Success center provides one stop shop for MSSU students

The Student Success Center is a department on campus designed to help students through the many challenges college might throw their way.  

The center is located in Hearnes Hall 301.  Last summer, the office was moved from the criminal justice building to the third floor of Hearnes so that many of the student affairs offices would be together, Stephanie Hopkins, director of the Student Success Center said.

Now students can access Project Stay, the Advising, Counseling, and Testing office, First Year Experience, and the Student Success Center on one floor.  

The Student Success Center offers many services including disability services, English 80, University Experience 150, or College Academic Skills, and a number of tutoring opportunities.

The disability services section of the center focuses on helping students with documented disabilities receive any accommodations they may need.  

“These can be things like extended testing time, or having a note taker or an interpreter,” said Hopkins.

Two semester-long courses are offered in the department to help students transition into college life. They are College Academic Skills (UE 150) and English 80.

The College Academic Skills course is a resource for students adjusting to the “responsibilities, goals, and attitudes necessary to succeed,”  Hopkins said.

The course specifically helps students improve reading, writing and critical thinking skills.

It also focuses on learning styles.  

The English 80 course is designed to help students improve their writing skills.  This summer, though, the course will be moved to the English department.

A major facet of the Student Success Center is its extensive tutoring program.

“We are very proud of our tutoring department,” said Hopkins.  “We have 15-20 tutors per semester and they are all trained in a tutor training course.”

The training course is eight weeks long and instructs aspiring tutors in different tutoring techniques and good study habits.  

In addition, the tutoring department is certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA).

 “Tutoring is not just for those who are failing, it’s for everyone,” she said. “Some students just study better when they can bounce different ideas off someone.”