Pfeiffer Focused on Student Success
Beginning this fall, 黑料专区鈥檚 Wick Sharp Student Success Center has taken several steps to increase retention rates. Dr. Chip Palmer 鈥�09, the Director of Student Support and Academic Success, describes the measures as 鈥渁n early intervention with resources that are more targeted to specific student groups.鈥�
Pfeiffer鈥檚 student-athletes, who can lose their eligibility to play if their GPA drops below 2.0, are among these groups. They can now devote some of their required study hall hours to working with tutors or to getting assistance in the Writing Center.
鈥淚nstead of just having them sit in a study hall without someone there to help them with a higher level math or accounting course, they鈥檙e using that time to work with a nationally certified peer tutor so that they can get their questions answered and learn and master skills,鈥� Palmer said. 鈥淭his helps us all work together to intervene as necessary to help a student be successful.鈥�
Another population that Pfeiffer sometimes struggles to retain are students with a low Expected Family Contribution, anthat鈥檚 used to determine eligibility for federal student aid.
鈥淪ome of these students come to college without any technology, without a computer, without an iPad,鈥� Palmer said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a problem because a lot of our courses use e-textbooks or have homework assignments and discussion boards online. We don鈥檛 want someone to do poorly in a course just because part of their course is online.鈥�
To help these students with their technology needs (and increase the likelihood of keeping them in school), the center has 鈥減artnered with our library on campus to make sure that we have technology that students can check out as they need it,鈥� Palmer said.
The University鈥檚 Student Success Center is tailoring resources for student success to each of its three campuses. Some illustrative examples: Most students at Pfeiffer鈥檚 campus in Charlotte, N.C. take master鈥檚-level classes online, so an online writing consultant is now available to help support them.
Lots of writing assignments are required of students pursuing a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at Pfeiffer鈥檚 Center for Health Sciences in Albemarle, N.C. So, Palmer leads workshops in formatting and citing sources that align with guidelines.
Tutors in such subjects as pharmacology and microbiology are being made available to students pursuing a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. PA students can review material they need to master for exams through an online tool called .
Originally established with a US Department of Education Title III grant in the 1980s, the Wick Sharp Student Success Center initially launched as the Learning Resource Center and was later renamed the Wick Sharp Learning Center. It has always offered programs to reinforce basic skills and supplement classroom instruction. Once the Title III funding was exhausted in 1991, a group of Pfeiffer Junior College alumni established an endowment, named in memory of Dr. Wick Sharp, president of PJC from 1933-1943, to support the center in perpetuity. The alumni group wished to realize Dr. Sharp鈥檚 dreams of providing 鈥渏ust a little bit of help and encouragement so that students may achieve academic success for lifelong learning.鈥�
Today, the center has evolved, and services are designed to help students ease the transition to college life and manage the demands of a university curriculum. In addition, accessibility services are offered to all students in need.
Pfeiffer has also updated its 鈥渂randing surrounding success,鈥� Palmer said. The Wick Sharp Learning Center changed its name this year to the Wick Sharp Student Success Center 鈥渢o increase collaboration across the University and proactively find ways to help students be successful.鈥� Collaborative efforts include partnerships with faculty, staff, and coaches who are encouraged to refer students to the center. 鈥淲e want to ensure education is accessible to all students,鈥� Palmer said. 鈥淭aking the idea of 鈥業f you invest in Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer is investing in you,鈥� we have made intentional connections across the university at all campuses with our dedication to success.鈥�