Acknowledgements

I wrote Strategies for College Success in response to a growing need I witnessed among students at my community college. Many were struggling with foundational academic and life skills that instructors often assumed students already possessed. This disconnect became even more pronounced in the aftermath of the pandemic, which disrupted students’ ability to learn, practice, and develop these essential skills during critical stages of their education.

To better understand what students truly needed, I collaborated closely with experts in student services to identify key skills related to financial aid, academic and career planning, student life, and wellness. I then worked with faculty across disciplines to uncover gaps in what students were expected to know and do in the classroom, from writing, note-taking, and test-taking to communicating professionally and navigating both online and in-person learning environments.

Despite searching widely, I was not able find a single textbook that brought together the full spectrum of these essential skills from both student services and academic perspectives. This book was created to fill that gap. It is an edited and curated collection of content sourced from several high-quality, openly licensed OER college success textbooks. My goal was to create a unified, accessible resource that meets students where they are and prepares them for where they want to go.

This project was made possible by generous funding from Open Oregon Educational Resources, whose support helped bring this vision to life and make it freely available to students and instructors alike.