Academic Programs

A proactive approach to academic success

Abundant resources help Berkeley students start the semester on the right foot — and help new students make a smooth transition to the university

By Wendy Edelstein

At the campus’s academic service centers, students can find tutoring on a wide range of subjects, use free computers, and receive both peer and professional advising — all within their residence halls. (Peg Skorpinski photo)

Summer 2007 | On a campus as big as Berkeley, many first-year students need help adjusting to the new academic culture. In addition to adapting to large lecture classes and reading assignments in several disciplines, students are called upon to meet academic expectations with well-honed study strategies and time-management skills, while balancing the new social and academic challenges of collegiate life.

“The first two or three semesters are critical for any student in college,” notes Alex de Guia, assistant director of the campus’s Student Learning Center.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, students should survey academic-support services before the semester gets under way, de Guia recommends. His advice to students: “You want to be connected and networked with services that can assist you, whether that’s finding a community of students who have similar academic tasks and challenges, or meeting tutors who already know the lay of the land” and can share their knowledge.

The Student Learning Center provides a wealth of services, including drop-in tutoring, study-strategy seminars for specific courses, and a writing program. The center employs some 250 tutors who assist 2,000 to 3,000 students each semester with introductory courses. Help is available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon.

The center’s study-strategy seminars are targeted at first-year and transfer students. “How is reading and writing at a tier-one research university different from at high school and community college?” asks de Guia. Students at Berkeley “have to think critically around larger themes in a course, then synthesize and evaluate information. Those academic tasks are new at the college level.” No matter how competitive a student’s high school was, de Guia says, the demands and expectations are greater at Berkeley.

The Student Learning Center’s study groups are tailored to specific courses in math and statistics, science (biology, chemistry, physics, and nutritional sciences), and social sciences (anthropology, ethnic-studies fields, history, political science, psychology, and sociology). Undergraduates with junior or senior standing who have done well in the course — or figured out how to do so after struggling — lead the sessions. “We try to infuse a spirit of collaboration in our tutorials, so that even when students leave the study groups, they have people they can connect with outside of class,” says de Guia.

Making connections may be even more crucial for students from low-income familes or those who are the first in their family to attend college. Student Life Advising Services — which assists all undergraduates, with a focus on Educational Opportunity Program students and those who have participated in outreach programs before enrolling at Berkeley — offers a full menu of support services to assist students in navigating the campus on academic, social, and personal fronts.

There’s help in the halls

Students who live in the residence halls need not venture far to find academic assistance. Academic service centers are located in each of the campus’s five residential units. Each center is equipped with 40 to 50 computing stations, scanners, and printers, as well as faxing, binding, and laminating machines.

The centers also offer tutoring in chemistry, physics, math, and reading five days a week from 8 to 10 p.m., as well as popular sessions in writing in which “we work with students on how to write a coherent and manageable essay or research paper,” explains Troy Gilbert, director of residential academic services.

These residence-hall services are intended to complement other campus resources, and are targeted at freshmen and new transfer students. Residence-hall peer advisers receive extensive training in counseling students on a wide range of topics, including how to switch schools or colleges at Berkeley, select breadth requirements, plan a good course schedule, choose a major, and study abroad. “Peer advisers don’t replace professionals” in each school or college, says Gilbert, but students can be effective in talking to their peers about many kinds of academic questions.

Finding Your Way, a program launched this past year by the College of Letters and Science, brings professional advisers from L&S into the residence halls. Advisers hold “office hours” each week; students make an appointment by contacting the L&S advising office. Designed to help freshmen explore their academic interests and reach their educational goals, Finding Your Way especially assists students at crucial times: during midterms, schedule planning, and end of semester.

An ounce of prevention

When students do stumble academically — not uncommon as they’re getting the hang of college — and feel demoralized, they may need more than academic support. University Health Services (UHS) counselors provide short-term counseling (up to six sessions), helping students address both academic and personal concerns and providing referrals as needed. Student health insurance is not required in order to receive assistance.

“Many students think that to get help means that you failed in some way or that you can’t hack it,” says Susan Bell, a counseling psychologist at UHS. “It’s important for students to understand that even the best students may require academic or personal counseling to learn new coping strategies to deal with the unique challenges of Berkeley.”

As students adjust and make use of campus resources, it can be important for parents to offer a different kind of support now that their students are college age. Parents “might need to loosen the reins a bit, but still be available and connected,” says Bell. Helping students solve problems themselves is a better approach than saying, “I’ve done the research, and here is what you need to do,” she says.