Students leave their schoolwork until the last minute, professors and advisors suggest helpful solutions.

Essays, endless amounts of reading and writing, exams, presentations, deadlines. “This semester will be different. I’ll start on things right away, and falling behind won’t be the story of my life this year.” Right?

Wishful thinking.

This time of the semester, students are full-bore in the homework department with the expected weekly reading, preparing for tests, study groups, case studies and the beginning of late night cramming sessions.

Procrastination seems to be the consensus among some Sacramento State students when asked how they manage their school load.

When Matthews Banks, senior and art studio major, was asked if he procrastinates or starts on his homework immediately he said, “It’s a mixture of both. I study the material right away, but the writing part I save for later. I just turn it in (quickly) and don’t really look at it.”

So what can faculty members do to give students that extra boost to crack down on assignments?

Kathryn Palmieri, associate director of the academic advising center, said she talks to a lot of students who have trouble managing their schoolwork.

“We offer time management workshops each week during the spring 2009 semester,” Palmieri said.

Adam Irby, undeclared junior, could really benefit from this workshop.

“I always procrastinate,” Irby said. “I think it’s bad because I don’t learn as much as I could. Even for the classes I like, I still procrastinate.”

When push comes to shove, students often end up at the library stressed and pulling their hair out.

Library officials have found numerous students in what may not be their proudest moments.

“I’ve had students almost ready to cry at the reference desk because they are so stressed out,” said Linda Goff, head of instructional services in the library.

Goff said that the library offers weekly classes designed to help students narrow their searches and focus their topics so, when it does come down to “crunch time,” students have direction and don’t stress as much.

She said the main goal of a librarian is to calm the students down and help them find what they are looking for.

For some, procrastination isn’t the issue at all; it’s the manner in which they are assessed that becomes an issue.

“I jump right on it. I’m not a good test taker, but if I jump on it and focus I do better,” said Hien Dao, sophomore child development major.

Something that professors stress all the time in classes is to never leave assignments to the last minute. Nevertheless, it’s something students tend to do.

One thing is certain; not every student works at the same pace.

“Some students perform better academically when their schedules are busy, and some students leave work to the last minute,” Palmieri said.

Workshops that are held in both the library and the Academic Advising Center offer extra help to students. Faculty often wonder if this extra help makes a difference for students.

Reference librarian Eileen Heaser said the librarians can’t be sure if the workshops help, but they hope it has some effect.

“We have several types of workshops listed on the homepage?We have basic tours, as well as virtual tours (for students),” Heaser said.

Reasons why students procrastinate can be anything from laziness to lack of time, or just completely forgetting about the assignment.

“Some students have unrealistic expectations about the rigor of college coursework, or about how much they can accomplish in a week,” Palmieri said.

Most students strive to plan ahead and work on assignments as soon as they receive them, but there will always be those that pull “all-nighters,” glued to computers, vigorously typing away.

It’s like a bad habit; students don’t like to openly admit to procrastinating. The best they can do is use the tools given to them, apply it to their coursework and hope for the best.

Amber Wertman can be reached at [email protected].