With the midway point of the semester approaching, Winthrop University’s Academic Success Center is open to students who want to see an improvement in their grades.
Sierra Davis, a senior social work student and intern/peer academic coach with the ASC, said that the ASC is open this semester from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The ASC is located in Dinkins 106, in an office at the back of the main floor.
“If you come to our office looking for support through us or general advice, we are happy to guide you,” Davis said. “You won’t be bounced around from place to place with the ASC.”
The mission of the ASC, according to the center’s page on Winthrop’s website, “is to support the academic pursuits and life-long learning of undergraduate students, as they persist to graduation and beyond.”
One of these supports is tutoring, which Davis said is “the most popular service” that is provided by the ASC.
“All of the ASC’s tutors are students who were recommended by their professors,” Davis said. “They receive special training to prepare them for working with other students.”
Davis said that tutoring is provided for “the bulk of [the] general education core requirement” and that in order to be eligible for tutoring, students must attend one tutee seminar per academic year. She said that tutee seminars will be held each Friday at 2 p.m. in Sims 215 for the remainder of February and then moved to Sims 209 for the month of March.
While tutoring is a large focus for the ASC, Davis said that there are “a myriad of ways” in which the ASC’s academic coaches can help students out.
“We can help you create goals that are measurable and realistic,” Davis said. “We can also help you build study tactics and overcome the urge to procrastinate on important assignments.”
Ultimately, the ASC’s goal is to support students during their undergraduate years, and Davis said the center’s website offers “a bank of information about campus resources, open-educational resources like Khan Academy and community resources.”
“[The ASC] is here to make sure that your time [in] undergrad is as conducive to learning as possible,” Davis said.
Photo: Maggie Claytor/ The Johnsonian
