Issue
27(2)
Thriving
in College and Beyond.
(2007). Joe Cuseo, Viki
S. Fecas, & Aaron Thompson, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing,
512 pp., $49.95, (paperback), ISBN # 978-0-7575-3998-5
Review by: Karen
L. Archambault
Director
of Student Services, Branch Campus and Higher Education
Centers
Enrollment
Development and Student Affairs
Brookdale
Community
College
In Thriving
in College and Beyond, the authors take what has become a
common topic – student success in the first year -- and present
it with a new approach. In a variety of forms, the first year
experience has become a common topic on college campuses and the
textbooks and resources for such a course abound. Like those other
texts, Cuseo, Fecas and Thompson cover standard topics for the
student success including educational planning, learning and study
skills, life skills and diversity. Unlike its competitors, however,
Thriving puts these topics in a framework that emphasizes
research as both a necessary skill and as a method for college
success.
Throughout
the text, the authors maintain a standardized format that provides
discussion of each subject in a textbook format, followed by steps
for students to take to advance their skills in each subject area.
Each chapter then ends with a summary, an independent research
exercise, and a case study. Though the first section of each chapter
can be lengthy and perhaps overwhelming for some students, this
combination of content and interactive material allows the student
to both gain information and apply it to his or her own experience.
In addition, the student can connect to the material through quotes,
first hand student perspectives and cartoons that can “lighten
up” the otherwise dense material. The memory cues sprinkled throughout
further allow students to translate research material into usable
action steps.
Particularly
strong in the text is the preface. The authors recognize that
the first year seminar is often misunderstood by students and
use the preface to explain why the information gained through
the course and text is valuable. This is particularly valuable
for instructors at institutions where these courses are optional.
While this section is somewhat lengthy, a skilled instructor can
utilize this information to encourage a conversation among students
about the importance of starting the first year on the “right
foot.” In addition, Thriving provides an excellent explanation
of the value and purpose of the Liberal Arts curriculum, one with
which students of any major can connect and that allows students
to be comfortable being undecided.
Unfortunately,
the text does have limitations in its use. Though Thriving
mentions the variety of students one might find during the
first year, its emphasis is quite clearly on a “traditional” student.
Sections on work emphasize the need to limit time on the job to
15 hours per week or less; much of the discussion of the college
transition focuses on the differences between high school and
college. While some institutions may find this to be appropriate
for their student body, many students work out of necessity, not
choice, and many who enter college do so via transfer or after
extended breaks from college. These limitations require that an
instructor hoping to adopt the text do so only when appropriate
for the audience at hand.
Despite these
limitations, Thriving allows for a new approach to a
continually growing topic. Advisors who teach first year seminar
courses to any audience will find the text to be a valuable resource
as well as a source for lecture material. For the right audience,
the text will also provide students with a strong skill set on
which to build a foundation for college success.
