Continuing Academic Success
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Continuing Academic Success
Going back to school can be a very difficult decision. There are many factors that can determine the decision to go back to school such as finances, career growth, looking for a better job, or to fulfill personal goals. That made me think about the reasons why I was going back to school. I think for most students, why one would want to return to school is an easy question to answer. After much thought, the important question is not why I was going back to school but how I was going to finish it. I needed to evaluate the reasons why I did not complete school and narrow down the key factors that will make me successful this time around. The variables for academic success are different from student to student, but some of the key factors for all students are goal setting, time management, and academic integrity.
Goal Setting
Goals are essential to any type of success. Goals serve as a directive and energizing function. It affects the persistence of participants and affects action by leading to arousal and discovery (Locke & Latham, 2002). Goals will keep someone motivated, focused, and provides a sense of direction necessary for academic success. However, simply creating goals will not lead to academic success. During my early academic career, my lack of goal setting led to academic failure. It was difficult for me to achieve my goals without having a clear understanding of what I was trying to achieve. I realized that it would take a reliable process of goal setting to achieve academic success.
Using S.M.A.R.T. goal approach has been a reliable process. Goals need to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound (Doran, 1981). Creating specific goals will make my goals clearer and helps me to identify how the goals can be achieved. Goals need to be measurable to make sure I know what progress is being made towards the goals. Goals need to be realistic and attainable so they can be accomplished within my means. My goals must be relevant to me. They must align with my other goals and be worthwhile. Lastly, goals must be timely to help me keep focus on completion of goals before a certain date.
As I restart my academic career, I have already set a sizable amount of goals to achieve. One goal is to become a better writer. Good writing is not only essential to academic success but is looked highly upon in the career world. Learning the writing process will help me to communicate better, which will help me to achieve my academic goals and advance my career. As with any skill, improving will require a lot of practice. In addition, the University of Phoenix has provided me with an array of tools that will help me to achieve this goal. The Center for Writing Excellence is one such tool that provides guides and tutorials to help me excel in my writing. Also, the Center for Writing Excellence provides me with tools to prevent plagiarism and helps to review my grammar. The Center for Writing Excellence will be an essential tool during my academic journey.
Time Management
Time management is a big factor in academic success. “If educational achievement, like intellectual achievement in general, takes time, then time-management practices should play a role in educational achievement” (Britton & Tesser, 1991, p. 405). As an adult learner, my time is very limited. Many returning adult students need to be able to manage a full time job, a family, and other personal responsibilities. Lack of time management and planning with a busy schedule can quickly lead to falling behind and academic failure. Proper time management will allow students to accomplish more, make better decisions, and reduce stress, which will allow students to produce high quality work.
Knowing my learning style can help me improve my time management. As a visual learner, I learn best by reading and visually looking at concepts. I am able to retain and restate information quickly and efficiently with the visual learning style. Knowing my learning style helps me to build confidence in academic learning and to prevent procrastination. Understanding my learning style helps me to manage time more effectively, accomplish goals, and improve my academic success.
Time management can improve critical thinking and decision making. Making decisions under a limited amount time can lead to bad judgment in decision making. Not allowing enough time to think critically about a problem and evaluating all options will lead to poor decision making. I can improve my critical thinking skills by implementing good time management practices. Allowing myself enough time will help me to thoroughly think through all of my options and determine the best choices.
Academic Integrity
As I progress through my academic journey, academic integrity remains a key factor for my academic success. Academic integrity shows respect for other people’s work. It instills important values such as honesty, fairness, and responsibility. Producing my own work is essential for my academic success. However, academic integrity is not simply said and done. Academic Integrity is a skill that must be taught to all students. With proper instruction on how to cite and effective set of tools can enable students to meet their goals, reduce troubling incidents, and achieve academic success (Craig, Federici, & Buehler, 2010).
Plagiarism whether intentional or unintentional is dishonest and irresponsible but will also compromise academic integrity. Plagiarism is a form of cheating that can have major consequences such as a failing grade or expulsion. The University of Phoenix has provided many tools to help prevent plagiarism. Along with the plagiarism checker that can be used to check plagiarism on submitted papers, they also provide tutorials on proper citing that will be an essential tool for my academic success.
Plagiarism is unacceptable but learning how to cite and use sources properly will improve a student’s academic writing. Using sources can add credibility to an essay more than the writer just using their own words and experiences. The University of Phoenix’s library provides access to a vast amount of credible sources that can be used to enhance a student’s writing. In addition, the Internet can be a great place to retrieve information. However, determining creditability can be challenging using Internet sources. The Internet provides an endless amount of data but it is important to research information thoroughly to determine credibility before using Internet sources in writing.
Conclusion
Goal setting is essential for academic and life success. Without goal setting, I wouldn’t know where I would be. Setting goals sets a clearer path to success. Time management is a critical skill not only for academics but is a major career and life skill. Academic integrity is important to ensure that I am an honest and responsible student. Practicing academic integrity will guarantee that I get the most out of my education. These are not the only factors that will contribute to academic success but they are the most important.

References
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002, September). Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation A 35-Year Odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.
Craig, P. A., Federici, E., & Buehler, M. A. (2010, Nov/Dec). Instructing Students in Academic Integrity.
Journal of College Science Teaching, 21(3), 50-55.
Doran, G. T. (1981, November). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives.
Management Review, 70(11), 35-36
Britton, B. K., & Tesser, A. (1991, September). Effects of Time-Management Practices on College
Grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(3), 405-410.