It's Never Too Early: Preparing for the Spring Semester
As the holiday break approaches, the last thing on you or your student's mind is how they can prepare for the spring semester. Who can focus when holiday music is on the radio, a month with no homework is in their near future, and downtime with family is so close? While the holiday break can be a very fun and lowkey way to decompress from a stressful semester, it is also advised for your student to use this time to regroup and organize themselves because before you know it, January 6 will be here. Here are a few tips for how to prepare for the spring semester.
Make sure your student is registered for classes. With finals and wrapping up the semester, it is possible that your student might have forgotten to register for Spring classes. Remind your student to meet with their academic advisor, clear any holds they may have, and get their schedule planned. Taking care of it before the break will alleviate stress in the new year--they can always make last-minute adjustments during Drop/Add in January.
Recycle, organize, or delete old notes, assignments, quizzes, and exams. This goes without saying for some students as they are eager to discard of their old coursework from their classes, but it is a good way to start off the semester. Some things your student will need to hold on to, as courses build off of each other, but now is a good time to organize their materials and it also might help them as they prepare for finals.
Clean or purchase any supplies for next semester. Depending on the classes your student will take, there may be some additional supplies needed for class like binders, notebooks, calculators, and more. To stay prepared, consider buying or repurposing old supplies prior to leaving for the break. It’ll be one less thing they have to worry about over the break or when they come back, and they’ll be guaranteed to find what they need.
Review the required class material. Similarly to the previous point, if you can find the textbooks or items required to complete the class prior to the first time you meet, this might prove beneficial. Since most other students will be flocking to the FSU Bookstore and Bill’s Bookstore on campus, buying your required materials ahead of time will give you the peace of mind that you aren’t on edge about where to find your next textbook.
Check Canvas and your FSU Outlook email. While it’s pretty easy to ignore all responsibilities while on break, it’s still very important that your student regularly checks their Canvas and Outlook email. The closer it gets to the spring semester, professors will begin to upload their classes to Canvas, and some might even reach out via Outlook. To stay on top of what they need for the first day, encourage your student to stay productive and on top of their Canvas and email accounts.
Read over the Spring 2020 Academic Calendar. On the University Registrar’s website, you and your student can find the Spring 2020 Academic Calendar, which has a plethora of important dates that you and your student might need to know about. Through this calendar, you will know about when classes start, when Spring Break is, graduation deadlines, and more. Consider bookmarking this page on your computer or phone so you both have easy access to the information. You can view the Spring 2020 Academic Calendar here.