The first year of college is a transitional and emotional period for young people, who are, after all, predominately in their late teens and early 20s and not that long out of high school. Sadly, a high percentage of them won’t make it to graduation day, according to the Center for the Study of College Student Retention, which reported that nearly 50% of students who enter higher education would not earn degrees.
It turns out, a recent poll finds, stress is affecting a high percentage of the nation’s college students. Students cited the usual worries over keeping up in their classes and getting good grades, but there were those – 1 in 10 – who had contemplated suicide in the previous year, with 1 in 6 saying they had friends who had considered it.
"Four in 10 students say they endure stress often. Nearly 1 in 5 say they feel it all or most of the time."
—Associated Press/mtvU College Poll, March 2008.
Many students cited eating problems and said they had experienced loneliness, depression and the feeling they were failures. Although nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they "enjoy life," overall, the findings raised a host of concerns, with some students saying they were too stressed to do schoolwork or spend time with friends and others admitting they had reached the point of seriously considering dropping out of school.
AP and mtvU conducted the survey in part to raise awareness about the emotional problems college students face. The findings add to the vast amount of information that has been compiled regarding first-year retention of college students, a key concern among college officials, particularly for these key reasons: It is in the interest of their institutions that those who attend them have successful college careers and go on to post-graduate success in the workplace; the success of their students while in school and afterward insures the future growth, development and viability of their institutions.
The Most Prepared Don’t Always Succeed
Colleges traditionally require and certainly hope their first-year students are prepared academically for the rigors of higher learning and bring with them the desire, knowledge, skills, background and support – financial and otherwise – to excel at higher learning and eventually earn degrees from their institutions.
Even the most highly qualified and well-prepared first-year students, however, don’t always realize those goals because of one or a combination of many of reasons, not the least of which are emotional and psychological factors that don’t show up in the statistics. How does the student, for example, respond to stressful situations: high-stakes tests, the deadline pressure of essays, term papers, special projects and other academic tasks; the impact on their focus and performance exerted by relationships with family, friends, girlfriends and boyfriends and other people in their lives.
A great number of students are able to succeed despite these pressures and without addressing elevated stress levels, but at what personal cost? Among the risks these young adults take by not addressing heightened stress are anxiety disorders, depression, prolonged sleep issues, drug and alcohol abuse and more. It is quite common for any of these debilitating conditions to persist as they venture out in the world to begin careers.
Your Smart Heart
The nonprofit Institute of HeartMath has devoted many years of research to the science and physiology of learning, stress and emotion management, personal performance and the intelligence of the human heart, among other areas of human development and processes. IHM has developed solutions that not only can help college students reduce and manage stress, but also can boost energy without the aid of artificial means. Ultimately, students can greatly improve academic performance and standing.
The human heart is uniquely qualified to interact with the brain, direct our emotions and harmonize all of the body’s systems. Though many people throughout the ages seemed to have known instinctively about the power of the heart, scientists have discovered in just the past two decades that it plays a much greater role than previously believed or understood in everything humans do, including the learning process.
Most people are unaware that it is their hearts, rather than their brains that directs a great deal of their decision-making each day, especially making some of those "big" decisions. Listen to your heart, let your heart decide, you’ve probably heard it said. Today there is a scientific foundation for what we have only intuitively believed about the heart. For instance, your heart and brain are in constant communication and the heart begins processing a great deal of information even before the brain. Delve deeper into the science of your heart.
Facts at a Glance:
Students are more likely to stay in college after the first year if they:
Enroll full time
Attend four-year residential private colleges or universities
Seek bachelor’s degrees
Attended a high quality high school
Took college prep courses
Received high grades in high school
Scored well on standardized tests
Have intention of graduating
Have majors and career goals in mind
Participate in numerous campus activities
Enjoy being students
Feel they fit in at school
Have positive attitude toward school, faculty, courses, campus’ academic and social life
Students are more likely to drop out after the first year if they:
Are part-time students, often working full time
Have financial difficulties
Have motivational problems
Feel dissatisfied with their colleges or universities
Are part of first generation to attend college and aren’t well prepared academically and otherwise
Take time out for military service or full-time jobs
Don’t start out with intention to earn degrees
"The first-year college retention rate in 2005 was 77.4 percent for full-time students and 46.1 percent for part-time students."
—National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
Who Needs HeartMath Research-Based Programs?
High school students with intention of attending college
First-year college students
Educators of high school and first-year college students
Counselors who work with high school and first-year college students
How HeartMath Can Facilitate First-Year College Retention
IHM research has shown there is a direct link between a student’s ability to self-manage emotions and academic performance. Students who learn social and emotional competencies are more confident and energetic about their learning abilities. They tend to try harder, motivate themselves, set goals, organize their approach to study and perform better. These skills help students successfully meet academic requirements with poise and self-confidence, increasing the likelihood that first-year college students will thrive despite the big change from the high school environment to the world of the college campus.
HeartMath’s tools, techniques and technology have been scientifically researched and developed to help you shift from emotional distress to emotional balance. Studies testing them and perfecting them have been conducted at the IHM Research Center in Boulder Creek and on school campuses for every age level. As students gain solid skills in test-taking, managing relationships with instructors and peers and balancing emotions, they are much more able to perform well academically, enjoy their first year of college and increase the likelihood they’ll complete degree programs.
Programs and Products to Help First-Year College Students
TestEdge® Programs and Software CDs: Students appreciate learning how emotions and attitudes affect their academic work. TestEdge gives them a new edge in test-taking and academics by helping them manage chaotic emotions and recognize stress triggers so they can begin performing to their potential. This scientifically developed and tested program has helped thousands of students lessen the dread of test-taking, increase focus, comprehension and confidence and enjoy a sustained rise in energy not only for academics, but also other areas of their lives.
Go to: TestEdge® Programs and Software CDs.
emWave® PC/Mac: Students love this interactive learning system, which shows them on a monitor how different emotions affect their heart rhythms in real time. Observing how they can intentionally shift these rhythms to a state of coherence, along with the exhilarating experience of being "in sync" can empower students in test-taking, other areas of academics and all aspects of their lives.
Contains lots of skill-building games and applications. Go to: emWave® PC or emWave® Mac.
The Resilient Educator: All instructors and other educators know that their resiliency and professional commitment are essential for them to help provide students with the best chance for college success. HeartMath’s powerful techniques and technology for emotional balance, renewal and revitalization will help educators listen more effectively, make more effective decisions and bring out the best in their students. And best of all, educators can learn to perform professional duties with greater caring and more energy. Go to: Resilient Educator.
IHM Research on Improved Academic Performance, Related Articles
Improving Test-Taking Skills & Academic Performance in High School Students Using HeartMath Learning Enhancement Tools: "High school seniors who received three weeks of training in HeartMath learning-enhancement skills demonstrated substantial improvements in test scores and passing rates on state-required math and reading tests. Students also experienced significant reductions in hostility, depression and other key indicators of psychological distress after learning HeartMath tools. Read the study.
Efficacy and Implementation of HeartMath Instruction in College Readiness Program: Improving Students’ Mathematics Performance and Learning: The University of Cincinnati Clermont College (UCCC) and the Greater Cincinnati Tech Prep Consortium formed a partnership to address the needs of high school students in mathematics and prepare them for higher education. HeartMath emotion management training was offered over a four-year period to students. At one point, an instructor presented a problem to students, but no one could solve it. Upon hearing that none of the students was using HeartMath, the teacher instructed them in a HeartMath skill and within five minutes everyone had the solution. Read the abstract and obtain a PDF of the study.
The following story appeared in the University Star newspaper of Texas State University, San Marcos in March 2007 and is reprinted by permission.
Biofeedback participants learn to ‘manage their emotional response to stress’
By Ashley Wilrich University Star
Midterms, paying for tuition and achieving the perfect GPA can cause college students one huge problem: stress.
The Biofeedback for Stress Reduction is a program sponsored by the Counseling Center to help students understand and reduce stress. Students participating are required to attend an orientation to learn about the basics of the program. It uses the Freeze-Framer® biofeedback equipment, an interactive software program that displays heart rhythms in real time and shows how stress is affecting someone, according to the Web site of the program’s maker, Institute of HeartMath.
"This program helps students manage their emotional response to stress," said Gregory Snodgrass, director of the Counseling Center.
Students are initially taught a technique to help regulate their heart rate while using the equipment. The program is an attempt to provide students with a healthier way to handle stress, teaching them to stay calm and think their way through stressful situations.
Scott Janke, senior psychologist at the Counseling Center, facilitates the orientations with other staff members.
"Students are taught to feel more confident with dealing with stressful situations," Janke said. "Most students expressed feeling negative emotions when dealing with stress."
The equipment, a finger sensor, shows the pattern of a student’s heart rate. The key to the program is learning how to generate positive emotions, Janke said.
"Each time students use the equipment, they progress in regulating their heart rate and feeling positive emotions," he said. "Students’ success with the program correlates with how long they’ve been doing it."
After the orientation, students can make an appointment and are allowed to go to the Counseling Center at any time they would prefer to use the equipment.
The program was started after students expressed that stress was one of their No. 1 problems, Janke said. He said the staff at the Counseling Center continued searching for ways to give students an easy and fun way to learn how to control their stress.
Comments About HeartMath and First-Year College Retention
"College students tend to have high levels of stress as a result of academic and independence issues. In order to experience sustained relaxation and be able to apply this state to stressful situations, they may benefit from biofeedback methods such as the Freeze-Framer® (now the emWave® PC/Mac). The long-term goal of these methods is to reduce stress and enable students to carry heart-brain coherence into their academic performance. The use of biofeedback will help the student track progress and outcome measures with an objective instrument tool to facilitate emotional well-being and academic progress."
—Tamara Knapp-Grosz, Ph.D., Director of the Student Counseling and Disability Services Center at Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
"HeartMath offers the most effective techniques for helping students overcome their math anxiety that I have ever seen. After seeing big improvements in math test scores, students’ ability to better understand new concepts, and students’ attitudes, I became real excited about the broader implications for these learning strategies. A real buzz has been created at our college campus and in surrounding schools. We look forward to a long relationship with HeartMath."
—Michael Vislocky, Math Department Professor, University of Cincinnati Clermont College
Funding Tips for First-Year College Retention:
Click here for links to information about a variety of federal, state and private educational funding sources for colleges, schools and school districts interested in purchasing programs and products from the Institute of HeartMath.
Click here for information about the IHM Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund and to learn how you can apply to be a recipient.
