12 Building Bridges: Leveraging Student Services
Carson Rein
Leveraging Available Student Services
In my early days as an academic coach, I was working with a student on personal development and learned a valuable coaching lesson. To set the stage, one of the SMART goals we came up with was revising the student’s resume. As a ‘rookie’ coach, I thought, well, ‘why don’t I just assist this student myself?’ As rewarding as this experience was, after the resume revision was completed, I realized that I provided support, but I did not challenge the student. What I should have done is leverage the Office of Career Connections. Not because I did not want to support my student, but because I lost sight of my mission as a coach in that coaching moment. We, as coaches, are here to empower students to be advocates on their own, I should have challenged the student to visit the Career Connections office and let a resume expert help the student develop their professional resume. It was a learning moment for me. Learning when to leverage campus resources and when to challenge students to visit resource offices on their own was an important skill that I had to learn through experience.
On college campuses, there is what Spencer calls a “hidden curriculum.” This refers to the resources that are often not widely known or easily accessible to students, despite the wealth of opportunities they offer for development. Students need to be aware of these resources and take advantage of all the support available to them. In the following section of this chapter, you will become familiar with these resources, so that in a coaching situation, you can refer your students to the appropriate and most relevant resource office on your campus.
In the following topics, we will be discussing the key role of academic coaches in helping students overcome challenges and reach their full potential on their academic journey. We will also explore how coaches can utilize the resources available on campus to support their students.
Mental Health/Counseling Services
Mental wellness and academic success often are viewed as separate components; however, take a moment to consider the relationship between imposter syndrome and academic success, do you see how these components may not be so separate? This example and Lauren Parker’s “Why Mental Health is Critical for Academic Success” TED Talk shows us that mental wellness and academic success are components that are intertwined with one another, and mental wellness can contribute to academic success.
Why Mental Health is Critical for Academic Success – Lauren Parker
A coach can provide valuable insights for student empowerment and skill development. Feeling like an imposter is common, especially for college first-year students. It is normal not to feel qualified right away – your college years are meant to build your skills and qualifications.
While coaching students around these types of campus services, it is important you hold yourself accountable and are educated on your university’s Title IX policy and your Duty to Report as an employee of your university. Refer to the section Coaching for Mental Health for more on mental health and academic coaching.
Suggestions for Coaches to Empower Students
“But failure is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you are alive and growing.” – Buzz Aldrin
I think most of us can agree that we have experienced the unsettling feeling of scoring poorly on an exam and the feeling of letting yourself down: “I needed an 82 on the exam to make a B in this Biology course, I was only 10 points shy of the mark.” As a coach, you should focus on the academic impacts on a student’s mental health and focus on improving academic skills that promote success and ‘high performance.’
“What do you mean?” Here are a couple of examples of how coaches can focus on the academic impacts and focus on coaching students towards resources that will promote success and ‘high performance;’ and therefore, a higher sense of accomplishment with a purpose.
Accommodation Resources
What does the word “accommodation” mean to you? What do you think of? How does it make you feel? Does the word “success” come to mind at all? When thinking about and interacting with students with disabilities or learning disabilities, it is important to remember that people with disabilities and learning disabilities experience ‘setbacks’ that students without disabilities do not have to experience. For example, a student who uses a wheelchair will have to learn to navigate campus transportation services to navigate around campus in a timely order. A student with ADHD may have to study longer for exams, read more of their textbook, and meet with more tutors and mentors to perform the same as students without disabilities. Students with disabilities operate and deal with disparities, whether we like to admit it or not, regularly. These students are still extremely capable of achieving success, they might just need a little stronger ‘jump-start’ to get them going and achieving ‘high-performance’ outcomes on their own. Watch this video to learn more about learning disabilities in higher education.
Learning Disability in Higher Education – Lexie Garrity
Suggestions For Coaches to Empower Students
Coaching students with disabilities can be rewarding, but there are some preliminary assumptions that we must consider; a specific skillset that the student with disabilities will need to learn before they can achieve ‘high-performance’ academic and personal outcomes.
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- Students need to learn how to be comfortable with their disability, so they can be clear and direct when sitting down with a coach or professor to discuss academic accommodations.
- Students need to learn how to plan an effective academic strategy. The one true expert of a student’s mind; their wants, needs, or their desires, is the student. After learning the components of advocating for themselves, students need to know how to create a plan of action.
- Coaches can provide insight to students on how they can navigate requesting academic accommodations. Some professors are more reluctant to provide accommodations, and some are less strict on the approval process and are satisfied with academic accommodation plans formed through your university’s educational disability department.
- As a coach, listening may be the most important skill when working with students with academic accommodations. Refer to our chapter on Listening is Key to Coaching for tips and techniques on enhancing your listening skills. In this context, it is important to remember, to listen without bias. Individuals with learning disabilities are not any less capable than students without learning disabilities. Learning to accept students’ learning disabilities and learning to work together creates a more inclusive environment for all students. Everyone deserves equal opportunity.
Success Center Resources
Student success services are the core services on campus that a coach will use to challenge students to grow. As such, it is an important service for an academic coach to familiarize themselves with the available services in student success centers.
Financial Aid/Scholarship
Financial aid and scholarship topics may arise in a coaching conversation. Some of the students you work with may have a university tuition scholarship which has specific GPA and enrolled-credits requirements. Some of the transfer students you work with may be interested in exploring scholarship opportunities available to them. Challenge your students to explore the university’s scholarship and resources and challenge them to visit those offices on your campus. You may support your students by helping them prepare to navigate those conversations or have discussions about the different experiences a student may have when writing their application essays.
Remember, you are the expert in their eyes, share tips for how to have professional conversations, and help them generate a plan of action when visiting these offices. If there are minimum scholarship requirements that the student does not meet, coach the student, and turn your focus to generating SMART goals to build an advocacy plan to get the student to a position where they qualify to receive academic scholarships.
Writing Center, Math Lab, Peer Tutoring Programs
If your university has a writing center, math lab, and peer tutoring programs, this can be a useful service to use as a challenge to your students when building an advocacy plan. If a student expresses that they are struggling in their writing class, then challenging them to meet with a writing center staff member every week may be effective. Peer tutoring programs are typically course-specific and focus on developing skills to perform effectively in a specific course. Employees in these roles are typically current students or graduate students who excelled in these courses, so it can be an excellent resource for your students if they are struggling in one of their classes. Courses that typically fall into this peer tutoring program are Government, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and other courses with labs. This is where it is important to remember, that you are not an expert in these other degree programs, focus on showing students how to navigate support with these services by challenging them to visit these offices.
Academic Advising
Meeting with your advisor is critical to your success as a student at any university you attend. During the first week of the semester, you should challenge your students to make sure they know who their advisor is and where their office is located. You should also challenge your students to meet with their advisor during the first few weeks of the semester. A student’s advisor will assist them in selecting their classes for their program and can also help if students feel they would like to change something about their degree plan. Typically, in coaching meetings, students have already had these preliminary conversations with their advisors; however, navigating these changes can be a daunting task for a first-generation student. This is where a coach can step in.
Course Withdrawal, Grade Exclusion, and Retroactive Withdrawals
In this section, we delve into the critical topic of course withdrawals, grade exclusion, and retroactive withdrawals. The students that coaches work with will encounter situations where withdrawing from a course, excluding a handful of classes from their transcript, or retroactively withdrawing becomes necessary. Understanding the withdrawal and exclusion processes is essential, whether due to personal challenges, academic struggles, or unforeseen circumstances, these policies do have impacts on a student’s overall academic journey, so each student’s situation should be carefully considered. Let us do a knowledge check to make sure you can differentiate these academic policies; as an academic coach, you may need to recommend these procedures to your student.
- General Course Withdrawal – There are generally two opportunities for students to withdraw from a course: during the university-determined ‘add/drop’ period at the beginning of the semester, and up to the withdrawal deadline set by university personnel. Typically, during the initial ‘add/drop’ period, the student may withdraw from a class with no penalty to their transcript. During this initial period, students are typically inclined to receive full reimbursement for the tuition costs for the dropped course. After this initial period, the student will receive a ‘W’ on the course that they withdrew from after the initial period.
Coaches Recommendation: Be aware of your university’s withdrawal deadlines. Most campuses today offer 75%, 50%, and/or 25% reimbursement opportunities. You do not want to miss an opportunity to support students in developing key financial awareness skills. You all know, the cost of college is not cheap, recognizing potential withdrawals early can support your students financially overall.
- Grade Exclusion – Understanding your university’s grade exclusion policies is important in supporting students who need to drop a course to correct their grade after a semester has ended. Jeff Ludovici identifies three general types of exclusion, forgiveness, and/or amnesty policies you will find available to active students after a semester has ended.
- Class “Re-Take” Grade Forgiveness Programs – Class ‘retake’ is one the most common types of grade forgiveness programs available to students. You can think of this also as grade ‘substitution.’ The college will allow students to retake a class to improve the grade they received when taking the class for the first time.
Coaches Recommendation: It is important to keep yourself up to date on your college’s class retake policy. Coaches may need to disclose to students that they may not be able to use financial aid or scholarships for retaking a class, and not all courses may be eligible for this option. There might be certain requirements or thresholds students need to meet to retake a class to improve their grades. Your college may take the grade from the retake course no matter what, so students need to do their absolute best the second time around.
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- Limited Correction Grade Forgiveness Programs – The limited correction grade forgiveness program offers active students’ forgiveness in a particular number of classes. Each university determines the limit on the number of courses a student can have ‘forgiven.’ There are specific requirements that make a student eligible for these programs, so coaches must ensure they stay informed of their university’s policies and procedures. Grade forgiveness may be a coaching recommendation to a student if, for example, the student is on academic probation, and by omitting two of their courses, would no longer fall below the threshold.
Coaches Recommendation: Every college will have its own set of rules and regulations when it comes to grade forgiveness, and some colleges may not even offer it. For coaches, it is crucial to understand how utilizing grade forgiveness can benefit your students, how it will affect their transcript, whether there are any minimum credit requirements, and how it could impact their scholarships. It is important to stay informed and supportive when it comes to navigating these processes.
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- Retroactive Withdrawal – Several colleges offer retroactive withdrawal policies to help students who have been impacted by circumstances beyond their control. This could include the death of a loved one, significant life events, or medical issues during a semester that affected their performance. These policies aim to provide support to students when they need it most.
Coaches Recommendation: Ludovici recognizes that most retroactive withdrawal “policies and procedures…revolve around the presence of a medical condition” (DATE). While physical injury conversations may be easy to navigate, medical conditions related to mental health may lead to conversations that may cross professional boundaries. Refer to the Coaching for Mental Health section for resources on mental health conversations. Remember, you are an academic coach. You are not a licensed therapist, social worker, or psychologist. Stay in your lane and concentrate on connecting students with the appropriate resources to help them succeed academically and professionally.
Degree & Course Exploration
From a coaching perspective, being able to coach a student on how to navigate degree programs and course offerings is a foundational skill. Here is the scenario I always illustrate for my students. Every student within their degree program receives advising to take the same general core classes that are required for graduation with a specific degree; however, there are ‘elective’ course requirements for graduation that are intended to enhance the student’s learning experiences by offering specific electives related to their broad degree. Unless the student has the skills to advocate for themselves, they may also get handed a handful of electives they could take that most other students take. This may lead to a selection of courses that are not interesting to the student, leading to less engagement with the class material during the semester and thus higher chances of lower overall performance in the class.
The Future of Education is Self-Directed Learning – Dr. Timothy Stafford, Ph.D.
Suggestions For Coaches – Degree and Course Exploration
One great tool we can use to help coach students as they explore different degree options and courses is to introduce students to the course catalog at your college. Elective courses are a great way for students to have more control over their learning journey and students get to use their creativity when connecting their coursework to their degree requirements.
If there’s a course that a student wants to take but it’s not listed in the course outline, many colleges have a process for students to petition and get approval. Departments are usually open to approving these kinds of courses if students can show how they are applying the course to their career or academic goals. By helping students navigate degree and course exploration resources, you are helping students customize their educational journey, they are starting to engage in their academic endeavors, this is what successful coaching looks like.
Personal Development: Empower Your Students to Grow
When working with students, you are likely to have conversations about internships and career development. As an coach, it’s vital to have the skills to guide students through the many, often ‘hidden,’ resources available for exploring educational and career opportunities and connect them with resources in your community to enhance their learning experience.
Each student has unique needs, so being able to access the right resources is key. Even students who aren’t at risk academically can benefit from personal development resources. The possibilities are endless, and being able to support students in finding the right resources is a critical part of being an academic coach.
Internship & Career Exploration
Introducing students to potential internship opportunities and exploring career options can provide them with valuable information to help them reach their long-term career goals, so it is important to equip yourself with a resource navigation tool that will allow you to offer the best support to your students.
Most colleges have departments dedicated to ‘Career Exploration’ or ‘Personal Development’ that focus on helping students connect with tools to explore career opportunities related to their chosen degree. An academic coach can be an excellent resource for students looking to have professional conversations about their goals and the steps they will take to achieve those goals; sometimes they just need a little coaching.
I’ve put together a list of resources specifically geared toward helping students with career exploration and development. While academic advisors or career counselors may recommend these tools to students, an academic coach can dive deeper into the results and work together with the student to create a personalized plan leading to their long-term goals.
Internship/Career Exploration Resources
| Resource | URL Link | Objective |
| Focus 2 | https://www.focus2career.com/ | Students can assess how their interests, personality, values, and skills can relate to potential career options. |
| SparkPath | https://mysparkpath.com/ | Offers students Challenge Cards – Allows students to critically think through real-world challenges. |
| TypeFocus | https://v6.typefocus.com/ | Students who need help identifying their personality type, interests, values, and contributors to success. |
| Career Readiness Assessment | https://www.careerlaunchassessment.com/start | Students can assess how prepared they are to enter the workforce for their career aspirations. |
SUGGESTIONS FOR COACHES – Internship & Career Exploration
As an academic coach, you are the bridge between resources on campus and students who cannot navigate those resource services. You should familiarize yourself with the available internship and career exploration resources on campus. You do not have to be the internship or career expert, simply helping students navigate these resources and encouraging discussion over their results can have a positive impact on the students’ perspective on their educational goals.
Career fairs are another excellent resource that you may be able to recommend to your students. This would certainly fall under the ‘Challenge’ category. Coaches would have the opportunity to challenge a student to attend a career fair. This provides a coaching opportunity: inform the student that it is a good idea to dress business professional or business casual, it is essential to bring multiple copies of your resume with you, and it is important to have your ‘elevator pitch’ tried and true. Career fairs provide an opportunity for students to connect with employers, explore job opportunities, and learn about the endless variety of industries they may find themselves working in. Do we see how simply navigating the resource opens the door for unlimited access to professional knowledge? Better yet, the student has the authority to make their own decisions on which tables they visit and which ones they don’t. You should be familiar with your college’s scheduled career fairs and market them to students you coach who need this exploration resource.
Community Resources
When you’re working with students in academic success coaching, the conversations you can have are limitless. Therefore, it is also helpful to keep in mind that there are many community resources out there for students to tap into. Remember, these resources might go by different names and use different terms to describe themselves, even if they all have the same goal in mind. So, be open to exploring all the options available to your students in your community and adjust the broad categories outlined in this section.
Community Services Resource
- Health Services: Campuses often have health centers, counseling services, and vaccination clinics that are offered to students. Being aware of these services and where they are located, can be a helpful tool in a coaching situation.
- Food Pantries: Some universities operate food pantries to support students facing food insecurity. Below are some national services that target this group of students on college campuses.
- Food Insecurity: Swipe Out Hunger: https://www.swipehunger.org/ourwork/
- Volunteer Opportunities: Students can engage in community service, relief efforts, and mentoring programs. If students are looking to volunteer, a coach can be a great resource to volunteer offices on campus and recommend students to their services. It can also be a great exploration experience for students who have goals to work in public administration or nonprofit administration.
- Recreation Facilities: Campuses may offer outdoor recreation equipment checkout, fitness centers, and indoor recreational spaces. Recreation and leisure are important components of overall mental and physical health. These spaces typically offer physical education and recreation opportunities to students. Recreation spaces on your campus may also offer on-campus employment opportunities that may be insightful and helpful to recreation and sport management degree-seeking students.
- Study Abroad Programs: Many college campuses offer study abroad programs. If a student you are coaching is interested in studying abroad, you can show them your campus’s international education resources and help them find a connection in the study abroad office.
References
Aldrin. (n.d.). A quote from no dream is too high. Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8836671-but-failure-is-not-a-sign-of-weakness-it-is
Arnold, W. W. (2018). Strengthening College Support Services To Improve Student Transitioning To Careers. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (Online), 15(1), 5-26. https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v15i1.10198
Garrity, L. (2016, December 14). Learning disability in higher education… | tedxvanderbiltuniversity. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSz_zjiS3E8
Le Duc, C. (2017, September 20). Photo by Chinh Le Duc on unsplash. Hanging bridge selective focus photography photo – Free Namche Image on Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/hanging-bridge-selective-focus-photography-01SINCYwW_c
Ludovici, J. (2024). Correcting Bad Grades In College: A Guide. Learning At College Strategy Blog. https://www.learning.collegestrategyblog.com/correcting-bad-grades-in-college/
Parker, L. (2023, January 27). Why mental health is critical for academic success | TEDxLSSC. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyjAYEav0k
Spencer, D. (2021). Understanding the coaching experiences of non-traditional students in Higher Education in the UK. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, S15, 84–95. https://doi.org/10.24384/00v3-nm61
Stafford, T. (2024, March 26). The future of education is self-directed learning | tedxeustis. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkmiquiJ_nA
US Department of Education (ED). (2024, July 24). Sex discrimination: Overview of the law. Home. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/sexoverview.html
Media Attributions
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