University Degree: Reasons, Challenges, and Academic Skills

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STUDY AND RESEARCH SKILLS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 2
BODY.............................................................................................................................................. 3
REASONS FOR STUDYING DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY.............................................................3
IMPORTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF CORE ACADEMIC SKILLS...............................................3
STUDY PLAN FOR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS WITH SWOT ANALYSIS....................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................. 6
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
The given study has been based on assessing the various reasons for a student to obtain a
degree from any given university. The study would assess the challenges faced by them after
joining the university. The next step would be to evaluate the importance of core academic
skills and identify key skills which would be helpful for the student to shape their future. At last,
a personal SWOT analysis would be conducted with the development of the study plan for the
long-term as well as short-term so as to improve the career prospect for the university student.
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BODY
REASONS FOR STUDYING DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY
As per the studies of Krutkowski (2017), there are various reasons for attending the university;
but the main objective is related to the type of objectives required by the students. These
reasons are getting a better job, learn about a topic which has been the interest of the specific
student, earn more money and gain knowledge about general education ideas. However, Simm,
et al. (2011) have discussed key reasons for attending the university and they include getting a
good job and earn more money so that the student would be able to live a decent life in the
society and with good income, they would be able to cherish all their dreams on their own and
without any support.
Goldman (2019) has explained in their study about various challenges faced by the student
when they arrive at the university. First is that they are not sure about the academic demands
in the university which compel them to complete their project without getting through it.
Furthermore, it is also difficult for them to adjust to the social life of the university. So, these
factors hinder the growth of the students and have an impact on their learning.
IMPORTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF CORE ACADEMIC SKILLS
From the studies of Galloway and Uccelli (2019), it has been found that core academic skills are
an important part of any curriculum of general education. Although they are limited to a small
number of academic curriculums, yet they are necessary as they help to lay the foundation for
future learning. These skills are important due to various factors such as enhancement in the
strength and confidence, higher standard and intensity which would help a student to become
more efficient and effective in whatever they do in their future.
In order to succeed in the education sector and enhance career, there are some key academic
skills which are needed to be discussed. First and most important is the communication skill
which would help a student to achieve academic and organizational success. It includes reading,
writing and listening skills. The reading skills help in improving the knowledge, skill and to apply
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strategies so as to reason in a logical manner. Second is writing skills which would help a
student to bring significant improvement in the learning, expression and persuasion skill. Third
and equally important is the listening skill as it would help the student to understand the
message conveyed by other people in an effective manner (Bouffard, 2018).
Second academic skill is an analytical skill which requires a student to become well-versed in
reasoning and logical ability which would help them to achieve success in their life and also
enhance their career prospect. Third is a mathematical skill which includes all the numerical
subjects which would help the students in achieving good marks and excel in the academic to a
higher extent (Lewis, et al. 2018).
STUDY PLAN FOR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS WITH SWOT
ANALYSIS
For a university student such as the given researcher, it is important to conduct a SWOT
analysis in terms of their academic curriculum for teaching in an appropriate manner. It has
been presented below in the form of a table:
STRENGTHS
 Development of passion and
dedication towards the subject and
people
 Development of good knowledge for
any given subject
 Development of good communication
and listening skills
 Improvement in new technology which
would help in taking teaching as a
profession
WEAKNESSES
 Communication breakdown would
affect their understanding of this
profession
 Lack of confidence would decrease
their persuasive power
 Weak mathematical skills would affect
their credibility
OPPORTUNITIES
 Inclusion of statistics and other tools
THREATS
 Intense and high level of competition
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would improve their efficiency
 Wide exposure would help them to
improve their analytical skills
 Students who are introvert might face
difficulty in enhancing their career in
teaching (Phadermrod, et al. 2019)
Besides, there would be a development of a study plan which would include short-term and
long-term goals for developing skills and knowledge based on the given core academic skills and
has been shown in the table below:
Core Academic Skills Short-Term Goals (6 Months-
1 Year )
Long-Term Goals (2-4 Years)
Communication  Participation in the
seminars and
conference to improve
communication
 Listening to the
motivational speakers
to improve the speech
Become a good
communicator in a teaching
profession so as to lend a
good job in a highly reputed
college or university
Analytic Observe real-life issue and
fond out a logical solution to
improve analytical skills
Become a master in using this
skill to have a command on
the students in the teaching
profession
Mathematical  Solving more
numerical problems to
get a grasp in the
given field
 Listening to online
videos to improve the
problem-solving ability
Become a master in math as a
subject in two-three years
(Kastenmeier, et al. 2018)
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CONCLUSION
From the given study, it could be concluded that the main reasons behind obtaining a degree
from the university would help them to land a good job and earn a decent income. The core
academic skills have been important as they shape the direction of the career path for the
student. Besides, the study also identified three important academic skills namely;
communication, mathematical and analytic skills. At last a personal SWOT analysis was done to
assess the strategy of the given research student and a study plan was prepared to keep in
mind their short and long-term goals in their future.
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REFERENCES
Bouffard, S. (2018). Social and emotional skills are learning skills. The Learning Professional,
39(4), 5-5.
Galloway, E. P., and Uccelli, P. (2019). Examining developmental relations between core
academic language skills and reading comprehension for English learners and their peers.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(1), 15.
Goldman, A. M. (2019). Interpreting Rural Students’ Stories of Access to a Flagship University.
The Rural Educator, 40(1).
Kastenmeier, A. S., Redlich, P. N., Fihn, C., Treat, R., Chou, R., Homel, A., & Lewis, B. D. (2018).
Individual learning plans foster self-directed learning skills and contribute to improved
educational outcomes in the surgery clerkship. The American Journal of Surgery, 216(1), 160-
166.
Krutkowski, S. (2017). A strengths-based approach to widening participation students in higher
education. Reference Services Review, 45(2), pp.227-241.
Lewis, J. A., Nishina, A., Hall, A. R., Cain, S., Bellmore, A., & Witkow, M. R. (2018). Early
adolescents’ peer experiences with ethnic diversity in middle school: Implications for academic
outcomes. Journal of youth and adolescence, 47(1), 194-206.
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R. M., & Wills, G. B. (2019). Importance-performance analysis based
SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 44, 194-203.
Simm, D., Marvell, A., Winlow, H. and Schaaf, R. (2011). Student experiences of foundation
degrees in further and higher education. Planet, 24(1), pp.2-9.
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