In this Personal Action Plan, you will create a roadmap for your personal, professional, and academic success by identifying some short- and/or long-term goals that you want to pursue. There are two main sections in this plan—Academic and Personal & Professional—and each section includes a number of topics that are designed to help you identify your goals for that section.
Once you have reviewed the topics in each section, you will identify some areas for growth. You will then answer a series of questions that will help you to make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Finally, you will use the answers to those questions to write your SMART goals for each section (Academic and Personal & Professional).
These goals are meant to be re-evaluated periodically. It is recommended that you keep this document after submitting it and revisit it at least every 6 months to ensure you are on track with your goals, to make any necessary changes, to talk about the goals with your advisor, et cetera.
Section 1: Academic
In this first section, you will identify your academic goals. The topics provided are to help you think through the different aspects of your academic life. Some of these items may also touch on aspects of your personal and professional life, so consider how all of these items can contribute to your success as a whole.
Consider the following topics:
What you want or hope to get out of your educational journey
Time management/study plan (including how you will balance your academic and personal/professional life to be successful in your studies, how you will utilize the services offered by Academic Advising, what tools you will use to reach your goals, etc.)
Skill building (including how you will improve your writing, reading, and/or math skills, expand your knowledge in a particular topic or field, etc.)
Understanding student requirements (including utilizing Walden’s support centers and departments to help you, knowing how and where to locate resources, building a support network of fellow students, etc.)