Fall 2004 Contents

  1. Summer of Discovery
  2. Notes from the Vice President
  3. Photo Gallery
  4. Parent to Parent
  5. Advice from the Experts
  6. Sports
  7. Student Highlights

Fall 2004 In Focus Home

Advice from the Experts

The Office of Campus Academic Life:
Frequently Asked Questions

What is the new Office of Campus Academic Life?

The Office of Campus Academic Life seeks to connect students’ experiences in and out of the classroom and deepen the intellectual climate by creating engaged learning environments. The office includes advising, learning support, the Crossing Borders program, learning communities, first-year seminars, Engage the World Fellows, service learning, conflict-mediation training and partnership programs. Associate Provost Joyce Bylander oversees the office.

What resources are available for a student who is struggling academically?

First, a student should make an appointment with his or her adviser. Students also may visit the Advising Center in Biddle House to discuss concerns and options with a trained peer adviser or with a member of the advising staff. Students with a diagnosed learning disability will need to meet standards of documentation, which may be found at: www.dickinson.edu/departments/advising.

How does tutoring assistance work?

To obtain a tutor in disciplines other than chemistry, students should bring documentation from their faculty member to Biddle House. Students also should check with professors for study groups or for review sessions offered by the department. For assistance with papers, contact the Writing Center at: <www.dickinson.edu/departments/engl/writingcenter>.

What is the biggest problem facing first-year students?

Time management. First-years quickly find it is a challenge to balance their new freedoms—selecting classes and scheduling study time—after coming from a more structured high-school environment. Dickinson students should understand their academic work is a full-time job and anticipate a 35-40 hour work week that focuses on course work, including class attendance, class preparation, studying for exams and research for projects and papers. Anything else—sports, work, clubs or extracurricular organizations—must come second.

Tips for Helping Your Student Find the Right Internship

Reflect: Employers often want interns who know what they want to do after graduation. Discuss his or her strengths so that your student becomes comfortable articulating his or her abilities. What types of activities is your student most invested in? What energizes him or her?

Discuss: Questions like “What are you going to do with that major?” make some students feel threatened. To encourage without pressuring, consider asking “What would you do if there were no rules about what you should do in life except bringing in an income?” Talking about a dream job can open the door for discussion.

Explore: Encourage your student to talk to people who work in his or her field of interest. The Career Center has lists of alumni and potential questions to ask. Go to: www.dickinson.edu/career and click on Dickinson Works.

Network: Statistics tell us that 65-80 percent of job seekers get their jobs through networking. Your student can talk to professors, family friends and colleagues, parents of college friends or the Career Center to start making connections.

Search: One of the last steps is looking at job descriptions and applying. If your student has some solid plans, the Career Center has an online internship search system called eRecruiting. Just go to: www.dickinson.edu/career and click on eRecruiting.