ASC Improvements for Fall 2015
If you’ve stopped by the Academic Support Center this Fall 2015 semester, you may have noticed some changes to our space. We haven’t moved from our ground floor location next to the P133 lecture classroom and between the doorways to the Evans Library, but we’ve done some redecorating and rebranding to make the ASC more visible and student-centric. These improvements for Fall 2015 will help us to meet the needs of our Florida Tech students. So, what can you expect when you come to make an appointment or attend a study group?
North Entrance for Tutoring
In the past three years, the ASC has seen student usage of tutoring services triple. This is great news, but it means that we must streamline our check-in system to make sure that each student is marked for the right appointment and paired with their scheduled tutor. Students can enter on the north side, across from the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, and check in for tutoring sessions, group studies, or academic resource workshops.
Whiteboards as Dividers
This Fall, the ASC purchased new dividers for its tutoring area. These moveable whiteboards allow students and tutors to diagram, draw, sketch, and solve more effectively during tutoring appointments. At the ASC we have always worked with our tutors to gear a session toward students’ preferred learning styles. Having more writing space provides the opportunity for students to engage their kinesthetic and visual learning modalities, allowing for a well-rounded learning experience.
More Group Study Sessions
For the past few semesters, the ASC staff has worked with a select number of professors and instructors to offer group study sessions tailored to review materials for specific courses and assessments. Students in General Chemistry 1, General Chemistry 2, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and Applied Discrete Mathematics have been able to take advantage of review sessions before exams to work with peer tutors and go over study guides in a casual yet structured ASC environment. These group studies are led by peer tutors who go over professor-provided material with the intent to help students review, not to lecture in the same style as an instructor or teaching assistant. This Fall, our group studies have expanded to include more first and second year courses, and are held in the evenings as well as on some Sunday afternoons for Monday exams. To learn more, please contact Michael Sanchez at sanchez@fit.edu.
Academic Resource Workshops
The ASC has added a workshop series to its Fall schedule to provide an additional resource for students who may want to learn more about time management, note-taking, exam review, and structuring study time. Most workshops are held more than once to fit students’ busy schedules, and they cover key strategies and techniques that can be applied to any major at any point during the semester. Students and professors can learn more about these workshops by contacting the Associate Director at vgiguere@fit.edu.
The Academic Support Center is constantly growing and changing to better meet the needs of the Florida Tech community. If you have ideas, suggestions, or simply want to let us know what services have worked for you in the past, please email us at asc@fit.edu.
