Academic Success Center offers one-on-one meetings with academic success coach

Photo+by+Kari+Shea+on+Unsplash

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

Laken Kincaid, Staff Reporter

The Academic Success Center offered one-on-one meetings with an academic success coach: either Ed Mish or Lisa Ramsey for those majoring within the College of Arts and Sciences in a recent email sent to all students on Nov. 11. For students majoring in Business, a meeting with a business advisor from the Boler College is also being offered. 

“Students make appointments for all kinds of reasons,” Ed Mish from the Academic Success Center told The Carroll News. “Maybe their grades are not where they want them to be. Maybe they are unsure whether they have chosen the right major (or how they would even decide on one in the first place). They might be unsure what classes to register for or how to find the best core class. Perhaps they’re having a hard time adjusting to the pace of college classes or dealing with asynchronous courses.

“The first thing we try to do is listen to a student’s experience of what’s going on. Then, we can work with them on finding a plan to work through it. Sometimes we’ll meet with a student only once. Sometimes they will choose to follow up a few times as they develop new study habits, refine their course plan, or work through bigger challenges.”

The email also linked to previous academic workshop recordings for those who could not attend one earlier in the semester.

“The video that may be most appealing right now is ‘All Nighter or Not.’” Mish said. “First of all, this is exactly the point in the semester to start preparing for finals — putting together review guides, seeking out a group to study with, reviewing your notes on lectures and readings, appraising your performance on previous quizzes and exams. In short, the earlier you start getting ready for an exam, the better. The less last-minute cramming you try to do, the better. (Spoiler alert: Pulling an all-nighter to cram does not work.)”

Mish said the video is appealing not only for the upcoming finals but also because it includes student panelists.

“Students seem to be more open to getting advice from other students,” he said. “Tips coming from their peers are taken as more believable for students. This isn’t just true in our office. Many areas on campus rely on students to assist other students: the consultants in the Writing Center, the Peer Learning Facilitators in the Learning Commons, Peer Health Advocates, Career Services’ Peer Advisors.”

The email also provided a link to the Academic Resources page on the JCU website, which contains links to the Grasselli Library, the Writing Center and other help for students. 

The Learning Commons is an amazing resource!” Mish continued. “There are study tables for lots and lots of subjects: virtually every business subject, sciences, math, foreign languages, social sciences. The tables are staffed by peer learning facilitators, who are junior and senior majors in their subjects. Study tables are available Monday through Saturday — and entirely online.”

Mish added that he discovered some interesting revelations while using the online resource. 

“Some students have argued that the Learning Commons works even better online-only,” he said. “I’ve heard students say they like being able to simply Zoom into study tables without having to go over to the library and ask total strangers for help. The librarians at Grasselli are also available virtually. You can actually chat with them online for help with research questions, finding course materials or using the LibGuides (online research resource pages for every subject that can be found on the library’s website). Another crucial resource that has been made available online is the Writing Center.

If you have any inquiries about the opportunities listed above, please contact [email protected].