Academic Support Centre

Alexander College provides a personal and practical approach to academic study and opportunities for students to develop their study strategies. Our goal is to help students achieve their full academic potential. The centre offers:

Academic Counseling

Experienced academic counselors assist students with program and course selection and help them develop an educational plan that meets their specific individual needs. This includes checking prerequisites so that courses are taken in the correct order, and checking transfer agreements to ensure that prerequisites and requirements are met at a following college or university if you so choose.

Learning Support

Alexander College offers workshops to help students improve their study skills. Topics include time management, writing skills, reading, exam skills and note taking. Individual appointments can be arranged with a tutor to help with study skills or supplemental instructional sessions. Learning support tutors are university graduates, who have excelled in the areas they tutor during their academic studies, with relevant teaching/tutoring experience.

Writing Support

It is necessary to be able to write well to be a successful student. Alexander College provides a number of resources to help. Writing tutors work with students to help them improve their writing skills. The tutors provide feedback on students’ writing and tailor programs of instruction to meet individual needs.

Free Success Workshops for Fall 2011

Throughout the year, a variety of workshops will be available at no charge, and we expect that every student will attend at least 4 sessions. These sessions are intended to help you succeed in your courses. Please take the time to review the workshop descriptions, and check those that you would be interested in attending. As a reminder, you will be contacted by email several times in the term about the dates and times of the workshops.

All Workshops will be held in Room 309 at the Burnaby Campus from 1:30 -3:00

Name: __________________________ Student Number: __________________________

Workshop Information

Week

Check

TIME MANAGEMENT

Finding that time is flying by a little too quickly? Check out this session for practical ideas on how to manage your time effectively and learn what might have been happening when all that time was passing you by. Once you get a handle on time management, your academic endeavors may be all the more successful.

Sept 23^rd

Effective Note Taking – Lectures and Textbook

Are you unsure of where to begin? Then this session is for you. We will go over the basics of note-taking and give you some tips and strategies for taking good notes in class that will help you later when you need to study. You will learn skills that successful academics use to achieve a high grade.

Sept 30^th

Study Skills

Every student learns in a different way and study habits can vary drastically from one person to the next. Identifying your learning style can help you understand which studying methods may work best for you. Come and learn the different ways that you can develop effect study skills that will work for you.

Oct 7^th

Learn how to master Powerpoint /Prezi/Oral Presentations

We have seen it used well and we have seen it used in very poor ways as well. Come to this session to learn how to make your Power Point presentations useful as well as having an impact on the audience. Also learn about other valuable tools to gain interest in your specific presentation. Make your presentation stand out amongst the crowd by using Prezi.

Oct 14^th

Learning to Participate in Post Secondary Education

In this workshop you will be able to learn the fundamental tools needed to participate in your post secondary education. Research has shown that students who are willing and able to participate in different facets of their post secondary education become more well rounded students as well as gain confidence in their academics.

Oct 28^th

Tolerance of Canadian Social Norms

This workshop will cover Canadian social norms that may not be discussed within Canadian society, yet accepted as behaviors that occur in day to day life. Topics such as academic and business norms, niceties, and discrimination will be covered.

Nov 4^th

Understanding Plagiarism/Library Resources

Many people are unsure about the rules surrounding plagiarism. It is important to understand the policies in place regarding plagiarism and what risks you might face if you copy another’s work. Stop by this session to better understand what plagiarism means and to learn about some common misconceptions. Learn how to effectively utilize the resources the Alexander College Library has to offer.

Nov 10th

Room

307

Writing a Resume, Cover Letter as well as Job Searching Skills

Learn the basics of developing the three most important tools to market yourself to future employers: job searching effectively, building a resume and refining a cover letter. This workshop will help you highlight your relevant skills and effectively tailor your experiences to meet a potential employer’s needs.

Nov 18^th

WRITING MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMS/ WRITING ESSAY EXAMS

Writing multiple choice exams can be tricky, especially with all those rumours going around about “when in doubt, pick c.” Come to this session to learn the facts and to gets some tips on writing these exams well.

Essay exams can be especially challenging with time limits and organization. This session will help you master the skills you need to write these exams with confidence.

Nov 25^th