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Student Success

If I am having difficulty in class, what should I do?

There are quite a few things you can do as well as services we provide to help with academic success. Here are a few ideas, but you also may want to talk with a counselor for ideas regarding your particular struggle.

• You need to attend every class, use your syllabus as a guide, and complete your homework on time.
• Talk to your instructor. Instructors have time set aside to meet with students outside of the classroom called office hours designed for purposes such as understanding concepts, assignments and/or struggles in the class. Check your syllabus or your instructor’s faculty page for office hours and/or how to contact them.
• Math support is available in the Math Lab located in Juniper 5 (209) 588-5276. It is an open lab wehre students can get help with a question, preparation for an exam, and some students have found it useful to do their homework in the Math Lab to be able to get help if they get stuck.
• Writing assistance, study skills and other homework support is available in the Academic Achievement Center (209) 588-5088. This is free, but by appointment only, peer tutoring and it is offered for most subjects at Columbia.
• Research assistance is available in the Library (209) 588-5119.
• Disability accommodation and support is available in the DSPS Department (209) 588-5130.
• Problem solving and academic advising assistance is available in the Counseling Department (209) 588-5109.
• Set up a study group with students from your class. There are study group rooms available in the library and the student center that you can reserve for this purpose.

I would like to learn better study skills like note-taking, reading textbooks effectively and time management. Where can I find help with this?

• Student Success Workshops are offered for free and regularly throughout the semester. Topics range from financial literacy, UC & scholarship application essay writing, time management and more. Find the current schedule here , and videos of previous presentations here .

• Guidance 100: College Success is a class designed to help build skills for student success. It’s a full semester, 3 unit class that explores everything from motivation and time management to specific ideas and tools for educational planning and success. Check out the course description , and the current class schedule to find out when it is being offered.

• The Academic Achievement Center offers skill building tutoring sessions. Ask for the specific skill you’d like to improve when making your appointment and they will schedule you with a peer tutor accomplished in that area. On the AAC website, they also offer videos of tutors’ tips for success in a variety of skills.