Academic Support Services

First and foremost, it’s important to know yourself as a learner. What are your strengths? Contact Director of Career Development Jeffry Neuhouser (jneuhouser@coa.edu) for an access code to take a StrengthsQuest self-assessment.

Each on-campus residence is staffed by a Resident Advisor, and any new student may choose to be assigned a peer connection or mentor when matriculating. Your RA, peer mentor, and peer connections are important resources. They can help with a wide range of questions based on their own experiences at COA and as a sounding board to help you clarify your needs and goals, identify strategies you can experiment with, or refer you to other resources on campus.

Each entering student is assigned an academic advisor prior to arrival on campus. Your academic advisor is a resource not only for questions prior to course registration but also for ideas about internships, employment, service, and other opportunities in your area of interest and their area of expertise. They can also refer you to additional on- and off-campus resources.

If you become sick or have a preexisting condition that requires care and attention, reach out to these health and wellness resources.

Mental health support

Mental health is important! If you begin to notice a change in your motivation or ability to engage in the learning process you may find it helpful to seek professional support. Set up a time through Schedulicity to speak with a mental health counselor or reach out to Barbara Conry, Director of Student Support and Wellness (bconry@coa.edu, ext. 5671), if you have any questions. Counselors are available for appointments five days a week.

All of us learn differently, but some of us learn in ways that may be more similar to or advantageous in the context of a teacher’s course design or teaching approaches. If you think you have a learning difference that may be keeping you from learning effectively in your classes, scheduling time for an assessment may contribute to your self-knowledge. Contact Director of Student Support and Wellness Barbara Conry (bconry@coa.edu, ext. 5671) for details.

If you already have documentation for a learning difference or disability that may impact your academic engagement, ensure that your documentation is on file with our Director of Student Support and Wellness Barbara Conry (bconry@coa.edu, ext. 5671), as soon as possible. You may be able to request a notetaker and/or extended time on assignments and tests. Please note that requests for any reasonable accommodations that require documentation cannot be retroactive—another reason why it’s important to be proactive in taking steps as early as possible to identify your learning needs and ways to best meet these needs. Connect with your teachers at the start of the term so you can feel comfortable with them should you need to have a more challenging conversation at a future date.

All of us can use support at one time or another depending on what we are learning, our current state of mind, and conditions impacting our attention. Similarly, we all can hone our strategies for learning based on knowledge of our unique combination of strengths, preferences, and challenges. Faculty and TAs can offer advice on how best to learn the subjects they teach. Help sessions for particular classes are also an excellent resource for learning and study skills support. Liz Rabasca offers study skills and time management support (make an appointment here; please include your email address and phone number when scheduling your appointment). Finally, COA’s College Opportunity and Access Program offers workshops each term around different topics such as Procrastination and Time Management, Motivating Reading, Academic Opportunities, and other topics.

Thorndike Library offers many resources and services that can assist you in your academic endeavors, including individualized research support and access to resources beyond COA. Study spaces are also available. The library is open 7 days/week. Furthermore, the library website offers research guides and short tutorials to help navigate our resources. Remote access to the research databases is available 24/7. Contact library@coa.edu or visit the library website (coa.edu/library) for details.

The library has DVDs and CDs available for check out and a DVD/CD player for in-library use. The library also has an external CD/DVD computer drive for short term loan.

Audiobooks and other audio resources

Subscriptions to Learning Ally—an organization that provides audio materials for those needing accommodations—are available with documentation of a learning difference. Contact Trisha Cantwell (tcantwell@coa.edu) in the library about accessing audio resources.

We can all improve on our writing as a tool for helping to develop and reveal our thinking and understanding as well as to communicate our learning to others. Whether you write more proficiently in a language or languages other than English or seek to hone your writing process to better serve your communication goals for different audiences, working with a Writing Center tutor can be particularly useful if you make this a regular practice.

The Writing Center staff also coordinate note-taking services for students with documented learning differences. Contact Valeria Tsygankova vtsygankova@coa.edu for more information.