Academic Skills Center

The Academic Skills Center (ASC), located in the Mudd Learning Center, provides students with a wide range of support for learning inside and outside the classroom in all academic areas. Students can get assistance with learning strategies, quantitative study, and writing in one of the ASC’s three centers. In addition, study tables offer scheduled times for drop-in help with many introductory courses, and peer tutors can be requested in most academic areas. See the ASC website (www.albion.edu/asc/) for current information on study tables, to submit requests for peer tutors and to request a study strategy appointment with ASC staff. All services of the Academic Skills Center are free to Albion College students.

Disability Services and Accommodations

The Learning Support Center (LSC) coordinates services and accommodations for students with disabilities. These services are provided in accordance with the 2008 amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and are intended to remove barriers to participation in the college environment. Sources and forms of documentation for substantiating a student’s disability can take a variety of forms, including a student’s self-report, the observation and interaction with staff of the LSC and information from outside sources. Decisions regarding appropriate accommodations are made through an individual review between the head of the LSC and the student. Reasonable accommodations and services commonly requested include extra time on examinations, distraction-free test locations and classroom note-takers. Course modifications or auxiliary aids that constitute a fundamental alteration of a course or program of study are not extended through the ADA.

Learning Support Center

Learning Support Center staff meet with students who want to improve and adopt effective academic strategies. Common student goals include managing time, mastering procrastination, preparing for exams, and planning ahead. First-year students often seek assistance from the center to bring their study skills up to college level; later these students may continue to utilize the center to “fine-tune” their skills for meeting the demands of upper-level courses. Students may request appointments at any time of the semester.

Quantitative Studies Center

The Quantitative Studies Center provides support for students in all disciplines. Frequently addressed issues include applications of mathematics, logic or statistics in various courses and specific strategies for approaching college-level mathematics courses. The resources of the Center include a collection of mathematics texts that students may check out and a set of computerized self-paced tutorials in algebra and trigonometry that students may use at their convenience. Students can receive help on a drop-in basis, and those desiring long-term one-on-one tutoring in math can be paired with trained student tutors. In addition to these services, the Quantitative Studies Center sponsors a series of workshops. Recent workshops have included such topics as using graphing calculators, solving story problems, overview of important calculus concepts, and preparing for graduate school entrance or teacher certification examinations.

Writing Center

The Writing Center supports every writer at Albion College: our goal is to support students as they work to become better at their craft, from the novice to the already experienced writer. Peer consultants at the Writing Center support writers by responding to thinking and writing in process. Writing consultants work one-on-one with student writers to discuss and brainstorm ideas, develop writing plans that meet assignment goals, troubleshoot research or citation questions, and review rough draft writing at any stage. Consultants welcome and work with students and student writing from across the campus, in a variety of academic disciplines, as well as assisting students with other kinds of academic or professional writing (e.g., cover letters for internships, resumes for job applications, personal statements for scholarships or graduate school).