Preface
Thomas Priester and Dave Dillon
Dave Dillon, Curator and Editor of Blueprint for Success in Career Decision Making
As an adjunct counselor and instructor between 2004 and 2007, I began teaching counseling and personal development courses at multiple community colleges. Some campuses assigned textbooks for some courses and others gave the freedom to choose from a variety of texts. As my materials grew, the actual textbooks, an assortment of copies of assignments, handouts, class activities and exams for many different courses became challenging to transport and to stay organized for preparation and teaching. I distinctly remember frantically sifting through a rolling suitcase bag (which my colleagues teased me about) trying to find the handout I wanted to use for the third campus I was at on that particular day. I told myself that when and if I became a full-time counselor, I would write my own textbook so that all of the material would be in one place.
Hired as a full-time counselor and instructor at Grossmont College in 2007, I decided to start writing my own textbook for a Study Skills and Time Management course instead of continuing to carry around so many different materials. I began writing in 2009 and some of the ideas from that first effort helped shaped this project.
This book was also written because there is a need for it. Many students aren’t certain what to choose for their major or their career. And some are lost trying to navigate through the maze and culture of college, often balancing their school workload while working and taking care of family responsibilities. Students are sometimes unsuccessful when they begin college—not for lack of motivation or hard work, but because they did not acquire the skills or information necessary to allow them to succeed.
Despite my interest in keeping the cost of the original textbook low, I found that the cost was still prohibitive for many students and as I began to research textbook affordability solutions, I found OER (Open Educational Resources). I made a decision to publish this book as an OER, as well as the second edition of Blueprint for Success: Indispensable Study Skills and Time Management Strategies, and the first edition of Blueprint for Success in College and Career. As one of my colleagues said, “you have gone all in with OER.” There are many reasons for why this book is an Open Educational Resource, including but not limited to textbook affordability, access, empathy, openness, inclusion, diversity, and equity. I want students to be able to have access to the textbook on day one and after the course ends, not have to choose between buying food and purchasing the text, and not have to worry about a lost, stolen, or expired digital access code. This Santa Ana College student panel from the Open Education Conference 2017 exemplifies why this text is an OER:
Video: Santa Ana College OER Student Panel OpenEd 2017
I also found a wonderful community of supporters of Open Education and Open Educational Resources along with existing high quality, peer reviewed College Success OER. I researched and identified content from multiple sources, chose what information best fit my project, and then “reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed” with a Creative Commons by attribution license so that future users can freely retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute.
It has been my desire to deliver an easy-to-read, simple-to-understand instruction manual for study skills, time management, and career exploration, full of real-life examples.
It is my sincere hope that this book will help guide you to success in major and career identification and success in your future.
Licenses and Attributions:
CC licensed content, Previously shared:
Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom. Edited by Thomas Priester. Located at: https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/foundations-of-academic-success/front-matter/preface/ License: CC BY: Attribution.
Original content authored by Dave Dillon. License: CC BY: Attribution.
Content previously copyrighted, published in Blueprint for Success in College: Indispensable Study Skills and Time Management Strategies (by Dave Dillon). Located at: https://press.rebus.community/blueprint1/ Now licensed as CC BY: Attribution.
Video: Santa Ana College OER Student Panel OpenEd 2017. Located at: https://youtu.be/vtPm3zsSfWo License: CC BY: Attribution.
