All Clemson students want to be successful in their academic pursuits, but many may not take advantage of or even be aware of the resources available to them.
The Academic Success Center offers success strategy workshops, academic advising and academic coaching to students at no cost, allowing students to gain tips on how to be successful in courses.
Katie Black, a Clemson faculty adviser and the director of advising and marketing in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, urges the importance of starting the semester off strong.
In an email to The Tiger, Black suggested that students use the beginning of the semester to “deeply evaluate their courses and syllabus to ensure that they are in a manageable course load.” She also emphasized the importance of organizing important dates and deadlines into a calendar or planner and reviewing attendance policies, along with making sure to speak with instructors about anticipated absences, accommodations or unique needs early on.
To further enhance academic support, Black recommends resources housed by the Academic Success Center. Attending any of the “Smart Start” workshops can help students gain skills to begin the semester.
The Academic Success Center will also release PAL and tutoring session schedules shortly after the first day of class.
Black further encourages students to “think about their Monday – Friday as a full-time job.” She said a real 8 a.m.-5 p.m. schedule that utilizes any downtime between classes to do assignments and study “really helps to free up more of the evening and weekend for relaxation and social activities.”
In addition to school work and classroom attendance, managing email influx is a common challenge for students, according to Black. She advises students to find a system that “flags important messages and filters out others” to help them stay on top of important information.
“Use keywords to help emails about SCHOLARSHIPS or INTERNSHIPS that might interest you and to also end up in folders that you can review later. Opening up that folder later and seeing opportunities that relate to your interests is awesome,” Black concluded.
