Here, you will find information on the many ways that Academic Support Center helps students to succeed inside and outside of the classroom. Learn more about each program below.
ESL Academic Support
All students for whom English is a second language must take the TOEFL test to determine their level of proficiency before enrolling at SAU. After receiving an international student's TOEFL results, SAU admissions staff, the SAU registrar and Academic Support Center staff confer about the information received to determine admission and eventual placement in initial courses at SAU. Students may request to see required TOEFL scores by contacting the admissions office.
Numerous ESL courses have been authorized by SAU faculty to be taught, but only when a sufficient amount of students are enrolled. (See course list below.) Students may inquire as to the availability of courses.
Specialized help is available
Students whose primary language is something other than English may need assistance in fulfilling reading, writing, listening (note taking), or speaking requirements in any course. You are invited to meet with ASC personnel for assistance. We will work with you on your course adaptations.
Peer Tutoring
The drop-in tutoring center is available to all traditional undergraduate students and subjects. One-on-one tutoring is available at no cost to the student. Call ext. 1481 or come to the Academic Support Center office located in the lower level of the Student Center.
Reading Skills
After initial assessment and conferencing, students' academic profiles are used to
determine participation in appropriate general studies course offerings:
GES 116 - Reading & Study Assistance Program (3): A course designed to prepare a student to successfully handle college-level
reading and study tasks. Goal-setting and time management are included early in the
semester. The focus will be on interactive strategies for handling vocabulary development,
note-taking and test-taking in targeted general education courses. GES 112 is required
as a follow-up in the spring (Offered in fall).
GES 115 - College Reading 1 (2): (Entrance test required). A developmental reading course to assist new or returning
students on strategies for dealing with University textbooks. Skills covered will
include locating main ideas, drawing inferences, summarizing and vocabulary development
(Offered in spring).
GES 112 - Application: Study Strategies (1): A course emphasizing application of learning strategies presented in GES 110 and
GES 116. Selected content courses being taken concurrently by the students will be
monitored weekly through tutorial sessions. Use of student-designed contracts helps
to move the student toward self-management and application of successful study habits.
Prerequisite: GES 110 (Offered in spring).
Study Fitness
What? There's another way to study?
Students often realize new challenges in their approaches to studying when there are many demands on their time or numerous assignments due around the same time. University expectations are often more rigorous than what students have previously experienced in high school or community college.
Study smarter, not just harder
Just as a builder uses more than one tool to build a house, a student needs more than one study technique to tackle studying for a full-range of courses. Multiple methods of study are critical to success and variety helps to motivate students to more actively engage in the learning process. Not every idea works for every student. But, a new skill should be tried several times before it is declared “unusable.”
Focus on one or two new approaches at a time
Students have contributed helpful ideas and feedback about meaningful approaches. Several websites can link you to specific strategies related to:
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- Managing your time
- Breaking big assignments into smaller manageable segments
- Effective note-taking from texts or from lectures
- Cornell note-taking method: a preparation for test review
- Mapping connections of ideas (uses of Inspiration software)
- Learning to use multiple senses
- Reading and studying text material
- Exam preparation/ review strategies
- Memory techniques
- Test-taking strategies
- Test anxiety
How can you begin?
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- Become proactive and research these hints. Your time will be well spent.
- Attend a seminar on SAU campus sponsored by ASC so you can see how these strategies work.
- Seek advice about any of the above topics from Academic Support Center Specialists. Contact ASC at 517.750.6481 or ext. 1481.
- Attend a study enhancement course: GES 110 - Study Enhancement (1): A course for incoming students who need modeling and practice using successful study skill enhancement tools. Primary topics are time management, learning styles, goal-setting, strategies for test-taking, note-taking and reading. GES 112 is required as follow-up in the spring (Offered in fall).
Websites for strategies:
Testing
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- Students at SAU may receive special permission to take tests in the office of Academic Support Center. In our new setting, improved testing areas are private and comfortable.
- Accommodations may be established for students according to ADA guidelines. In such cases, professors are notified but students must schedule appointment times for tests.
- Campus students: call Amber Hollowood for arrangements ext. 1481 or 517.750.6481. Professors and ASC staff will plan to have the tests available when scheduled. Guidelines for the testing environment will be explained to each student.
- A student may arrange with their professor to take a test in the office of Student Academic Connections due to legitimate situations if prior arrangements are made. Professors must complete a testing record form. This service will be provided judiciously, but it offers a service to occasional students who need to take tests at times other than class time.
Testing anxiety: Academic Support Center has a wide range of resources available to students to help them overcome testing anxiety and help them to be better prepared to take college-level tests.
Writing and Research Assistance
Stop by the Academic Support Center office to request a tutor. Contact Amber Hollowood at [email protected] for any questions.