BYU–Hawaii has many resources for providing students the support they need to successfully pursue their education, including various labs and centers for tutoring, counseling, and advice. The newly renamed Center for Academic Success (previously called the Center for Academic Support) is one of these.
Sometimes, students need extra help in order to succeed when under the strain and stress of college life. The Center for Academic Success, a support service run by senior missionaries on campus, is dedicated to helping students who need academic coaching, training in time management, mentoring in their education here at BYU–Hawaii, or simply someone to talk to. The mission of the Center is to help all students at BYU-Hawaii achieve academic success. The senior missionaries currently serving at the Center are Elder and Sister Bott, Sister Addams, and Sister Linton. Even though each missionary takes on specific responsibilities for the Center, they all work collaboratively together to support and encourage students, allowing them to overcome the obstacles that come with gaining a university education.
“Part of our job is to figure out what the barriers are for each student,” says Sister Linton, who works with probation students or students with low GPAs. “Do they need mentoring or tutoring? Are there language barriers? Are they dealing with family or relationship issues? Do they need to learn how to prioritize or manage their time? We want to provide a safe place here at the Center to help them address their issues and develop the belief that they can achieve success.” Through answering some of these questions, the missionaries guide students to find solutions in order to get back on track, in turn helping them gain the motivation and confidence necessary to take charge of their education.
“The Center for Academic Success is really a special place at BYU–Hawaii, especially for me. I got a lot of support, love, and help,” says Xinyue Song, a junior from Mainland China studying ICS and International Peace Building. “In my country, we never had this kind of special department to help students to get success in their education. Through their training meetings and weekly email reminders, I got so many useful tips that help me work on my studies. The missionaries always encourage me and are very patient.”
The Center provides numerous resources for helping students succeed, such as workshops, websites, and study tips emailed weekly. The senior missionaries promote the use of the student success website http://www.studentlingo.com/byuh, a web source that contains workshops covering topics such as reading comprehension, time management, financial literacy, reducing anxiety, and effective online communication. Because much of the student body consists of international students, sometimes academic problems stem from culture shock or unfamiliarity with the American education system. “Every country is unique,” says Sister Bott “Many international students don’t know how the American school system works. In some countries, talking to the teacher is discouraged or not even an option. It’s against their culture, so students quietly struggle in their classes because they don’t know where to turn for help. It’s our job to help these students adjust to university life by providing a positive, safe place to come get answers to their questions and find resources to help them.”
One particular service the Center manages is the Early Alert program. Early Alert is a digital notification system that instructors can use to alert the Center of students who are struggling in classes. Teachers identify the specific problems each student has, such as missing class or low scores on assignments, and the missionaries then contact the student to advise them on a direct course of action. When faculty members send those notifications, students can get the help they need when struggling rather than waiting until the end of the semester to address the problems.
“We are creating a system to track the student’s interaction with us and with the faculty, and the impact it has on their progress.” says Elder Bott, who conducts research and analysis in addition to sending out a weekly study tip to all probation and new students. The Early Alert system opens up communication between teachers, students, and mentors. When all three parties communicate effectively, problems can be addressed and eventually overcome. “More than anything, we encourage the students to talk to their instructors,” says Sister Addams, the missionary in charge of working with the Early Alert Program. “An example of the success was with an international student who was having a difficult time in her religion class as a result of her limited English skills. At first, she was frightened to talk to her professor, but when we helped her overcome that fear, she was able to work out a solution with her teacher. He allowed her to take the tests orally instead of on paper, and she got an A.”
“We really love the students,” insists Sister Bott. “More than anything, we want them to know that we are here to help them.”
The Center for Academic Success is located in the Joseph Fielding Smith Library in room 124 and operates Monday-Friday from 9:30 AM-4 PM. To set up an appointment to meet with the senior missionaries, students can visit the Center or call 675-4509.
