ACADEMIC
SUCCESS CENTER

The ASC is a resource offered by Emmaus to support students in achieving their academic goals. It offers the following services:

• Testing: to accommodate students who miss class due to administrative absences and those with approved testing accommodations.

• Learning Seminars: to train in academic skills like classroom engagement, note-taking, test preparation, test-taking, engagement with faculty, project management, self-regulation of learning, research skills, and the effective use of academic resources.

• Group Tutoring: to provide broad academic support in a peer-to-peer setting.

• Specialized Tutoring: to provide support in specialized subject areas such as biblical languages and advanced mathematics.

The ASC is located in Smart Ground, which is beyond the Lower Commons. The ASC is about halfway down the hallway on the left side. Although this is considered home base for the ASC, presentations and seminars that the ASC offers can be held in other locations.

The ASC does not have open walk-in hours in the traditional sense. Testing and specialized tutoring occurs by appointment, and learning seminars and group tutoring are available on a recurring, scheduled basis.

Testing appointments are available to students multiple times every week. Anyone can apply to take a test via a digital form, which can be accessed via QR code on the bulletin board outside of the ASC or on the ASC page of the Emmaus Navigator. Once an application is completed, ASC personnel will be notified and work with your faculty to prepare for proctoring the test. Note that students are only permitted to take tests in the ASC for two reasons: they missed a test in class due to an administrative absence, or they have approved academic accommodations related to testing. Missing a test due to a personal absence does not qualify a student to use the ASC for testing, and in those cases, the student should contact their faculty directly to plan for a makeup test session.

The ASC acquires tests directly from faculty, proctors the test in a controlled environment, then returns the test directly to faculty. At no time is a test in the hands of a student in an uncontrolled environment. Additionally, the ASC has multiple testing sessions available each week, ensuring that little time passes between when a test is administered in a class and when it can be taken in the ASC. Finally, in the case of some larger classes, the ASC is open for test administration during class time to enable students with accommodations to take the test during normal class hours.

The learning seminars are available to all Emmaus students on a scheduled basis. Scheduling for each semester is made available via posters throughout campus, and the seminars normally take place on Tuesday morning. Each seminar includes some training in academic skills, followed by time for Q&A and engagement among students. While the seminars are delivered by trained experts, successful Emmaus students are always present as a resource for their classmates both during and after the seminar. There are also donuts.

Group tutoring sessions are open sessions in which multiple trained tutors can field questions from Emmaus students related to any aspect of academic life at Emmaus. While this is not 1-on-1 tutoring, the benefit of engaging with a group is that students can receive helpful feedback from a variety of tutors, all of whom are experiencing success in their academic journey at Emmaus.

If a student is taking a course that is specialized, meaning very few students take the course and the subject matter is not part of general studies like English Comp or Western Civ or College Math, then that student could benefit from more specialized tutoring. In these cases, students can apply for a specialized tutoring session via a QR code on the bulletin board outside of the ASC, in which they will receive help from an experienced student in that specialized subject area.

Don’t worry, we can point you in the right direction. Any student can submit an academic help ticket here at any time or via a QR code on the bulletin board outside of the ASC. We will receive your ticket and let you know what you should do next.

The ASC, along with all of its functions and all of its personnel, is overseen by Dean Carter, who cares more about your academic success than even you do. Any student can reach out to Dean Carter in the following ways: grab his attention at chapel, in the cafeteria, or in random hallways; email him at jcarter@emmaus.edu; stop by his office on the first floor hallway to the right; or sign up for an appointment with him via the QR code outside his office door.

If you are a great learner and want to contribute to the culture of Emmaus by working for Dean Carter in the ASC, you can always apply to work in the ASC via a QR code on the bulletin board outside of the ASC or on the ASC page of the Emmaus Navigator.

We have kept track of how often students have visited the ASC during the old tutoring hours, and we have found the following: many students visited the ASC for social reasons instead of academic reasons (despite our policies), many students who did visit the ASC didn’t find the kind of help they were looking for, many tutors who worked in the ASC weren’t appropriately trained to provide the support needed, and—most importantly—very few students ever even visited the ASC to begin with. While it was an available resource, it wasn’t one that was serving students very well for a variety of reasons. We hope this revamped structure will serve students better, but we will continue to be open to what is working and what is not.