College of Health and Human Development

The methods staff use to keep stress levels down at work range from careful planning to jumping in at a moment's notice with finely tuned improvisational skills. Some problems can be anticipated, and some can't - it's academic! We hope this columm becomes a regular favorite as our collection of helpful hints grows.

Teaching Students to Navigate Campus (when GPS Isn't Enough)

Shanta Wallace
HHD Student Services Center/EOP

Early in the semester there are always some of students who don’t know their way around campus, or who don't know where to go to get what they need, whether it's advisement, to add or drop a class, to declare a major or pay fees. They may even come into the office uncertain about what questions to ask.

Their main problem is they haven’t learned where to go for campus information. I have my “Top 7” resources that I like to share with them:

• 1: On the web: CSUN A to Z has everything!
• 2: The University Catalog. Sometimes students don’t realize their academic plan is right there in the catalog. The university catalog online has previous years’ catalogs, too.
• 3: The Campus Directory can help students figure out who has the kind of help they might need.
• 4: Students need to know what college their major is in. Sometimes they don’t know. The online catalog and campus directory are both good sources.
• 5: The Learning Resource Center has tutoring for math, English including the Writing Proficiency Exam in English.
• 6: Patience – it comes from within but it also comes from working with a good team of helpful staff!
• 7: Communication skills - so much of the information we work with becomes second nature to us after even a few semesters, it’s important to remember that a student can take a small amount of information and run with it. They wind up getting frustrated as they go from office to office getting incomplete information. Take the time to fully understand what student is trying to say and to ask questions if their responses are vague. If a student’s already been to several offices and is frustrated, a call ahead to their next destination can help a lot.

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Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: Take Care of the Small Stuff Ahead of Time!

Sheila Brown and Wendy Brown
Family and Consumer Sciences

One of the ways we avoid small beginning-of-semester emergencies with good planning. If you take care of the small stuff ahead of time, you don’t sweat the small stuff!

We keep supplies well stocked, well organized, and easy to find. This makes the start of the semester less stressful for everybody. We keep a full list of the items we use regularly and that becomes our guide, like like a grocery list. We create the list at the end of each year and stock up in the summer with supplies, and we keep supplies in same places year after year so people don't move things around to find what they're looking for.

It's rare that anybody comes up with any need for something we don't have. This is a tremendous time-saver on the busy first days of class. We don't have as many interruptions and we've found it also reduces waste because we don't end up with items we don't need at the end of the semester. It seems small, but it really helps!

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How to Get Unstuck - and Save a Buck!

Terre Blumer
Environmental and Occupational Health, Physical Therapy

Tired of scraping and scratching at that unwanted sticky label that’s stuck to the binder, the wall, the mailbox—whatever?!

Well, forget the pricey “Goo-Gone”, “Goof-Off” and “Krud Kutter” products. The fastest, cheapest way to get the job done is with lighter fluid. Lighter fluid? Yup! You know, the old-fashioned, smelly stuff that grandpa used to refill his old Zippo lighter.

You can pick up 8 fl. oz. for under $3 at any drugstore or market where cigarettes are sold. (The lingering odor of the fluid can be removed with a bit of soap & water.) Have fun “coming unglued!”

If you have tips and tricks to contribute, send an email to Jean O'Sullivan or add your ideas to the forum in HHD Social Moodle. We'll look forward to hearing from you!