Struggling students look to programs for help

Academic troubles can plague anyone from new students adjusting to college life to battle-hardened college veterans who have too much on their plate. While these hardships are the bane to the existence of any student, there is help for struggling students vying to get out of academic trouble. \nOne major source of help is the Student Academic Center. \nAt the SAC, students can participate in free workshops that focus on study skills and learning strategies.\n"Many of these workshops are directed to helping students with the learning of specific disciplines, for example, such as math, foreign language learning, sciences. Other workshops focus on helping students with the learning of subject specific courses," according to the SAC Web site.\nThe SAC also offers courses to promote academic success at the University. These courses promote good study habits, time management skills and other grade-saving techniques. The courses range in length from full semester to eight week classes. \n"All (of the SAC's classes) carry credit from the School of Education that can be applied as electives in most degree programs," the Web site said.\nAnother resource the SAC offers is Individualized Academic Assessment and Assistance. The program involves students answering questions as an inventory and rating themselves on a five-point scale in order to determine where they need the most help. Sharon Chertkoff, a worker in Outreach Programs and Services, assesses the ratings and speaks with the student.\n"It's low-stress dialoguing about their life here as a student and as a learner," Chertkoff said. \nHowever, the program takes time and dedication.\n"Often it requires that the student come back several times," she said.\nIU also offers many nationally recognized programs that help students adjust to college life as freshmen, which Chertkoff said is very important for the transition from high school to college. One such program is the Freshman Interest Group.\nAccording to the FIGs Web site, FIGs offer "a diverse array of classes and an academic experience that (students) will share with a group of up to twenty other first-semester freshmen." \nFIGs allow a smaller community within the very large community of IU, Chertkoff said.\nIU is on the cutting edge of universities helping students in their academic pursuits.\n"IU does have tremendous support for students," Chertkoff said. "We're much more engaged in prevention."\nAlthough there is a plethora of places for students to get help at IU, there's still one problem.\n"The biggest issue is that students don't use (the programs IU offers)," Chertkoff said. "There's no excuse for a student to fail a math class … but they get caught up in all the other things besides learning."\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Kobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.