How College Works
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
How College Works Ep 92: AVID Coordinator
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with a coordinator for the AVID program about what AVID is, how it works, and why it is such a successful program for getting students ready f...
How College Works Ep 91: The Point of College
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We use a the themes of Rich Dad, Poor Dad (a book Drew read some years ago) as a starting point to discuss why you may or may not want to go to colleg...
How College Works Ep 90: Autocomplete Interview
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We have a little fun using Google's autocomplete to answer common questions in the form of "How does college. . ."
How College Works Ep 89: Reunion and Check-In
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We're back and spend our time checking in on how our academic years have been going with Covid and other struggles.
How College Works Ep 88: Gap Year/Semester and Possible Outcomes
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss why students might take a gap year or gap semester and speculate about effects that could have on colleges with the worst case possibility ...
How College Works Ep 87: A Junior Gives Advice
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with a college junior who has words of wisdom and advice (new to us) on how to make the transition to college smoother and to thrive at colleg...
How College Works Ep 86: Office Hours
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what office hours are, how we hope students will think of them, what we do, and what we'd like students to do.
How College Works Ep 85: Parent and Rising College Student
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with a High School senior who will be on her way to college in the age of Covid and her mother about their concerns and questions, and we, of ...
How College Works Ep 84: Covid Check In
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We check in with each other about how the online classes are going. We talk about how our daily/class routines have changed (or not), what we hope and...
How College Works Ep 83: Covid Madness
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what it's like working to get classes converted to distance learning on the instruction and technology sides.
How College Works Ep 82: Spring Break
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the differences and similarities for Spring Break in High School and College, expectations going into break and coming back from break, ...
How College Works Ep 81: Review - 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before College
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We go through the 10 things Brittany Lucas TV (https://youtu.be/KcJQoHCzLFM) wishes she knew before going to college. We give our perspective on her a...
How College Works Ep 80: How to Study Aborad
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with an International Education Coordinator and find that there are many options for where to study that don't require speaking a foreign lang...
How College Works Ep 79: Going Slow
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Jacob Kashiwagi about his experience with students and what it means to "go slow" in school and life, how you know you are going slow, wh...
How College Works Ep 78: How to be Productive on Your Day Off
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We take up the question from Reddit about how to be productive in college on days you don't have class. We talk about how our ideas on this have chang...
How College Works Ep 77: Learning is Uncomfortable
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the mature of learning and how it means that we should have some level of discomfort. We also talk about how we have experienced this in...
How College Works Ep 76: First Day of Class and Prepping for that
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what we do/did on our first day of class and some of the work that goes into preparing for that. We also try to set students' expectatio...
How College Works Ep 75: What are Liberal Arts?
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the differences between a liberal arts education and other forms or philosophies of education, its history, what it means, what we think th...
How College Works Ep 74: Course Evaluations
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the end of semester feedback that students give college professors, similar feedback that high school teachers might get, who reads the ...
How College Works Ep 73: Motivation
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the myth that motivation as important to get things done, the difference between motivation and will power, some ways we think about get...
How College Works Ep 72: Student Emplyment/Workstudy
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss our experiences with working in high school and college including some different types of work and what those mean for a student. We also b...
How College Works Ep 71: Mindfulness & College
19 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about how stress affects out thinking and how mindfulness combats that. We also discuss the difference between mindfulness and "checking out" ...
How College Works Ep 70: Failing the First Exam
05 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We (with a guest!) talk through a reddit post about failing the first Bio exam. https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/dbbxxi/got_a_46100_on_my_fir...
How College Works Ep 69: Finding Meaning in Your Work
23 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about an episode of The Hidden Brain on finding meaning in work and relate that to finding meaning in the classes we took in college. It turns...
How College Works Ep 68: Student Advising and Support
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about how students that need help are identified in high school and college, what information a high school teachers and professors might have...
How College Works Ep 67: Managing Work Loads
08 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about our work loads at the start of the semester, how we organize our work, and some advice for students coming to college.
How College Works Ep 66: 1st Year Student
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with a student finishing her first year about her successes and difficulties and how college matched up with her expectations.
How College Works Ep 65: Exams!
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about exams, how high school and college teachers think about what exams are for and what types of questions should be on them. We also discus...
How College Works Ep 64: High School Councelors
30 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with two high school councelors about what their job entails, how it differs from a college academic adviser, and how expectations and respons...
How College Works Ep 63: College Coach
25 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what college sports are like and how they differ from high school sports. We also cover differences in expectations in academics, athlet...
How College Works Ep 62: What Kinds of Cars Do the Administrators Drive?
17 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We go through a slate article on what to ask about during a campus visit and give our take on each of the questions. https://slate.com/human-interest...
How College Works Ep 61: What to do When Tragedy Strikes
10 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what might constitute a tragedy and what steps students should take. We also discuss how we might handle a personal tragedy as professor...
How College Works Ep 60: Recent-ish Graduate
03 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with someone who graduated more recently than us (9 years ago) about what was most difficult about the transition from high school to college ...
How College Works Ep 59: What Would Get a Professor to Change?
27 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss how we think about who needs to change (professor, teacher, student) and why. We also talk about how a student could approach a professor w...
How College Works Ep 58: College Snow Days?
20 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about some differences in how high schools and college handle their schedules, how that affects classes when the school is closed for weather,...
How College Works Ep 57: How was your day?
27 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what's been going on and the everyday trials and tribulations of the college professor.
How College Works Ep 56: Complaints and the Education Industry
13 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about some recent complaints from our students and try to reframe them and their expectations as well as talk about the education industry som...
How College Works Ep 55: A Faculty Start to the Semester
05 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the start to our semester, what our challenges are, how those relate to students, and how you can help . . . if you're inclined to.
How College Works Ep 54: What Students Stress About
23 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We go through a list of things that stress student out from www.theodysseyonline.com and provide some comments and perspective. https://www.theodysse...
How College Works Ep 53: Mentoring Students
14 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what it means to us to mentor students, some things that help that to go smoothly, and some things to avoid.
How College Works Ep 52: Expectations for Student Research
28 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what undergraduate research looks like for each of our majors and what students can expect if they are get involved. We also offer some ...
How College Works Ep 51: 10 Ways That College Classes Differ from High School
14 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We go through a listicle from CollegeVine and break down how much we agree, or disagree, with their list of differences. https://blog.collegevine.com/...
How College Works Ep 50: Midterms
07 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the differences between High School and College midterm grades, what to do if you get lower grades than you want, and give some perspective...
How College Works Ep 49: Vice President of Institutional Advancement
24 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our Vice President of Institutional Advancement about what that even is, what they do, and how it affects students.
How College Works Ep 48: Coordinator of Counseling
18 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with one of our counselors about what going to counseling is like, what to expect, and why you might want to.
How College Works Ep 47: Vice President for Student Life
10 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our Vice President for Student Life about what her job entails (basically everything) and what students should know when dealing with rep...
How College Works Ep 46: High School You is College You
03 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about our own transitions from high school to college and how the habits we developed helped or hindered our first year in college.
How College Works Ep 45: Registrar
26 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our school's Registrar about what he does and what he can do for students.
How College Works Ep 44: R1 Professor
18 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk to Peter's PhD thesis adviser about what his job at a big school looks like and he offers some advice to college students.
How College Works Ep 43: What goes into picking a college?
13 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We try to dig a little deeper into what different types of colleges have to offer and what went into our decisions when picking a college.
How College Works Ep 42: Professor and Student Relationships
24 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about why students confession to professors can be such a problem for professors and behavior that we think should worry students.
How College Works Ep 41: Professors' Reflections on Slides in Class
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on how slides both help and hinder our classes and how we try to conduct good classes.
How College Works Ep 40: Why Classes Change
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about some of the reasons we end up changing our classes and share some amusing stories along those lines.
How College Works Ep 39: Requesting Letters
19 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about our process of writing letters of recommendation, share some stories, and give advice on how to approach your professor, timing, and fol...
How College Works Ep 38: Students and Technology
23 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what technology skills high school and college students need, what expectations faculty might have, why those might be bad expectations,...
How College Works Ep 37: Political and Other Hot Button Discusions
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the differences between political discussions in High School and college classrooms, why instructors might have them, why them might not ha...
How College Works Ep 36: Notes and Exams and Slides. Oh My!
06 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A recent conversation about note taking leads us on a discussion of why you might want to take notes (Exams), what you might be taking notes on (Slide...
How College Works Ep 35: Scheduling Travel for Breaks
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about some of the issues we've seen student run into with scheduling trips over breaks and give some advice to avoid having to choose between ...
How College Works Ep 34: Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism
15 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism looks like in High School and College, what the different consequences are, and advice for avoiding ...
How College Works Ep 33: Coordinator of Student Services
08 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our coordinator of student disability services, academic advising, and student success programming about the differences between accommod...
How College Works Ep 32: Midsemester Slog
31 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about how students and teachers feel 10 or 11 weeks into the semester, what to do ahead of time to reduce the stress, and ideas for strategizi...
How College Works Ep 31: Community and Vocational Colleges
19 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with an old friend of Peter's about what it's like teaching at a Community/Vocational College, how the students are different than "traditiona...
How College Works Ep 30: Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management
11 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with the lady in charge of getting you to come to our college about what that process looks like, how it matches what is happening in high sch...
How College Works Ep 29: College President
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our college president about what she does and how students should approach her.
How College Works Ep 28: Students Tweet about College
13 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Melody go through a BuzzFeed News article with lots of funny tweets about college vs. high school. https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal...
How College Works Ep 27.5: Why So Quiet?
06 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A quick check in that we are not dead. . .yet.
How College Works Ep 27: Starting off the Semester Right
22 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what we would like to see our students doing to start the semester off right: buys your books before class starts, let your professor se...
How College Works Ep 26: Summer Interlude 4
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Melody and Peter break down what it student entitlement means to them and field lots of questions from High School students. Materials we used: https:...
How College Works Ep 25: Summer Interlude 3 (Writing)
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Melody and two of her students talk about what writing in college is like and what to expect.
How College Works Ep 24: Summer Interlude 2
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Melody describe some parallels and differences between college professors and high school teachers and answer a lot of questions.
How College Works Ep 23: Summer Interlude 1
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with real high school students and answer their questions.
How College Works Ep 22: Summer Plans
13 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what professors and teachers do over the summer and how students might be involved.
How College Works Ep 21: A student Perspective
03 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with a real live college student about what she's learned since coming from high school and her advice for students coming to college.
How College Works Ep 20: Director of Financial Aid
26 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our Director of Financial Aid about how you qualify, what responsibilities you then have, and, of course, advice on how to deal with it. ...
How College Works Ep 19: Grades
19 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss different philosophies of grading, how each of us grades, and, as always, some advice for students.
How College Works Ep 18: Who Pays for High School?
12 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We have a short talk about how High Schools are funded and how that compares to colleges.
How College Works Ep 17: Vice President of Administration and Finance
05 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with the lady who handles the money about where it all comes from, how it gets spent, and we'll learn if Melody's students really do pay her s...
How College Works Ep 16: Tenure
29 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss what tenure is, how we get it (or not), how student evaluations affect it, and how we feel about it.
How College Works Ep 15: The Catalog
22 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what a college's catalog is, what is in it, how it is different from course listings, the analog for High Schools, and how to use it.
How College Works Ep 14: Vice President of Academic Affairs
01 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Melody talk with their boss, Chioma, who the Vice President of Academic Affairs, about what she does, how that relates to faculty, students,...
How College Works Ep 13: Academic Regalia
22 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about academic regalia, the robes professors wear for formal occasions, where they comes from, how to "read" them, and some of our favorites.
How College Works Ep 12: Degrees
15 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about a number of different degrees, what they mean, and some general advice about how select a school. And as always amusing stories from our...
How College Works Ep 11: Persistence
08 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what we mean by persistence, why we want students to have it, and some general tips on how to do it.
How College Works Ep 10: What is Collaborative Learning?
01 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We talk discuss what collaborative learning means to each of us, how it changes as students progress, why we think it is important, real world instanc...
How College Works Ep 9: Librarians!
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We have guests. Librarians! We talk about what they do, what they can do for students, and how to interact with them appropriately.
How College Works Ep 8: Professor Availability
18 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss what students might expect for access to their instructors in High School, how that is different from what Peter and Melody see as student ...
How College Works Ep 7: Academic Freedom
14 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what academic freedom means to each of us, how it differs between high school and college, and why that matters to how students talk to ...
How College Works Ep 6: Student Ownership of Learning
06 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss student ownership of learning, what it means to us, what it ideally looks like, what it looks like in reality, and tips for students to tak...
How College Works Ep 5: Time Management
29 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about time management, how we try to help student with how our classes are set up, and what we would like our students to be able to do.
How College Works Ep 4: Student Entitlement
22 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Peter, Melody, and Andrew talk about what they mean when they say 'student entitlement,' why student may be acting that way, and ways to approach inst...
How College Works Ep 2: Types of Colleges
15 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Melody talk about different types of colleges like small liberal arts and research intensive. They also discuss why they ended up at a small...
How College Works Ep 3: College Structure
15 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Melody discuss how colleges and universities are structured.
How College Works Ep 1: What We Do
14 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Peter, Melody, and Andrew talk about the differences between what college professors and high school teachers do and how that can help students naviga...