You might know that SUNY Ulster offers online degree programs, but have you ever wondered what the daily life of an online student looks like? To find out, we asked one of our online students to break down a day in the life of an online student at SUNY Ulster.

Starting The Day With Online Learning

The first thing I do in the morning (after brewing a pot of coffee) is check my calendar to see what I have planned for the day. I make sure to schedule my days in advance, leaving blocks of time for school work and studying in between work and my other commitments so I never find myself unprepared for a test or missing a guideline. Google Calendar is a great tool for this, or the Calendar app if you have an iPhone. Most schools recommend at least 2 hours of studying a week per credit hour, and even more for STEM courses, so it’s important to ensure you’re making time to study without getting burnt out. Here are some tips for avoiding academic burnout.

The next thing I do is check my student email, and then log in to Brightspace, SUNY Ulster’s online learning platform, to see if there are any new course announcements I might have missed. Brightspace has a convenient mobile app called Pulse that lets me check for new announcements and grades right on my phone. Once I’ve taken care of any time sensitive emails, I put my phone away and get ready for work.

Balancing Work & School As An Online Student

I’m lucky enough to have the privilege of working from home, which helps me to save time by avoiding a commute, but the great thing about online courses is the flexibility you’re afforded when it comes to your schedule. Even students who have jobs that don’t allow for remote work can take advantage of SUNY Ulster’s online degree programs. When I’m out and about or I have downtime at work, I often find myself opening up the Pulse app to catch up on reading for my English and Western Civilization classes. I also make sure to schedule breaks throughout the day where I’m not working or studying to avoid burnout. 

Utilizing Campus Resources – Even As An Online Student

On days I don’t have to work, I often myself visiting campus to take advantage of the amenities and resources available to all students, even fully remote ones! Here’s a breakdown of some of the student services I find myself taking advantage of most frequently:

• The Library – Whether I’m looking for research assistance or just a quiet place to study, the library is my go-to place on campus for getting school work done.
• The Center for Academic Planning & Support (CAPS) – I visit CAPS when I want to brush up on my study skills or I need help from a student tutor.
• On Campus Dining – When I need to fuel up for a long study session, I stop in to the cafeteria for some brain food.

These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to campus resources! Online students can join clubs, participate in Student Government, and more. Here’s a breakdown of SUNY Ulster’s student support services.

Utilizing Online Resources

There are some days I just don’t have the time to get to campus, and that’s when I make use of the many support services available online, like:

• StudentLingo – SUNY Ulster has partnered with StudentLingo to provide courses on anything from stress management to developing a strong thesis statement. These workshops are great when I want to brush up on my study skills.
• NetTutor – I access NetTutor via BrightSpace when I need to instantly connect with a tutor and don’t have time to get to campus.
• Any Time Library – If I need research assistance and can’t make it to the library, I make an appointment for a video meeting with a librarian.
• Online Book Store – I utilize the online book store for finding ebooks of my textbooks and stocking up on other supplies I need.

These are just a few resources I find myself using constantly, but here’s a comprehensive list of online student services that SUNY Ulster provides current students.

The Online Class Experience

Once I’ve finished up work for the day, I log on to Brightspace and start my school work. Some classes are given in the traditional lecture format, either on Zoom or in pre-recorded videos. I make sure to take notes just like I would in an in-person class. Some students might be tempted to skip this step, knowing that the lectures are available to rewatch later, but note-taking is an important part of the learning process! 

If I’m struggling with the course material or I have a question on an assignment, I’ll reach out to my professor through the Brightspace platform. Most professors get back to me within 24 hours at the latest, and if I need to reach them for a more in depth conversation, I can schedule an appointment with them on Zoom or stop in and see them on campus during their office hours.

Preparing For The Rest of the Week

At the end of each day, I double check Brightspace to make sure I have all of my upcoming due dates in my calendar, and then I put together my schedule for the following day. This helps me to get right to work in the morning and stay on track with my assignments.

Is Online Learning Right For You?

As a self-motivated and disciplined student, online learning has been perfect for me! It has many of the advantages of going to school on campus, but with a flexibility that allows me to get my degree in between work hours. If you’re like me, the benefits of online learning far outweigh the challenges, especially with the many resources SUNY Ulster offers to support online students! The most important thing to remember when pursuing an online degree is to reach out for assistance if you’re having trouble staying on track.

Still not sure about online learning? Here are a few questions to help you figure out if online learning is right for you.

Ready to get started? Here’s a list of online learning programs and a guide on how to register.

The post A Day In The Life of An Online Student at SUNY Ulster appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

Some people dive into college with set intentions, knowing exactly what they will choose and graduate with, and that’s great! Then there’s the rest of us. It can be hard to fill up your semester’s class schedule. Especially when you aren’t sure where your time and energy would best be spent.

The big idea is to go to college and get a degree. That will give your career (and income) the kick start or boost that you want, right? That initiative alone is all you need to get started. The rest is figuring out what it is you want to study. Then finding a way to make it happen. As they say, where there’s a will there’s a way!

Students with undeclared majors are more common than you might think. The amount of choices can be overwhelming. Courses are often offered on hundreds of different subjects with varying levels of expertise. Some classes are reserved for specific students while others require more courses to be taken first. Navigating the sea of learning can be daunting!

A study on the “Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major” states that an estimated 20 to 50 % of students enter college as “undecided” and an estimated 75 % of students change their major at least once before graduation (Gordon, 1995). So don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. Turns out a lot of people get frustrated when spinning that big wheel of life. Fortunately, reality doesn’t have to play out like a game show and we have the power to choose the right courses to lead to ultimate success.

It’s completely okay to start without knowing where to begin, most people do!

When first starting out, make sure to take some general education (often called “gen ed” on campuses) credits. Every student is required to take these courses regardless of major. They consist of basic knowledge stuff any collegian should know like psychology, algebra, history, etc. It can be a win-win situation; getting these classes out of the way will free up time later on for the good stuff. Not to mention there is potential to fall in love with an area of research.

An extra literature or writing class is always helpful to have under your belt. These skills are used in every class and you’ll want to hone them early on. While signing up for those general classes, be sure to review the college catalog and pick a few courses that seem fun or interesting to take. Once you start those and learn more about them from a professor, you may have found your major!

An uncommon resource that not everyone thinks of is the professor of the class you might register for. You could always reach out to them and ask any questions you may have that an adviser can’t answer. They are typically happy to help and tend to respond pretty quickly in my experience.

It’s time to plan ahead!

Planning a semester schedule for college classes can be a tricky task. Some people prefer to have all their classes back to back in one or two days a week to coincide with other nonacademic schedules. Some prefer to have only a class or two every day to spread out the work load and study time. As long as you don’t sign up for courses that overlap or occur at the same time, you should be fine. Most colleges have advisers that would make sure that a scheduling faux pas wouldn’t happen anyway. If you have room in your schedule throw in some bonus microcredentials. Make sure to consider factors like distance from your house and your method of transportation. Schedules can be changed in the first few weeks of classes, but planning ahead, so that the first schedule you make will be a good fit, is important and saves a lot of undue hassle.

A good way to make sure you have the most options and opportunities available to you is to register as early as you can. More classes will be presented with available seats for students like you!

The post Choosing The Right Classes For Your Future. appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

For most students, getting through that weekly textbook reading can be a real challenge. Believe it or not, there are a few ways to make that nonfiction assignment easier. Learning the ways to power through reading that can feel daunting or impossible is a great skill, a skill that is bound to follow you through life wherever you may need it, for another degree or just a relaxed educational reading session. Here are some tips to boost your GPA through the roof with the power of effective studying.

#1. Start Your Engines, Prepare to Learn

When sitting down with your book make sure you are ready to learn. You should have a writing tool and some note paper. No one that I’ve ever heard of was sorry that they took too many notes. You want to be ready to learn, but you also don’t want to dive in headfirst. Ease your way into submersion. Preview the topic and material you intend to research. Read the front cover, back cover, the preface, the inner flaps, boldfaced prints, pictures, and diagrams so you are aware of what you’re supposed to learn. You should gather a clear picture of what the text is about, if not, predict what you will be learning. Write your ideas down and see if your initial feeling is right later.

According to Live Your Legend this step is “akin to warming up before a big game.” You wouldn’t hit the field without a good warm up. Why then would you skip these equivalent steps for a research project? Being prepared when you start your research can help you perform better, just like a good stretch! Take the time to prep your brain and your grades will thank you.

#2. Use The Author’s Organization to Understand

Start off by separating the facts from opinion in the text as you read. Remembering that facts are only the stuff that you can prove, opinions just tend to float around and cannot be proven. Finding the facts is a good practice because that’ll likely be where the answers you seek are living.

Next, look at the way the author presents the material, it may be pretty informative. The order of events can vary as well as the style it’s put together in. In biographies and autobiographies, events are usually in chronological order. Other pieces may have an arrangement that is centered around the main idea (a.k.a. the topic you need to learn). If you can pick up on the organization and utilize it, you can predict what will come next. Pick up on the arrangement of info and where the important bits are, what the point is, and what to study for the big test!

#3. Stop, Drop, Summarize

After each section you read you should stop and put the book down for a minute to summarize the main point(s). This not only keeps you from falling asleep from reading the same book for a while, it also sticks that information you just read, but almost forgot, down in your mind.

Another sweet tip: if you create questions to summarize by and put your answers on the other side, it makes the most amazing study flashcards later on. The most bang for your study bucks, I like to say. I don’t know about you, but I like to remember what I read the first time and not have to search the whole book or chapter for answers down the road.

#4. Ask Questions & Analyze Your Work

Go big or go home, right? So finish strong by reaching for that notebook you have nearby and jotting down some thoughts. ASK QUESTIONS! Get those thinking muscles warmed up and actually ponder a little bit about what you just read. Check and see if those initial topic predictions we covered in Step 1 were right. One of my favorite things to do is to go discuss what I just learned with someone and have a good conversation about the subject. They can help provide some questions that might make you want to hop back into reading that book.

This is the ultimate adhesive to your brain for study material. The bread to your test’s butter. One of the more important steps, I assure you.

When you move on to the next section, read and repeat steps 3 & 4. You won’t get lost in timelines and jargon if you understand the chain of events, organization, and topic.

Good Luck!

If things between you and the textbook start to get hairy, take a breather. I’m not suggesting getting lost down the rabbit hole of social media. I am suggesting that you take less than five minutes to relax your mind and refresh your perspective. Get out of your chair, stretch your arms and legs, breath in and out deeply. If you’re not ready to jump back in, try taking a short walk or tidying up the house a bit by completing a chore. Your mood tends to improve with such activities and enables you to jump back into the ring with that textbook and win with a knockout.

Being a student and having to study informational material is not always the most fun thing you have to do, but skirting around the knowledge by only skimming texts will ultimately not benefit you. It might only waste your time, honestly. If you really learn the material, you can’t go wrong.

The post 4 Tips to Power Through Textbook Reading appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

Here at SUNY Ulster, athletic life is both work and play. Just an added bonus being a student in Stone Ridge, all students are encouraged to apply themselves to one of our sports teams. Student athletes have more than doubled in the past three years and there are now eight teams one can join. These activities help students build collaborative and athletic skills that they can carry with them through the rest of their educational journey, and life.

Drum Roll Please…

We just recently released our new athletics page, pretty exciting stuff! Potential students are welcome to check out the new site and use it as a way to apply for the school. Current students are also able to easily find coaches; as a matter of fact, the site has a handy directory of all the athletic staff. So students can find any one of our sports centered staff who are always available to answer any questions you might have.

The new site has all the good stuff: rosters, schedules, game reports and even videos of our hard-working student athletes in action. Game reports and rosters feature biographies of athletes individually so fans can find all the information available about a player right from the stands if they wanted to!

Don’t Forget To Follow Us Everywhere Else Too

If the all that up to date game info doesn’t quite scratch your sports itch; included in the site are links to our various sports social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, and more. Where even more player coverage can be found.

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As a college student, the temptation and accessibility of energy drinks and fast food can be plentiful. We have put together this post with the best brain foods in mind! Scientific research has produced some pretty interesting data about what the diet of a college student should include.

Remember: Food is Fuel!

Most of these foods totally portable and can be kept in your backpack! These snacks can help keep your mind in tip-top study shape!

Coffee!, Coffee!, Coffee!

Caffeinated coffee in small dosages can aid in concentration. A “small” serving is about an 8-ounce cup (smaller doses help to avoid the caffeine jitters). So pick up some coffee or even a cup of green tea to fuel up and focus!

Did Somebody Say Chocolate?!

Chocolate specifically speaking dark chocolate helps to “increase blood flow to your brain.” The Cocoa density in dark chocolate “is where you are getting the nutrition and the brainpower” explained Web MD.  Now you’ll never need an excuse to eat chocolate again!

Remember When Your Mom Told You To Eat Your Vegetables?

Turns out Mom was right when she told you to “eat your greens”! Green vegetables such as spinach, asparagus, broccoli, and brussels sprouts just to name a few all provide your body with Folate- this is an essential vitamin that helps your brain function. Mixing up your greens can provide you with a powerful mix of mineral and nutrients!

Bread!

Can bread make you smarter? (Well kinda). Whole Grains (yes-even in bread form), pasta, wraps, oatmeal, and even popcorn are all helpful whole grains! Whole grains contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, protein, and antioxidants which are all helpful in your overall mental and physical health.

Blue Berries.

Blueberries (berries and fruits as a whole) can really pack a punch in supporting your immune system and overall health. Blueberries, in particular, are considered “–One of nature’s perfect foods, blueberries are packed with nutrients that give them their deep-blue color. One study links blueberries to improved learning and memory.”  They are the perfect powerful portable snack- great in yogurt or on their own!

Resources For This Article: 

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The post Food For Thought- The Best Brain Foods For College Students! appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

We’ve compiled a small group of free resources that can help to make your time in and outside of class that much more productive! Whether it be studying, staying organized, writing tools, or additional resources for parents we have a little bit of everything included here!

Studying:

Sometimes when you’ve been studying certain materials for an extended period of time you can begin to feel like you aren’t retaining information at a level you are satisfied with. Enter studying resources like SparkNotes.com, Quizlet.com, and Unstuck.com. These study assist websites are designed to help you develop study techniques, provide insights, and take practice quizzes. You can also take advantage of the MacDonald Dewitt Library for some on-campus peace and quiet.

Staying Organized:

Just like you don’t want to have to hunt through your backpack for important papers the same goes for your digital documents.  Much of what you work that will be done in your classes will need to be saved and often submitted digitally.  Digital saver resources include Google Drive, the free version of Dropbox.com, as well a project tracking resources such as Any.do.

Writing Tools:

If there is one thing you are going to be doing a lot of while in college it is writing.  Exceptional writing resources are  EnhanceMyVocabulary.com designed by college professors to help students advance their personal vocabularies. Grammarly is an app extension that can be added to your Google Chrome that “-automatically detects grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and style mistakes in your writing.” Easybib.com is another online resource that can assist in creating bibliographic references as well as formatting in the proper citation writing style such as APA, MLA, or Chicago style. Don’t forget you can also visit the SUNY Ulster Writing Center for some 1-1 writing assistance.

Additional Resources For Parents and Students of Incoming Students:

Go College! Now has multiple resources for both entering students and parents! From preparing, paying, finding a mentor and beyond this site has the answers to many questions.

The post Fun Free College Resources! appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

6 Visual Art Majors Selected for Exhibit in Albany.

Early March 2018 it was announced that 6 Visual Art Majors from SUNY Ulster have been selected to have their work showcased in the Spring 2018 SUNY Student Exhibit in Albany. This exclusive exhibit only happens twice a year to highlight the best student work making its way through the SUNY system. This exhibition is held in the Plaza Gallery on the ground floor of the SUNY Plaza in Albany opened by the SUNY Chancellor. The show runs from March to late May 2018 with a special reception held for the featured artist and their families with a date to be announced.

We want to extend a special congratulations to the selected artist from SUNY Ulster.

This is a huge opportunity for the six students selected. In the past students art work that has been selected for this particular exhibition has then traveled across New York State to various other associated exhibitions and galleries as well as award shows.

Abena Nkrumah – Fine Art/Visual Arts Student. 

Gwen Lawlor- Fine Art/Visual Arts. 

Elyssa vanBenschoten- Graphic design class of 2017.

Jayne Casey-Photography

Elizabeth Galeano-Graphic Design. 

Brittany Hannah-Individual Studies/Fine Art.

The post Students Artwork Selected For Exhibit in Albany! appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

As the winter recess approaches you may find yourself thinking that this is the perfect time to consider getting involved with an internship. Here at SUNY Ulster you can earn college credit while participating in the Student Internship Program. To get involved in the Student Internship Program you must have at least a 2.0 GPA and 30 college credits completed, or by permission of the fieldwork coordinator. For further information, contact Linda Farina, Office of Fieldwork and Internships, farinal@sunyulster.edu

You can also check out our Internships page Here: 

An internship is not only a beneficial addition to your resume but can also be a fulfilling personal experience as well. Gaining knowledge, building your skills profile, and expanding your network field are all crucial elements in creating the best opportunities for yourself as you continue your success after SUNY Ulster.  

*Important Tip* When reaching out to potential internships put together a resume and a short pitch/ cover letter can help you to appear direct, and respond to your potential internship. Be prepared to have to communicate with people as to why you are deserving of this opportunity.

3 Additional Ways to Find An Internship.

Talk to People You Know.

When it comes to looking for an internship you may find yourself thinking “Where do I even start?”  The answer may be right in front of you in your sphere of influence. Start by asking your professors if they are aware of any opportunities that are available.

Another way to reach out to people you already know is sharing with your friends on social media (Like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin) that you are looking for this new venture. You may be surprised by what leads and resources your friends and family have to offer.

Online Websites.

Online job sites like Indeed.com, Monster.com, are not only for looking jobs! With the websites listed above, you can either use the “Internship” tag or search “Internships” in the website’s search engine. Here all active opportunities are filtered and listed as specific, or unspecific as you would like!

Create Opportunities For Yourself.

Make a list of 5 to 15+ potential places that you can see yourself working in your local area. Research the best contact information for all of these places- and do what is known as a “Cold Contact”. Be professional and friendly while letting them your objective, when you can start, and all the important information they need to know when considering you as a potential intern.

You are capable of manifesting your own opportunities that could in turn into an employment position for you.

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It may seem hard to believe, but Midterm Week here on campus is quickly approaching!

Over the next few days, you may find yourself wondering how you may ever survive all the projects, and studying that needs to be completed within such a specific span of time!

To survive what may seem like “Midterm Madness” we have put together some of our top tips that can help you get ahead of the game and dominate anything that comes your way!  

Attend Study Sessions.

Attending study sessions is a great way to get a professional and in-depth look at what the upcoming midterm topics. Professors are likely to let similar questions to those on your exams slip during these sessions, and that is an excellent opportunity for you to get a full study experience!

Meet With Your Professors.

Taking advantage of your professors’ office hours as the mid-term looms closer may allow for you get a full analysis on what areas you need to work on, and you may also be able to gauge what topics will be focused on by listening closely to what topics your professor focuses on during your meeting. You can find your professors schedules on their syllabuses, or posted on their office doors.

Stay Healthy.

You may be tempted to pull an all-nighter and spend little to no time preparing healthy food options for yourself. As you increase your brain activity even further this time more than ever your body requires sleep, and nutritious food to keep a clear mind!

Manage Your Time.

As previously stated in our blog post “How to Fight Procrastination this Semester” creating a customized study plan may be an essential part of your success during midterm week. A HUGE part of this is time management- the recommended study session from University of Guelph Learning Commons is studying for 1 hours with a 5-10 break in between.

The post Guide to Surviving Midterm Week. appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.

“I was an English major in college, and I realized there wasn’t a whole lot I could do with an English degree *Laughs*. So I thought, what are my options? I talked to my advisors and they were iffy about it, and I think I took a career quiz and found out that I could go on and get my masters in library science very easily, and I had also worked in a public library when I was in high school and I liked it! It’s not a thrilling story or anything, I was just fortunate enough to have a direct line to working in this field, sort of a straight path…Mostly it’s the people here that I like working with, there are a lot of energetic, fun people to work with. It’s a small community, and unfortunately a lot of people come here from disadvantaged circumstances, so I really enjoy being able to help them in any way; be it finding a book or navigating the site…I’m teaching at F.Y.E. this semester, so I feel like I’m really able to branch out, talk to people and meet more students — that’s one thing about the library is you don’t always necessarily get to know the students very well, you don’t see them as much as their professors might per se. I feel like this is a great opportunity to know more students better…So, yeah, I just really like the community college environment and feel, and with my job specifically, I’m able to do a lot of things in the library, whereas at a larger institution, there might be like ten librarians. So I get to do the job of ten *Smiles*, but in all seriousness it is wonderful and I enjoy it.”

Interesting Tidbit: When asked about the slow decline of the print book and nationally declining book circulation rates, Marla says she is not concerned. She envisions the library of the future as more of a meeting place and help center, as well as a massive digital database. Forever the optimist, Marla is as much a librarian as she is a friend to the campus at large. The next time you find yourself in the library, keep an eye out for Marla and her infectious smile!

The post Stories of SUNY Ulster — Marla Gruner: Family Woman, Educator, Library Scientist appeared first on SUNY Ulster News Blog.