About Academic Coaching
Academic Coaching at ACU is a program designed to help students identify and address their academic barriers while simultaneously increasing their academic skills and learning strategies. The focus is not on classroom content, but rather the skills and techniques necessary to be a successful college student. Academic coaching is for anyone who is looking to improve their learning processes and therefore their overall classroom performance. Students must actively participate, engage, and prepare for academic coaching sessions to be effective.
UAP has also created a free-standing resource for students to engage in on their own time.
Program Structure
Students will be asked to meet with the director or coaching intern to do an intake and set up goals for the semester. This first meeting will be about 30 minutes. After the intake is done, the director and coaching intern will assign the student to a coach. The coach will follow up with the student within a week of the intake to try to schedule an initial coaching session. The student can plan to meet weekly, every other week, or monthly and can keep meeting throughout the semester. If the student and coach have addressed all of the goals, then the coach will ask if the student would like to continue with new goals or quit academic coaching. If at any time the student would like to quit academic coaching, they will tell their coach who will close their coaching case. When a student finishes with coaching or it is the end of the semester, their coach will send the closing survey to them to fill out and assess the program and the coach.
Sessions should try to be in-person if the student is a residential student. If they are an ACU Dallas student or are unable to meet in person, the sessions will be held via Zoom or Google Meets. Academic coaching sessions are free to all ACU students.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can receive academic coaching?
Anyone! However, priority will be given to 1st and 2nd year students, Alpha Scholars, and Athletes. Other students will be prioritized according to need and other critical academic issues that may be going on.
What will academic coaching consist of?
Sessions will be scheduled in 30 minute increments and are intended to be short-term and time-limited to address critical concerns related to online learning, semester grades, or any other academic concerns that may impact their ability to be successful this semester and/or return next semester. Staff will conduct sessions in-person (socially distanced), via Zoom, phone, or email depending on the student’s need and/or preference.
Who can make referrals and what does the process look like?
Referrals can be made by any staff, faculty member, or student. UAP will reach out directly to students with an intake form to better understand the need, and to determine the best mode of communication to address it: meeting, email, phone, or a Zoom meeting.
Who is providing the service?
UAP staff, trained graduate interns, and trained university tutors.
How can I contact the staff about this program?
We are funneling all communication related to coaching to academiccoaching@acu.edu.
Are there any other tools or resources available to me?
UAP has created a resource for students to engage in on their own time. There are no assignments associated with the course. You can use this tool to help guide you on your journey.