By Sophie Acebo | Reporter
Baylor’s Office of Academic Support Programs in the Paul L. Foster Success Center is dedicated to personally helping students succeed through a range of academic resources.
As part of their mission, they distribute pamphlets all throughout campus on a variety of topics, from procrastination to dealing with test anxiety.
Located in the Sid Richardson Building, Academic Support Programs has placed the pamphlets throughout the building, with many next to the Tutoring Center and the advising offices. They can also be found in Castellaw Communications Center.
The pamphlets originated around 15 years ago by a former staff member in the office who wanted to create a convenient and easy way to let all students know about resources offered to them on campus.
The pamphlets also contain tips and advice, allowing students the convenience of learning about Academic Support Programs resources right in the palm of their hand.
Director of Academic Support Programs Sally Firmin admires the pamphlets for their ease and handiness.
“We deliberately made them very streamlined because we know that students don’t have time to read a whole lot of stuff,” Firmin said.
The content gathered for the pamphlets is credited to a number of different sources, from study strategy textbooks to helpful tips issued by Southern Methodist University and Dominion University.
Firmin hopes the convenience of the pamphlets peaks students’ curiosity and encourages them to pick one up and take advantage of the helpful tips and resources included in them.
“I think having something in print that’s very short and very practical can help a student,” Firmin said. “Our philosophy is, ‘If you just get one good, workable idea, that little card has done its job.’”
Academic Support Programs also uses the pamphlets as a way to promote the resources that are available in the Paul L. Foster Success Center so students can be encouraged to utilize everything the office has to offer.
Regina Easley-Young, program manager for student outreach, said that the mission is giving helpful tips and resources to students so they can still receive support even if they are not able to have an in-person meeting.
“The purpose is to get out a lot of information in a brief way,” Easley-Young said. “We know that not all students are going to come down and talk to us, but they can take something quickly.”
A very popular pamphlet that they made contains information on how high school differs from college, something they geared specifically towards incoming freshmen to help make the move less overwhelming.
“I think it’s very easy to start the way they’ve always done something from high school, and it’s not until they get in the middle of something that they think, ‘Where do I go? What do I do?’” Easley-Young said. “I think this is a really great starting point.”
Easley-Young said that she hopes students can find resources that benefit their specific needs and can quickly help them succeed in different areas.
“Instead of waiting to talk with someone, they can go ahead and put it into practice immediately and I think that’s the biggest benefit,” Easley-Young said. “If you just take one tip from this, then that’s helpful.”
Physical pamphlets can be found on campus or online through Academic Support Programs’ web page.
