How to prepare for success this semester

It’s a new year, a new semester and a new opportunity to hit the books and pass your classes with flying colors.

But studying during a semester is a lot like running a marathon: cramming during the week of midterms and finals is not the best option. For the best results, you have to train hard from day one.

The Center for Academic Success (CfAS) is there to help you along the way. The CfAS, a division of Undergraduate Education, houses both the University Learning Center and the University Testing Center, and offers many resources to help students stay on top of their game and do well in their classes all year round.

The University Learning Center is the hub for tutoring services and study skills enrichment programs that help students conquer their college course work. The University Testing Center is where students and South Florida community members can take tests like the CLEP or the LSAT.

Luis Avila (left) works with Math Department tutor David Lardizabal (right) at the CfAS.

3 tutoring tips 

1. Forget the stereotypes about tutoring. Whether you just want help with one assignment, help with a class or two, or if you want to brush up on study skills and reading skills, don’t be afraid to come to the CfAS.

Maria Kulick, director of CfAS, says one misconception about the center is that only students who are struggling visit. In reality, the students that use the CfAS the most are the students who are passing their classes, but want that extra push to get to an A or a B.

2. Decide what type(s) of tutoring could work for you. Through the learning center, students have access to tutoring for many different subjects from biology to statistics – and you can choose what type of tutoring session you want:

• One-on-one tutoring, either in person or online
• Group tutoring
• Study hall time with floating tutors
• Workshops for enhancing skills like vocabulary and grammar to discipline-specific reading for biology and/or for writing

3. Start early! Check out the CfAS and its resources before the day of the exam.

Common questions

 If a tutor is my peer, why is he or she qualified?

All tutoring is done by peer tutors who are trained through the CfAS’ training program, which is nationally certified through the College Reading and Learning Association.

Tutors also have proven to excel in the subject area and the course that they tutor for, often taking the course themselves.

How much does tutoring cost?

You’ve already paid for tutoring services in your tuition; there is no added cost.

How do I enroll?

Tutoring is available, preferably by appointment, but also on a walk-in basis.

More CfAS resources

The Academic Success Plan (ASP)

It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle and drop out of college after a hectic semester, whether you are a freshman trying to figure out college life or a senior struggling to juggle work, school and extracurricular activities. The Academic Success Plan is a powerful tool to help you figure out how you can make it through the semester.

• ASP is a personalized plan of study for students based on their needs.
• It usually involves weekly sessions with a discipline-specific reading tutor and a subject area tutor
• It’s available for any student who asks for it
• You and the program coordinator create an individualized plan of study for the semester based on what your needs are

“ASP provides the student with a small learning community,” says Vicenta Shepard, reading and learning coordinator for CfAS. In a school this big, it’s important for students to connect with tutors who have been in their shoes – who can mentor students by sharing their tips on how to get through a class, program of study or semester.

Kulick says ASP will make a difference in increasing retention rates from freshman to sophomore year and helping students achieve their goals and graduate.

Reading Enhancement Program

“Yes, you know how to read, but reading is a continuum of skills,” Shepard explains. It’s one thing to be be an expert at reading and another to be an expert at reading in college, in a discipline-specific, research-based context, she says.

The Reading Enhancement Program, known as “TLC,” works hand-in-hand with courses, at a professor’s request.

• This popular program is a workshop series that runs throughout the entire semester as the students take the course
• International relations, biology and humanities course professors have utilized TLC workshops for years.
• In the spring of 2014: Only 54 percent of General Biology I students who did not participate in the TLC workshops passed the class; a whopping 85 percent of students who participated in the workshops passed the class.

“Our goal is to become obsolete,” Maria Kulick, director of the CfAS says. “We want to give students the tools to succeed, to become independent thinkers, to learn how to succeed in their courses, so they don’t need us.”

Learn more about the CfAS’ Learning Center here and the CfAS’ Testing Center here. To visit the CfAS at Modesto A. Maidique Campus go to the Green Library, room 120; at Biscayne Bay Campus, visit AC1 160.