EMILY HENDERSON
STAFF WRITER
Photo by GRACE GRELAK
Alma College has a plethora of academic services, yet many students may not utilize them. As classes near their midterms, students at Alma may begin to feel as though they need a little extra support to stay ahead of the curb.
From the CSO, or the Center for Student Opportunity, to the writing center, Alma offers a myriad of different options depending on a students’ specific needs, be it tutoring, writing help and so much more.
The CSO is a place some students utilize, but others feel as though there are many students who are unaware of the help available.
“You can go to the CSO and discuss what you need. If you need more time to take tests, disability services or a wide-range of things. There’s also tutoring, and it’s free on campus,” said Kimber Buzzard (‘21).
The CSO can be found right next to Joe’s in Gelston Hall here on campus.
Students can pick up tutoring forms in the CSO, and they’ll be matched with a tutor, free of charge.
The Writing Center is another academic service found here on campus, located in the library.
“The Writing Center in the library is a great place [to go] if you’re struggling to write a paper. That’s a really cool resource that I think a lot of students don’t utilize. Everything’s free because [Alma College] doesn’t want students to not have these opportunities,” said Buzzard.
Resources here on campus are free to students, which can allow every student to have an equal opportunity to gain academic support. The Writing Center and tutoring are not the only academic services found here on campus.
“Students can go to the CSO for things such as career services, tutoring, help with their resume, graduate school applications, interview help,” said Kendall Bird (‘20).
Along with assistance on resumes and more, the college also offers academic help for those with disabilities.
“Students that have a diagnosed disability can get in contact with Rhonda Linn, and she can help with accommodation letters and what would be feasible for the college to do to help the student succeed in their classes,” said Cosette Coston (‘20).
Alma College allows students with certain disabilities have access to exams for more time, or even in different areas aside from a classroom setting, allowing each student the opportunity to turn in their best work.
“Some of the things the school can do are assisted note taking, so they’ll hire a student that is in a class to take notes and send their notes to the CSO. The process would be confidential, that way the students don’t know who is writing the notes and who the notes are going to. They can also help with reserving rooms to take exams,” said Coston.
If students require different help than what is offered in the CSO or Writing Center, there may still be options available for them.
“There’s a library research class, headed by Steven Richter. It’s a class that helps students find scholarly articles, aside from using Google Scholar,” said Martin Betancourt (‘21).
Not only can students find help with library research, but there are other courses available to help with other academic needs.
“There’s also academics 101, which is a study habits class that helps students that are struggling with their GPA; it helps college kids that don’t know how to study for their classes gain good study habits. Both classes meet once a week for a max of 45 minutes,” said Betancourt.
Academic services may come in a myriad of different forms, be it tutoring, writing help, resume building or even being taught better study habits. The college provides students with many different opportunities, and students are welcome and encouraged to utilize the academic resources here on campus.
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