Academic Support/The PEAK

All students, at one time or another, need help with academic questions: What should I major in? How can I improve my study skills? Is a tutor available to help me in a class? What are my graduation requirements? How can I increase my grade point average? Academic Services will assist students in addressing all of these questions, and many more.

The PEAK is located on the third floor of Main Building and houses Academic Services.

Students can visit the PEAK (which stands for Personal Enrichment and Knowledge) for academic advising, to participate in the Academic Success Program, to ask about accommodations for a disability, to schedule study time with a tutor, or to learn about improving academic skills like time management and study strategies. Please click on the links in the submenu for more details.

Students are encouraged to visit the PEAK to improve their academic habits and to learn how to maximize their potential.

Academic Advising

All students are assigned to an advisor upon enrollment. Traditional first year students are assigned to first year advisors, a group of faculty and staff who are specially trained to help ease the transition between high school and college. Students are assigned to a faculty advisor in their major disciplines usually in the second semester. If a student changes majors, he/she is reassigned to an advisor in the new major discipline.

Academic advisors help students with academic planning, scheduling classes, interpreting college policies and procedures, and tracking students’ progress toward graduation or program completion. Advisors are an extremely valuable resource for students.

Academic Success Program

Students in the Academic Success Program will be encouraged to take PRIDE in becoming engaged learners at Greensboro College. Through interactive workshops, online inventories and individual meetings, students will be empowered to take ownership of their college journey. The program director also serves as the academic advisor for students in the Academic Success Program and will monitor students’ academic progress and stay in close contact with students’ professors.

First-year students* who are admitted into the Academic Success Program are required to:

• Meet bi-weekly with the program director for their first year.
• Enroll in First Year Seminar.
• Attend Academic Success Workshops.
• Meet bi-weekly (at least) with faculty to discuss individual performance and academic progress.
• Participate in tutoring and other academic enrichment activities as deemed necessary by the director.

*Transfer students may also enter the Academic Success Program. The program director and Office of Admissions will determine expectations for individual transfer students.

Take PRIDE in your academics

Students who are not in the Academic Success Program can meet with the director to discuss a variety of academic success topics, such as time management, study habits/skills, note-taking techniques, and how to make best use of your learning style.

Resources on a variety of academic success topics will be available in the PEAK lobby (3rd floor, Main Building).

Office of Academic Accessibility

A variety of services are available to students with documented learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, or other disabilities. Students are strongly encouraged to disclose this information to the Director of Academic Accessibility. Accommodations and services are tailored to the student and may include:

• extended time on tests
• referral to professional tutor/coach
• applying for alterations to academic requirements in selected cases
• use of technological supports in the Blackwell Learning Lab
• referrals for educational testing
• individual advising and monitoring
• testing in an environment with reduced distractions
• ability to record lectures
• course advising.

If you need accommodations, you will need to have your health-care provider fill out an Accessibility Verification Form and return it to the Office of Academic Accessibility.

If you are requesting residential accommodations (but not an ESA), your health-care provider must fill out the Housing Accessibility Verification Form.

If you are requesting an ESA, you and your health-care provider must fill out the Greensboro College Request Form: Assistance Animal or ESA Request Form

All students requesting accommodations (except for an assistance animal or ESA request, as that form is above) must fill out a Student Request for Accommodations form and turn it in to the Office of Academic Accessibility.

The Office of Academic Accessibility arranges academic, residential, and dinning services accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more detail on services, please consult the Academic Accessibility Resource Guide — Word (.doc file), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf file)) Please note that Greensboro College requires documentation of your disability. Once the appropriate documentation is received, your request will be reviewed to determine eligibility for the requested accommodations. If you have questions about documentation guidelines, please contact the Georgieann Bogdan in the Office of Academic Accessibility 336-272-7102, Ext. 5591, or email: georgieann.bogdan@greensboro.edu.

Mission & Goals

The primary mission of the Office of Academic Accessibility at Greensboro College is to provide ongoing, comprehensive support to students. The office will serve as advocates for students with disabilities and promote awareness of disability issues campus wide. Through these services, our goals are to facilitate wellness and academic success for all students. For students with disabilities, this includes assistance in the development of self-awareness, self-advocacy and independent learning skills necessary for each student to thrive intellectually, spiritually and professionally.

Support Services

Greensboro College provides a wide variety of support services to students with documented disabilities. These services include but are not limited to:

• Individual coaching and consultation services
• Individualized instruction in study skills
• Access to assistive technology
• Referral for testing services
• Development and implementation of an individual 504 plan outlining classroom accommodation needs

Any student wishing to receive services from the Office of Academic Accessibility Services must submit to the college appropriate documentation that justifies any special accommodations or modifications that are requested. For some accommodations that involve substantial changes to a course of study, such as a class substitution, additional documentation and approval process may be required.

Appropriate documentation meets all of the following criteria:

• LD
  Required Documentation: Psychoeducational evaluation completed within 5 years prior to enrollment at Greensboro College that includes assessment of ability, achievement, strengths, weaknesses and appropriate recommendations completed by a professional who is certified or licensed to perform any assessments administered

• ADD/ADHD
  Required Documentation: Formal letter from a licensed physician, psychiatrist or psychologist indicating the diagnosis, treatment (medications), assessment of how the diagnosis may affect performance in college and recommended accommodations, and a psychoeducational evaluation as described above

• Permanent Sensory or Physical Disability
  Formal Letter from a licensed physician indicating the Diagnosis and extent to which the condition may affect the student’s ability to function in the college environment

• Emotional/ Mental Illness
  Formal letter from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist indicating the precise diagnosis, its extent, treatment (medications), and the way in which the disability may affect the student’s ability to function in the college environment.

To disclose a disability that may require accommodations, please fill out and return the form below.

Accommodations Request Form

If you have any questions, please contact:

Georgie Bogdan
Director of Academic Accessibility
323 Main Bldg.
336-272-7102, ext. 5591
georgieann.bogdan@greensboro.edu