Student Success
Student Success is dedicated to providing academic support as needed to all students and assisting new students with transition into college. In doing so, Student Success offers multiple academic support services through the Jenkins Center for Student Success as well as several courses designed to assist new students with their transition into college.
Jenkins Center for Student Success
The goal of the Michael V. and Flora Jenkins Center for Student Success is to support the University’s mission of providing a personalized, learner-centered environment to its students. The Center has two physical locations on the main campus that provide academic support services free of charge to all registered students: the Jenkins Center open computer lab where writing assistance is also offered, and the Tutoring Lab which provides tutoring services to all students. These areas give students an opportunity to work and learn in a quiet environment. Students are encouraged to use the Tutoring Lab and Writing Center areas as workspaces, so assistance is readily available if needed.
Academic Support Services
All Jenkins Center academic support services (tutoring, writing assistance, etc) are offered free of charge to any registered student. Services include:
- Open Computer Lab– The open computer lab offers students access to computers and the internet, even if use is not school related
- Writing Assistance Center–From composing the initial draft to editing/proofing final papers, we offer a huge range of services! Stop by during our business hours, or… Too busy to stop by? Use the “Jenkins Center OPS” – our “online paper service” which allows students to simply email their papers to our professional writing tutor for review ~ simply email your paper, a description of the assignment/course it is for, and the name of the instructor for the course to: student-success@rio.edu. (Please allow up to at least 2 business days for a reply, when using the OPS service.)
- Tutoring Lab – Visit or contact the tutoring lab to arrange for tutoring assistance with difficult classes
- Technical/Computer Assistance (basic) – Need to navigate Blackboard? Send an attachment? Access your Student Space account? Log in or send email? Register for an class’ online component like Hawkes? We can help!
- Time Management/Basic Study Skills – Need help with time management and/or basic study skills like notetaking, reading for information, organizing and making outlines, etc? Stop by ~ we will happily help with becoming better organized and/or refreshing/improving basic study skills.
- Printing – Need to print? Black and white, one-sided printing is available to students using their Rio accounts
Tutoring Services & Writing Assistance
Students are welcome to drop in or schedule tutoring services and writing assistance.
- During the Fall and Spring terms, tutoring for mathematics and writing assistance is offered daily from 8-5, M-F. Tutoring assistance for other subjects is offered at various times throughout the day/week. Contact the tutoring lab for the most current tutoring schedule.
- During the summer term, tutoring times and services are limited (call or stop by for summer hours and services).
- If in need of tutoring or writing assistance, feel free to stop by or contact any of our listed staff members.
Transition into College Coursework
To ease the transition into college, especially for students entering college for the first time, or for students in need of academic readiness coursework, Student Success offers several specialized courses.
- Gateway to Success Course- To assist first year students in transitioning to college, Student Success offers “LA10001 – Gateway to Success,” a one credit hour course devoted to helping new students navigate their first year at Rio more successfully. To benefit fully from this course, students are encouraged to register and participate in this course during their first term at Rio.
- Focus on Success Course – Sometimes transitions are a little bit bumpy. For students that need additional help after hitting a few academic bumps during their transition into college, Student Success offers “Focus on Success,” an arranged course designed to assist students in improving their academic standing, especially if on satisfactory academic progress and/or academic probation.
- Academic Readiness Coursework – Academic readiness coursework is required for those students who demonstrate a need by not placement testing directly into college freshmen level English and/or Mathematics courses. Designed to academically prepare and support students, this coursework needs completed within the student’s first year. Rio currently offers academic readiness coursework in mathematics in two format: a co-requisite accelerated format and a traditional standalone course format, and in English, one format: a co-requisite accelerated format.
Accelerated/Co-requisite Academic Readiness Courses – At Rio, required academic readiness coursework in English (“ALP” courses) or mathematics (“Bridge” courses) is available in an “accelerated format” as a “co-requisite course” to college level courses. What this means:
- students register and participate in the freshmen level course, but also register and participate in the “co-requisite support course” attached to that freshmen level course
- participation in the “co-requisite support course” helps the students develop skills needed to successfully complete the assignments for the college level course
- by participating in the co-requisite support course format, students needing academic readiness coursework may complete their college level course and their required academic readiness coursework in the same term
- co-requisite support courses are currently offered for: English Composition I, Introduction to Probability and Statistics, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, and Mathematics for Educators I.
Traditional/College Readiness Courses- For students demonstrating great need in mathematics, needing a high school algebra equivalent course for program of study applications, or needing to complete introductory or intermediate algebra as a course pre-requisite for other math and science courses, Rio continues to offers a traditional stand-alone academic readiness course in mathematics.
Staff
The Student Success staff looks forward to identifying ways to support, assist and encourage students throughout their time at Rio Grande.
Location
The Michael V. and Flora Jenkins Center for Student Success is located in the James A. Rhodes Student Center, in rooms 100 &101.
Business hours: 8-5 Monday – Friday
Primary Contact: student-success@rio.edu