College Success: Making Use of Academic Supports

 

When a student arrives at a college or university, they are likely to face many difficulties as they work towards earning their degree.

Being far from their home, working a job in addition to the demands of their study programs and making friends are just a few of the issues they might deal with.

Yet what many students may not expect is just how hard it can be to meet the academic expectations of their professors.

Fuji Lozada says many students feel that simply gaining acceptance¹ into a school is proof² that they are ready for the requirements of their programs. But the truth is that almost every student, no matter the quality of their past educational experience, needs help, he says.

That is why almost every college and university in the United States offers some kind of service to help students succeed with their studies.

Lozada is the director of the John Crosland Jr. Center for Teaching³ and Learning⁴ at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. The center is similar to offices at many schools around the country that provide services to help students.

The center has some full-time⁵ employees, but is mainly operated by students who are trained to assist⁶ others. These student assistants can gain a lot, too. By helping⁷ others in areas where they might have experience, students strengthen their own understanding of their field of study, Lozada says.

“When students first come to college, they still are in this mode⁸ of ‘I’m here to learn by myself.’ But academics is really a team sport,” he told VOA.

He notes that one area students often struggle with is writing. Most American high schools teach students shorter forms of writing, often working in the five-paragraph essay form. College professors, however, expect students to be able to write about subjects at much greater length. They expect students to present complex arguments supported with lots of research.

While a student might be skilled⁹ in other areas, if they are not used to this kind of writing they can quickly find themselves falling behind their peers¹¹, says Lozada. International students can especially face difficulty writing at the level expected by American professors, even if their general English skills are strong. That is because U.S. schools have strong rules about how outside research is presented. And professors want students to be critical in their examination¹² of all research.

Lozada notes that colleges and universities do not want their students to fail. The problem is that many students either do not know their school has offices, like the Crosland Center, that are designed to help them, or they are afraid to admit they may need help.

“When we check with students as to why they didn’t come in for tutoring¹³, they assume¹⁴ that nobody else is getting help. And so, actually, once they see…that many students are coming…meeting with other students for peer¹⁰-tutoring, that usually gets them in the door,” Lozada said.

The first step for any struggling college student is to recognize they are having some difficulties, he says. Then they should ask their professors for advice on the areas in which they need to improve and seek out their college’s academic support services.

Lozada adds that one visit to such a center will not immediately solve the problem. Improving writing skills, for example, takes time. The same can be said about mathematics, computer science or any other subject.

He notes that about 40 percent of the Davidson students who seek academic support are first year students. But about 13 percent are students in the final year of their programs, still asking for help with high-level classwork and major projects.

“Even…when I write a piece, I ask a peer or friend to read it and then they critique it,” Lozada said. “That’s the kind of academic experience we want to encourage.

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

degree – n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

mode – n. a particular form or type of something such as transportation or behavior

paragraph – n. a part of a piece of writing that usually deals with one subject, that begins on a new line, and that is made up of one or more sentences

essay – n. a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject

peer(s) – n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else

tutoring – n. the act of teaching to a single student

assume – v. to think that something is true or probably true without knowing that it is true

critique – v. a careful judgment¹⁵ in which you give your opinion about the good and bad parts of something such as a piece of writing or a work of art

encourage – v. to make something more appealing or more likely to happen

1 acceptance   

n.接受，接收，验收，接纳；承认，认可

参考例句：

• The new laws gained widespread acceptance.新法令受到广泛赞同。
• It took years for Einstein's theory to gain acceptance.爱因斯坦的理论经过多年才被人们接受。

2 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

6 assist   

vt.协助，帮助，促进；vi.帮忙，参加

参考例句：

• He asked us to assist him in carrying through their plan.他要我们帮助他实施他们的计划。
• We'll assist at your wedding.我们将出席你们的婚礼。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 mode   

n.方式，样式，模式，风格，时兴；[音乐]调式

参考例句：

• Wearing jeans is out of mode at present.现在穿牛仔裤过时了。
• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。

9 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

10 peer   

n.同辈，同等地位的人，伙伴，贵族；vi.仔细看，费力地看

参考例句：

• Children are easily influenced by their peer.孩子很容易受同辈影响。
• He is a peer.他是一个贵族。

11 peers   

n.同等的人，贵族vi.凝视，窥视vt.与…同等，封为贵族v.凝视( peer的第三人称单数 )；盯着看；同等；比得上

参考例句：

• She enjoys the respect of her peers. 她受到同侪的尊敬。
• She peers into my eyes. 她盯着我的眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 examination   

n.考试，考查，试题；检查，调查

参考例句：

• Teachers always judge their students on the final examination.老师常根据期末考试来评价他们的学生。
• He put up a good show in the final examination.他在期末考试中表现得不错。

13 tutoring   

v.当家庭教师( tutor的现在分词 )；任大学导师；任课

参考例句：

• The teachers give individual tutoring to students who are having difficulties. 对有困难的学生，教师逐个进行辅导。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The old man was tutoring her in the stringed instruments. 那个老人在教她弹弦乐器。 来自辞典例句

14 assume   

vt.假装；假定，设想；承担；呈现，采取

参考例句：

• I assume that he won't cheat you.想来他是不会骗你的。
• We can't assume anything in this case.在这种情况下我们不可能做出假设。

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。