Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom (FAS: WoW) introduces you to the various aspects of student and academic life on campus and prepares you to thrive as a successful college student (since there is a difference between a college student and a successful college student). Each section of FAS: WoW is framed by self-authored, true-to-life short stories from actual State University of New York (SUNY) students, employees, and alumni. The advice they share includes a variety of techniques to help you cope with the demands of college. The lessons learned are meant to enlarge your awareness of self with respect to your academic and personal goals and assist you to gain the necessary skills to succeed in college.

Table of Contents:

Part One: YOUR Solid Foundation

The Student Experience by Kristen Mruk

Practice, Practice, Practice by Dr. Kristine Duffy

Why So Many Questions? by Fatima Rodriguez Johnson

These Are the Best Years of Your Life by Sara Vacin

With a Little Help from My Friends by Paulo Fernandes

Part Two: YOU Are the President and CEO of YOU

Can You Listen to Yourself? by Yuki Sasao
Failure Is Not an Option by Nathan Wallace

Thinking Critically and Creatively by Dr. Andrew Robert Baker

Time Is on Your Side by Christopher L. Hockey

What Do You Enjoy Studying? by Dr. Patricia Munsch

Part Three: The Future YOU

Fighting for My Future Now by Amie Bernstein

Something Was Different by Jacqueline Tiermini

Transferrable by Vicki L. Brown

It’s Like Online Dating by Jackie Vetrano

Learn What You Don’t Want by Jamie Edwards

To prepare for this project, students develop hands-on research skills throughout the course of the semester. A variety of class activities emphasize how to pose research questions, develop hypotheses, determine materials and methods, and understand how fossil data are used to answer a variety of research questions. Class discussions of primary literature emphasize how to track down, synthesize, and evaluate primary literature. Case studies presented in lecture illustrate how to tackle research questions in paleontology. For this project, students apply all of these skills to tackle a topic they find interesting in paleontology. Intermediate deadlines are established to help students develop a research question, write up a rough draft, and revise it in detail. Student progress is also tracked via updates to their peers in the classroom. The written grant proposals must range in length from between 10-12 pages (NOT including the references cited or figures and tables sections) and are double-spaced, 12 pt font, with 1" margins. The rough drafts of the proposals are worth 5% and the final versions are worth 15% of the students' total grade.

Student Success and First Year Experience are learning community courses at UTA that teach new students academic success skills to aid their transition to college. The goal of the courses is to help students identify their individual needs, determine what resources are appropriate, recognize the faculty role in their development, and formulate a plan for an actively engaged and enriched experience from campus to career. The courses will be taught by Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) and faculty, staff and/or graduate students to provide guidance, raise awareness and understanding of students' majors and help support collaborative and co-curricular opportunities available within the School/College. This open educational resource is the required textbook for both courses.

Strategies for Academic Success accompanies the online first-year University of Saskatchewan Arts and Science course by the same name. The textbook has a reader-friendly format arranged to help you develop the essential skills and provide the information you need to succeed in university.