor.
• To maintain an active role in the development of your academic plan by reviewing and charting your progress each semester and periodically re-evaluating your goals.
• To enroll in courses which are in your academic best interest and to be responsible for your own enrollment by registering in advised courses and by attending class.

Developing an Academic Plan

Your decision to attend college was the first step in your development of an academic plan. This decision no doubt included a certain set of expectations and goals related to benefits you anticipated would come from earning a bachelors degree and the boost it could give you into your eventual career. As a liberal arts college, the requirements at CSUN are more than just the courses associated with your major area of interest. Other requirements exist, such as General Education and Title 5, which are intended to provide a broad base of information complimenting what you learn in the major. In creating your academic plan, you should begin the process by familiarizing yourself with the degree requirements and the options available to you. Then you should begin identifying courses and paths that meet not only your career goals and interests but your academic needs as well. This is where your advisors come in.

• Preview the titles and/or descriptions of GE and major courses with an intention of understanding what skills or knowledge each is trying to teach you.
• Meet with advisor to go over requirements and discuss your goals and options.
• Begin to formulate a plan tying courses to requirements and goals.

Your academic goals are based on you - your skills, your weaknesses, your career aspirations, your life goals, and so on. Because of this, your academic plan will seem somewhat different from other students – you might choose a slightly different mix of General Education courses and/or major courses tailored to your particular experience.

• Periodically review your plan and progress with your advisor, looking for strengths and weaknesses. Discussing your goals with your advisor is a good strategy – ask questions, probe. “What is this class trying to teach me?” “How does this requirement fit into my overall plan?” “What other options do I have?” “Are my skills developed enough to complete this course?”

After you begin to understand how the courses you’re considering could assist you with your goals – then you should be ready to schedule your courses each semester. In order to stay on track, though, you should periodically review both your progress as well as your goals.

Most likely the costs of your high school education were small in comparison to what it will cost you to attend college. If you attended a public high school, neither you nor your family directly paid tuition costs to support your education. Also, living with and being supported by your family meant that you had relatively few regular expenses. You may have had to pay for your car payment, insurance, phone bill, and personal entertainment – and through a part-time job you may have earned more than enough money to finance your spending. Attending college may prove to be a different experience for you. There are regular tuition costs, book costs, lab fees, housing costs, as well as the other expenses you may have brought with you such as car payments and insurance.

Becoming aware of your financial responsibilities and planning to meet them can bring with it a sense of security. Living within your means – means living within your budget. There are many ways to learn to budget your income, most include the following basic steps:

1. Evaluate your overall income – how much money per month or per semester do you have to spend?
2. Record your expenses - how much do you spend and what do you spend it on? Be sure to include costs for housing, food, entertainment, car, gasoline, credit card payment, phone, junk food, clothes, and personal items. Estimate these expenses on either a monthly or semester basis. Be honest and complete.
3. Put it on Paper – Compare what comes in with what goes out. Identify where you can cut back, and then resist the temptation to overspend.
4. Balance your spending to match your income - Pay your ‘must items’ first (rent, car payments, phone etc). Then budget to spend only what is left – not more!
5. DO NOT USE CREDIT CARDS!!!!! – the interest you will end up paying will often nearly double the cost of the item.

Food Pantry: https://www.csun.edu/heart/foodpantry

University Counseling: https://www.csun.edu/counseling

Financial Aid: https://www.csun.edu/financialaid

Health Center: https://www.csun.edu/shc

Dream Center: https://www.csun.edu/dreamcenter