Wendy Sweat and April Locklear hard at work in DF Lowery. PN Photo/Savanna Rudolph
By: Alyssa Hernandez, Managing Editor
The Center for Student Success provides free resources to assist students academically.
The services offered are academic advising for all incoming freshmen, tutoring for General Education courses, academic coaching, peer advising and various workshops, note taking, test anxiety and time management.
Mark Hunt is the current director of Academic Advising and Center for Student Success.
“TRIO, College Opportunity Program and New Student Programs are also a vital part of the Center for Student Success’ portfolio of services for our students,” Hunt said.
The TRIO program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is meant to help first-generation; low-income college students. TRIO also helps students with disabilities who are seeking a bachelor’s degree.
The College Opportunity Program is a freshman-year experience program for selected students. Students are referred to this program by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
The Writing, Interacting, and Networking program in the Center for Student Success. This program is a learning community to help students with their writing classes throughout their freshman year.
Although they stay in the cohort until they successfully complete their English 1060 class, students in the program must also take an additional writing class prior to their regular composition classes.
Tutoring is beneficial for students who are looking to improve or maintain their GPA.
Students meet with a peer tutor for the class they are struggling in. The peer tutor has previously taken the class and passed with a B or higher.
The center offers both in-person and WebEx tutoring. Their operating hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
There are both individual and group resources within tutoring and Students Obtaining Academic Resilience. These resources are determined by student requests as well as programmatic formatting.
Group tutoring is for up to four people. Whitney Jackson, Academic Success Coordinator, said people prefer the one-on-one option.
Freshman Timothy Best uses the individual study option.
“It has allowed me to get help when it came to my math grades and has helped when it came to understanding my course loads and my four-year plan,” Best said.
Sophomore Katie Hoffman also uses tutoring services. She found these services to be useful for her general education classes.
“I want students to know that these resources are 100% free of cost and they are there all year long to help you. With as many resources as the school has there it’s hard to have an excuse as to why you are failing,” Hoffman said.
Jackson coordinates and hires tutors and ensures all the tutoring suites are updated. She also manages study hall, ensures transfer students get credits for classes they have already taken and checks their transcripts.
Study Hall is held in the Education building and gives students an alternative quiet place to study.
“A lot of athletes use it but it is open to all students on campus. It gives students another place to study other than the library,” Jackson said.
The goal for the Center for Student Success has been the same since it became a part of the university in the late 1990s. That goal is to help students graduate.