Lesson series

Self-Reg in Post Secondary

Find balance. Build resilience. Navigate the intensity of college and university life.
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Snapshot
• Format: Self-directed • On-demand • Learn at your own pace
• Length: ~5 hours across 3 core modules
• Who You'll See: Stuart Shanker (DPhil) & Sonia Mastrangelo (PhD)
• Certificate: Digital certificate of completion
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Why This Course

College and university life can feel like a pressure cooker. Rising tuition and living costs, the struggle to find safe and affordable housing near campus, demanding coursework, constant deadlines, and expectations from the world around you all stack up quickly. Many students are also balancing part-time jobs with full-time studies, labs, or placements, while navigating new independence, shifting relationships, and the challenge of feeling like you belong on campus. These pressures do not just add stress—they drain energy, fuel anxiety, and make it harder to focus, learn, and stay well.

Self-Reg in Post-Secondary introduces students to the science of stress and self-regulation, offering a framework for understanding what drives these cycles and practical ways to interrupt them. With guidance from Stuart Shanker (DPhil) and Sonia Mastrangelo (PhD), you will explore how stress shapes the brain and body along the neuroaxis—especially how subcortical brain systems can hijack attention and behaviour when stress runs high. You’ll also see how maladaptive modes of self-regulation take hold, and how to restore the energy and focus you need for exams, assignments, research, and daily life on campus.

Inside You’ll Find

  • The Self-Reg 5 Steps applied directly to student life: Reframe, Recognize, Reduce, Reflect, Restore
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  • Neuroscience you can use:
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     - The stress response across the neuroaxis and why subcortical systems often override the “thinking brain” under pressure
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     - Catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine) and their role in arousal, motivation, procrastination, and stress recovery
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     - Oxytocin, co-regulation, and the interbrain—why connection with peers, mentors, and faculty helps steady the nervous system
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  • Applied to college and university realities:
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     - Maladaptive modes of self-regulation (e.g., over-reliance on super-stimulants, numbing, avoidance)
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     - Rethinking motivation and procrastination through a Self-Reg lens
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     - Exam and presentation pressure, research stress, attention traps, tech overload, financial strain, and balancing study–work–life
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  • Stories & vlogs from students and educators: bread-baking under stress, a “year of math,” reframing gaming, interview jitters, pandemic anxiety and co-regulation, and more
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  • Make it personal: a 24-page workbook, five pre-course questions, “Show What You Know” checks, a personal 5-Practice Portrait, transcripts, and an optional blog/vlog submission

You’ll Walk Away With

  • A science-based framework for spotting stress patterns that affect your coursework, exams, and campus life
  • Insight into how stress moves along the neuroaxis, disrupting focus and performance when subcortical systems dominate
  • Tools to recognize and shift maladaptive self-regulation strategies toward healthier alternatives
  • Practical ways to restore energy and clarity when academic pressure spikes
  • A personal Self-Reg plan you can carry into assignments, research, placements, and future challenges

Who Might Be Interested

    Undergraduate and graduate students navigating the intensity of college and university life
   High-school students preparing for the transition into post-secondary
   Profs, TAs, and facilitators who want a clear, research-grounded tool to introduce Self-Reg science to learners
   Student services and research groups seeking a common framework and language for stress, focus, and well-being
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Designed by Susan Hopkins (EdD) in collaboration with Sonia Mastrangelo (PhD) and Stuart Shanker (DPhil), this course gives college and university students the tools to reframe stress, rethink motivation, and build balance in the middle of post-secondary pressures.