How are your students doing at this point in semester?
Here are some resources you can share to help them stay on track:
- Encourage students to take advantage of academic support:
- The Comprehensive Tutoring Schedule is a guide to tutoring from the Atrium Learning Center, the Writing Center, individual departments, and 24/7 online tutoring from tutor.com. Use the tabs at the bottom to explore the offerings.
- The Library offers 24/7 help via Ask a Librarian, meetings with reference librarians for help with research projects, workshops, computers and printers, and study spaces.
- More resources developed by City Tech faculty include The Procrastination Station and these Student Success topics.
- Students enrolled in special programs such as ASAP, ACE, C-STEP, SEEK, Early College, etc., as well as veterans and students using disability services, may have access to workshops, advising, tutoring, or other resources provided by those programs.
- Any student can request a Student Success Center coach for help with school/life balance, study habits, or navigating the many other college resources.
- Provide each student with a Mid-Semester Progress Report as described in the Provost’s March 17 email. You can point students to The Companion for the First Year for a helpful explanation of midsemester grades.
- Remind students to refer to the syllabusfor important information, including professors’ office hours, course grading rubrics, and important due dates.
- Invite each student to take advantage of your office hours to discuss any questions or concerns. The Companion for the First Year offers students advice about Communicating with Professors During Office Hours.
Navigate is a helpful tool for emailing or texting students with reminders (or high-fives!) Faculty can also issue Navigate Alerts and the Student Success Center will respond by reaching out to students with appropriate resources.
Consider using the related slides and/or a short activity to raise student awareness of academic help:
- Students can explore the Student Hub and report back to classmates with details on their favorite discovery.
- Students and professors can collaboratively create a calendar of dates for deadlines, workshops, and other support sessions.
- Students can be invited to share testimonials of their experiences with any of the City Tech supports (only if they are comfortable sharing!)
Read this and other “Supporting First-Year Students” posts on the OpenLab.
Photo credit: “Robert R. Wilson’s Tractricious Sculpture” by Michael Kappel via Flickr under the license CC BY-NC 2.0.
