It is important that the first week begins with these key concepts, as they allow students to start with the foundational knowledge they will need to effectively absorb future information. That's why this week is a great time to focus on developing cognitive and metacognitive skills, especially goal setting. If a student does not understand their personal learning abilities, they may have difficulty grasping concepts that influence their future academic success, such as setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely) goals. By teaching the resource of SMART goals and how using them can make academic and career goals more attainable, this course minimizes the chance of students failing to achieve their goals. In this regard, an example of a SMART academic goal is my goal to obtain 24 transfer credits (specific and obtainable) to transfer to OSU's Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Physics graduate program (measurable) when I exit military service in September 2016 (Timely). Additionally, this goal is relevant because without the 24 transfer credits I will not be able to get into OSU. Therefore, I would not be able to achieve my career goal of obtaining a supervisor position in a power plant as I would still lack the academic requirement of a bachelor's degree that matches the skills I already possess.