With the spring semester finally upon us, some are unaware of the different resources that aim to aid in student success. One of those many resources is U-Turn, a program offered through The Institute for Learning and Teaching on campus that helps students manage their academics and leads them to success.
U-Turn is a step available to all students on campus who are concerned about their grades or want to improve their time management or study skills. The U-Turn Academic Success Expo will be on Thursday, March 7 in the Lory Student Center North Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The one-day event allows students to get one on one help with staff.
The Spring 2018 semester saw only 135 students at U-Turn with the average meeting time between students and Navigator volunteers taking around 22 minutes. In comparison, the Fall 2018 semester saw a total of 305 students at looking for academic guidance with the same estimated meeting time.
U-Turn typically sees less students in the Spring, as students are “getting the hang of college,” Jenny Kim, the learning program coordinator at TILT, said. U-Turn also reports an increase of students attending every fall, and it seems to be because more courses are offering early performance feedback.
“We want to set students up for success,” Kim said. “For some of the students, this is the first time they’ve had a chance to talk about their story.”
Located on The Oval, TILT “works to achieve its mission within the Colorado State University community by creating and supporting collaborative programs, initiatives and activities,” according to its website.
U-Turn is aimed at all students, not just those who are doing poorly in their courses. U-Turn also provides all students with study strategies, time management and test-taking skills at their workshops. They regularly see students who are performing very well in their classes and are just hoping for extra resources in case they feel as though they may begin to slip.
An anonymous student said they chose to attend the Spring 2018 U-Turn program to take back control of their academic success.
“At first this seemed like I was ‘a bad student’ but after this helped me realize that this is a pretty normal thing for all sorts of students,” said the student.
Kim said that all students are encouraged to take advantage of U-Turn and TILT in general, no matter their academic standing.
“Students come in and meet with a navigator, who is a volunteer on campus like an academic advisor or someone from student affairs, for example,” Kim said. “We see students from all the courses on campus, no matter what they’re enrolled in.”
Students who want to get in touch with U-Turn will either receive an email, or they can show up for a drop in to meet with a Navigator immediately.
“It’s up to the students to decide what they want to do,” Kim said. “If you’re doing well academically, but you struggle with test-taking skills, attending one of those workshops can be very helpful.”
Workshops available Thursday, March 7
Study Strategies: 12–12:30 pm and 1:30–2 pm
Time Management: 12:30–1 pm and 2–2:30 pm
Test-Taking Skills: 1–1:30 pm and 2:30–3 pm
Another student, who also wishes to remain anonymous, talked about the U-Turn program after attending a workshop.
“I think it is hard for some students to attend these things and admit that they may need help but I am very glad that I can have this resource to come to and to know that people will go out of their own way in order to help you succeed,” they said.
For more information on upcoming academic success events, students can visit www.tilt.colostate.edu.
Delaney Allen can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @DelaneyAllen0.
