Shortly after entering Furman in 2012, J.R. Walker found himself in a losing race.<\/p>\n
He had come 2,300 miles from his home in Los Angeles, Calif., to be part of the Furman student body and the track-and-field team. But Walker soon began pulling C\u2019s in art and political science classes, \u201cand I wasn\u2019t happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
So he took his problem to his advisor Barbara Foltz, who was also Furman\u2019s Director of Academic Assistance.<\/p>\n
Foltz directed Walker to Room 002 in the Duke Library, to a place recently transformed into the Center for Academic Success.<\/p>\n
She explained that the center employed Furman peer tutors to offer extra one-on-one support to any student needing help in any of the several hundred subjects offered at Furman.<\/p>\n
Tutors are recruited through student employment, and student and faculty recommendation. Each chosen tutor also has to have previously earned at least a \u2018B\u2019 (preferably an \u2018A\u2019) in the intended courses they teach.\u00a0 The tutors also help students develop better study habits and improve time management .<\/p>\n
And when Foltz told Walker that this assistance could him to raise his two low marks by at least one full letter grade, he decided to give it a try\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it worked \u2013 I brought the C\u2019s up to an A- and a B+,\u201d said Walker, who has already signed up this semester for writing assistance. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re struggling or having any doubts in certain subjects, this Center will definitely make you better in that subject.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walker isn\u2019t the only one to benefit.<\/p>\n
Each year, the Center for Academic Success works with approximately 700 of Furman\u2019s 2,600 students \u2013 from freshmen to seniors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the 2012-13 academic year, we supplied 13,000 hours of tutoring for all levels of students \u2013 including 200 student-athletes,\u201d said Foltz, now in her ninth year at Furman. \u201cAnd because our curriculum can be challenging and our students have to handle busy schedules, more academic support is often needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though technically a new idea, the Center is really a combination of old and new.<\/p>\n
The Academic Assistance Office, which offers academic counseling and tutoring, and the Writing and Media Lab, which offers student assistance with writing and media projects, used to exist in separate locations.<\/p>\n
But Deans Marianne Pierce and Paula Gabbert wanted to bring these services and the Center for Teaching and Learning, which assists faculty, into one convenient location \u2013 and the new \u201cone-stop\u201d Center for Academic Success was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really helped me when I needed it,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n
And Foltz added that she expects the Center to help more students in the coming years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to see increased usage of our services,\u201d she said, \u201cand ultimately a high academic success rate for our students (in terms of) higher GPAs, higher retention, lower probation rates, and higher graduation rates.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about the Center for Academic Success, call 294-2110.<\/p>\n