Academic Coaching is a working partnership that focuses on the process of learning. Together with a professional coach, students will examine learning styles, work habits, and barriers to success or difficulties. Then the coach/student team works together to create and put in place effective strategies for success. The goal is to improve awareness of what it takes to achieve academic success utilizing a supportive coaching relationship, stressing personal accountability, and goal achievement.

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An important component of Academic Coaching is helping students understand how to make better use of their time and improve their organization (paper, space, and technology). Disorganization and poor time management have significant negative impacts on students’ studies. Academic Coaches examine and help student fortify their study skills, such as reading for comprehension, developing a successful writing process, taking and reviewing notes, preparing for tests with every class and each bit of reading, and managing the test-taking process.

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Another important aspect of Academic Coaching relates to strategic thinking, problem-solving, and learning to work effectively with others.  This area of focus can be especially useful when major problems surface and at times of major adjustments, such as:

• knowing how to function effectively in high school only to find that the fast pace and competition for grades in college requires much more or,

• moving from undergraduate work into a graduate program where the expectations and levels of engagement are higher or,

• finding it hard to adjust to dissertation work where higher levels of independence and self-paced research are required, writing is less structured than coursework, and where an advisor’s expectations seem greater.

 

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