Making academic decisions

1. What is the difference between an uninformed and an informed decision?

Uninformed decisions are often made when:
It doesn't seem all that important which choice you make.
The problem is not that complex and the decision doesn't have significant consequences.

• You can make uninformed decisions intuitively, impulsively or randomly.
• None of these methods of decision-making is necessarily inappropriate.
• For example, you might decide intuitively to wear your raincoat because you have a feeling that it might rain.
• You might decide impulsively to go to a concert at the very last minute.
• You might pick your choice of movie by flipping a coin.
• If your decision involves more complexity and has greater consequences, you should make an informed decision.

Informed decisions:

1. Lead to focused, planned action.
2. Are the result of gathering information, identifying alternatives, visiting your values and designing strategies.
3. Choosing your departmental program of study or where you want to live are examples of decisions that have significant consequences and will benefit from informed decision-making.

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2. How can you make an informed decision? - A Decision-making Method:

1. What is the problem?  Identify and name the problem.

2. What are the possible solutions?  List all possible solutions.

3. What do you need to know in order to choose a solution?  Gather information that will help you decide what to do.

4. What would happen if you chose a particular solution?  Identify the outcome of each solution by listing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

5. How do you decide which solution to choose?  Prioritize the advantages and disadvantages in order of their importance to you - check your values.

6. Choosing the best solution.  Choose the solution that has the greatest number of advantages and the least number of disadvantages.

7. What if there is no 'best' solution?  Choose the 'next best' solution; one that may not be ideal but with which you can accept and live.

8. Implementing your solution. Devise an action plan.

9. Act. Carry out your action plan.

10. Monitor.  Observe and evaluate the results of your actions.

11. Apply what you have learned.  Keep actions which generated positive results; eliminate those that didn't.

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3. Applying the method to an academic problem - An Example:

Scenario: Susan is enrolled in five courses for the Fall semester. She is struggling with one of her 3-credit required courses and is worried that she might fail it. The withdrawal deadline with refund has already passed, but the withdrawal deadline with no refund is still one week away. She is unsure if she should withdraw from the course or not. Her finances are tight and she doesn't want to have to pay to repeat the course if she does withdraw. On the other hand, she is concerned about the effect of a low grade on her average. She is also extremely stressed and is having trouble sleeping and eating.

1. What is the problem or problems?  Identify and name the problem or problems.

Problem 1:
Susan is struggling academically with the course.

Problem 2:
She has financial problems.

Problem 3:
She is experiencing stress.

2. What are the possible solutions?  List all possible solutions:

Withdraw from the course.
Remain in the course.

3. What does Susan need to know about each of these solutions in order to choose one over the other?  Gather information that will help her decide what to do.

Some questions she should answer:

• Is her stress caused by this problem, or by something else?
• When is the withdrawal with no refund deadline?
• Would the withdrawal affect her average?
• What are the implications of having a withdrawal on her record?
• Will she have to make up the 3 credits in the next semester, or can she do it later?
• What minimum grade does she need in the course?
• If she stays in the course and gets an "F", how will this affect her average?
• Can she obtain extra help to try and improve her performance in the course?
• What are possible sources of extra help?
• If the extra help isn't free, can she afford to pay for it?
• How important is completing this course this term to her?
• What effect will not completing it, or failing it, have on her Winter course choice?
• Is it a pre-requisite for any of her Winter term courses?
• Are there additional questions she should ask?

4. What would the result be of choosing to withdraw? To remain in?  Identify the outcome of each solution by listing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Solution 1 - Withdrawing:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Would no longer be stressed about failing.	Would complete 3 fewer credits this term.
Would have more study time for other courses.	Would lose the tuition for these 3 credits.
Grade will not affect average.	Would have to repeat the course if it is required.
	Would have a "W" on her record.

Solution 2 - Remaining in:

Advantages	Disadvantages
If passes, earns 3 credits.	Anxiety about failing will remain.
If earns a grade of "C" will not have to repeat the course.	Resultant stress may affect ability to cope with courses in general.
	Efforts to pass may affect other grades.
	If does poorly, grade will lower average.
	If passes with "D" will still have to repeat the course.
	Extra help may cost money.

5. How to decide which decision to choose?  Prioritize the advantages and disadvantages in order of their importance to her - checking her values.

Susan feels that doing well in the course is more important to her than having to pay to make up the credits, despite her tight financial situation.

She also feels it is important to reduce her stress level, which she thinks has worsened as a result of worrying about her performance in this course. She also wants to do well in her other courses, and does not want this course to affect her other grades.

Susan has labelled each advantage and disadvantage according to its level of importance to her as follows:

MI= Most Important
I= Important
SI = Somewhat Important
NI = Not Important

Withdrawing:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Would no longer be stressed about failing.  MI	Would complete 3 fewer credits this term.  I
Would have more study time for other courses.  MI	Would lose the tuition for these 3 credits.  I
Grade will not affect average.  I	Would have to repeat the course.  I
	Would have a W on her record.  NI

Staying in:

Advantages	Disadvantages
If passes, earns 3 credits.  SI	Anxiety about failing will remain.  MI
If earns a "C", will not have to repeat the course.  SI	Resultant stress may affect ability to cope with courses in general.  MI
	Efforts to pass may affect other grades.  MI
	If does poorly, grade will lower average.  I
	If passes with "D" but the course is required, will still have to repeat it.  I
	Extra help may cost money.  I

6. Choosing the best solution: Choose the solution that has the greatest number of advantages and the least number of disadvantages.

Susan feels that there are 2 best solutions, neither of which is possible. One is to have withdrawn from the course during the withdrawal with refund period. The other is to complete the course with a strong grade.

7. What if there is no best solution: Choose the 'next best' solution, one that may not be ideal but which she can accept.

Susan chooses Solution 1 - Withdrawing. This solution contains the greatest number of advantages she has labelled as MI or I, and contains only those disadvantages which she can accept.

The advantages include:

• No longer being stressed about failing the course.
• Having more time to study for her other courses.

The disadvantages include:

• Finishing less credits this term than she had planned.
• Losing her tuition.
• Having to repeat the course.

She feels this is the next best solution. She will lose her tuition if she withdraws, but she doesn't believe it is possible for her to complete the course with a strong grade. Despite losing her tuition and having to repeat the course, she feels that this decision is acceptable to her, because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

8. Implementing her solution: Make an Action Plan.

Susan makes an Action Plan:

• Access Minerva and withdraws.
• Informs her instructor that she has withdrawn.
• Makes an alternative study plan for the remainder of the semester; allot extra study time to her other courses as necessary.
• Looks at her Winter course selection and adjust it accordingly; delay courses that have this course as a pre-requisite.
• Speaks to instructors and departmental advisors about her Winter course selections.
• Plans when she will repeat the course.
• Monitor her stress level as the term progresses; notice whether or not the withdrawal has reduced it; if not, explore other reasons for her stress level; consider talking to a counsellor about her stress level.

9. Acting: Carries out her action plan.

Susan completes each step of the above Action Plan.

• Accesses Minerva and withdraws.
• Informs her instructor that she has withdrawn.
• Makes an alternative study plan for the remainder of the semester; allots extra study time to her other courses as necessary.
• Looks at her winter course selection and adjusts it accordingly; delays courses that have this course as a pre-requisite.
• Talks to instructors and departmental advisors about her Winter course selection.
• Plans when to repeat the course.
• Monitors her stress level as the term progresses; notices whether or not the withdrawal has reduced it; if not, explores other reasons for her stress level; considers talking to a counsellor about her stress level.

10. Monitoring: Observes and evaluates the results of her actions.

Susan assesses whether or not withdrawing had a positive effect on:

Her stress level:

• Is she able to eat and sleep?
• Is she able to concentrate when studying?

Her Fall grades:

• Did her other grades improve?
• If so, does she think they did so as a result of withdrawing from the course?
• Or was it for some other reason?

11. Applying what she's learned for next time: Keeping actions which generated positive results; eliminating those that didn't.

• Susan draws conclusions about her decision by analyzing the results.
• She applies what she has learned to her next academic problem.
• She uses strategies which worked and changes or eliminates those that did not.

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4. Making Your Decision: Your Decision-Making Worksheet

Use this worksheet to analyze the problem and make a decision.

1. What is the problem? Identify and name the problem.

Write a sentence that names and describes the problem.

2. What are the possible solutions? List all possible solutions.

List all the solutions you can think of. Don't evaluate- just list!

3. What do you need to know in order to make an informed decision? Gather information that will help you decide what to do.

List all your questions and where to find the answers. Then, answer the questions.

Question 1:
Sources for answer:
Answer:

Question 2:
Sources for answer:
Answer:

Question 3:
Sources for answer:
Answer:

4. What would happen if you chose a particular solution? Identify the outcome of each solution by listing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Solution 1:

Advantages	Disadvantages

Solution 2:

Advantages	Disadvantages

Solution 3:

Advantages	Disadvantages

5. How do you decide which decision to choose? Prioritize the advantages and disadvantages in order of their importance to you - check your values.

For each solution, label each advantage and disadvantage on your table as follows:

MI = Most Important
I = Important
SI = Somewhat Important
NI = Not Important

6. Choosing the best solution: Choose the solution that has the greatest number of advantages and the least number of disadvantages.

Examine your list of solutions, advantages and disadvantages.
Choose the solution that contains the greatest number of advantages that you have labeled as MI or I.
If the solution you are choosing contains disadvantages, are they ones which are acceptable to you?

Write your solution here:

Solution:

7. What if there is no best solution? Choose the 'next best' solution, one that is not ideal but which you can accept.

Choose a solution that contains some advantages that are important to you, and the minimum number of disadvantages that you can accept.

Next-to-Best Solution:

8. Implementing your solution: Make an action plan.

What will you have to do to implement your solution?
With what will your action plan consist?

Action	Date to be completed	Date completed

9. Acting: Carry out your action plan.

On the Action Plan, write the date you completed each action.

10. Monitoring: Observe and evaluate the results of your actions.

As you carry out your action plan, evaluate the results of your actions. Make a list of questions you want to answer as a result of having made this decision. Write down the answers as you discover them.

Question 1:
Answer:

Question 2:
Answer:

Question 3:
Answer:

11. Applying what you've learned for next time: Keep actions which generated positive results; eliminate those that didn't.

Make a list of things you would do similarly the next time you are trying to make a decision. Explain why you would do these things again. What was useful or workable about these actions?

Why would you do these things again?
What actions would you change or eliminate? Why?
When you are working on your next problem, review this list. Use it as a starting point for your next decision-making process.