Ami Gates

Academic Erosion (AE) and Academic Stagnation (AS)

Academic Erosion (AE) and Academic Stagnation (AS)

Instructors can offer significant assistance to help students to avoid AE and AS. When I look back at my PhD program, I can remember moments of struggle, of frustration, of stagnation, and of apathy and erosion. Achieving and adhering to a long-term academic program, completing each progress, adapting to new requirements, avoiding GAS, and maintaining confidence and determination can prove to be one of the largest struggles a person might face.

Yet, students face these struggles every day. They wonder, “am I doing the right thing?”, “am I not spending enough time with my family?”, “do I really need to do this right now?”, and so on.
These doubts, combined with the pressures of learning and making time in an already full life, can often lead to depression, erosion, stagnation, and then if not addressed, attrition.
How can teachers prevent attrition?

We can understand, sympathize, empathize, and assist. We can offer guidance and can let learners know that they are not alone.

Constant communication and positive feedback and great starting points; when students know that they have someone who understands and someone they can count on, they feel less inclined to give up.

I often email my students to check on how they are doing and feeling.

Manny Academic Institutions offer support groups, learning labs, student services, and counselors and advisers who are also there to help.