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SACSCOC Fifth-Year Report

Core Requirement 2.10

2. The institution provides student support programs, services, and activities consistent with its mission that are intended to promote student learning and enhance the development of its students. (Core Requirement 2.10)


X Compliance ___ Non-Compliance

Narrative:

Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge (SUBR) provides a variety of academic support programs and services that are consistent with the University’s mission “to provide opportunities for a diverse student population to achieve a high-quality, global educational experience, to engage in scholarly, research, and creative activities, and to give meaningful public service to the community, the state, the nation, and the world so that Southern University graduates are competent, informed, and productive citizens.” SUBR has continuously invested in the staff and faculty, which provide an educational experience to enhance, empower and cultivate the academic development of students. From admittance to graduation, SUBR devises exceptional services, programs and opportunities in order to retain and graduate students by teaching them how to positively contribute to Southern University and surrounding communities and utilize resources and critical creative thinking skills to problem solve. SUBR remains committed to helping students develop values, leadership skills and ethical standards through programming, activities, and strategically created formal and informal interactions. Programs responsible for creating a culture of student engagement, success, responsibility, and accountability are listed below along with a brief description of program impact.

SUBR also offers a host of student support services and academic enrichment offerings standard to a comprehensive university. The campus supplements the academic experiences in the course offerings by , contributing to the total development of students in a range of study rooms and computer labs across the campus. Each of these spaces provide word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheet application software, Internet access, multimedia graphic workstations/scanners, color laser, black-and-white laser printers, and access to other electronic resources and information. The John B. Cade Library also houses four floors with student support space. Southern University at Baton Rouge offers the following student support services and activities.

Dual Enrollment
The Dual Enrollment Program enables high school students to transition to college  effortlessly. The program gives students, who meet the requirements, an opportunity to take college-level courses. The Dual Enrollment Program supports the mission by providing a direct opportunity for a diverse student population of high school students to achieve a unique educational experience. The Dual Enrollment Program promotes student learning by preparing pre-college students with the required academic tools needed to be
successful in a rigorous collegiate curriculum. All of the student support programs, services, and activities are available for dual enrollees and are strongly encouraged.


Student Orientation
New and Transfer Student Orientation prepares incoming students for their first day of class. During orientation, students are introduced to information and receive training regarding the registration process, advising, financial aid, email and learner management systems, meet faculty and staff who will guide and support them through their matriculation, and engage in creative activities that promote positive social and cultural interactions. These efforts promote student learning and enhance student development by introducing the academic and functional support system needed to successfully matriculate through the University. Orientation supports the University’s mission by immerging a new diverse student population in creative learning activities in order for them to gain direct access to resources needed to have the ability to ultimately participate in and achieve a high-quality, educational experience.


Academic Advising
The Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement (CUSA) houses a centralized advising center for students enrolled as new freshman, continuing, re-admit and transfer students who have earned 36 credit hours and below. CUSA Academic Advisors serve as
guides for navigating academic choices, help students plan and achieve their academic goals, and provide essential support to ensure academic success. SUBR provides structured academic advising that addresses and enhances the academic needs of individual students in alignment with our academic mission by encouraging and supporting students to achieve a high-quality educational experience, ultimately graduating as competent, informed and productive citizens. Academic advising promotes student learning by helping students explore their program of study, create long and short-term goals, and, most importantly, navigate campus resources and support services needed for student learning. Advising also enhances student development by continuously promoting each student to be more accountable and responsible.

Freshman Seminar
Freshman Seminar 110 and 111 are each one-credit, required courses for all incoming freshman except Business, Education, and Engineering majors. Through coordinated instruction and activities, Freshman Seminar (FRMN) 110 facilitates student learning through accomplishing 5 goals: explore and develop the academic and personal skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond; transition of incoming students to the university environment; understand the process of self-direction and motivation through developing and utilizing goal-setting, problem-solving and critical thinking; develop a connection to Southern University and A&M College and the surrounding community; present and promote the utilization of campus resources to support a healthy academic, mental and physical lifestyle. FRMN 111 further develops students by engaging them in activities geared towards social factors and cultural diversity, and managing emotional intelligence. FRMN contributes to the University’s mission through providing service opportunities and educational experiences that promote competency and productivity in our freshman students.

First Year Experience Leadership Programs
Incoming freshman have the opportunity to participate in 2 leadership development programs at SUBR, iLead@SU or SU Leads. Freshman cannot be an Orientation Leader, Jaguar Ambassador or Residential Life Assistant in subsequent years without receiving
leadership training through these programs. iLead@SU is a premier gateway leadership organization for freshmen students with an established record of leadership. These students are immersed into the collegiate leadership atmosphere while centered on academic
advancement. The objectives of the program are for each participant to get an in-depth understanding of leadership and its implications on student programming and on-campus leadership opportunities. SU Leads is a gateway leadership organization for freshmen students with little to no leadership experience but have expressed a desire to learn. This program is designed to help students identify self-awareness and efforts to leverage strengths and enhance limitations. The objectives of the program are for each participant to learn varying leadership styles and develop a clear perception of how their personality and emotional intelligence matches a desired or learned leadership style, as well as methods of conflict resolution and communication styles.

The First Year Experience Leadership programs promote student learning and enhance development by providing minds-on and hands-on academic, social and mental engagement training opportunities in order to prepare every participant with the skills
needed to become effective leaders on campus and in their respective communities. The programs further support the University’s mission by providing future graduates with the ability to participate in, contribute to and create meaningful service opportunities for their
community, state, nation and world.

Second Year Experience Mentorship Programs
The Second Year Experience (SYE) programs focus on engaging second year students in understanding who they are through mentorship training. Second year students have the opportunity to participate in 2 mentorship-training programs: FRMN Mentors
and/or SU Trailblazers. The FRMN Mentors are second year students that are trained to serve as a peer advocate for the academic needs of first year students in the Freshman Seminar courses. SU Trailblazers are second year students that have previously served in leadership positions and assist in the training of incoming freshman leaders through the FYE leadership programs.

The SYE Mentorship programs promote student learning and enhance development by providing engagement that encourages and teaches self-identification, conflict resolution, listening and empathy skills, and problem solving. The programs further support the University’s mission by affording each participant the opportunity to achieve and actively engage in a high-quality, global educational experience beyond their freshman curriculum and to develop their foundational skills for content major coursework. These efforts provide SUBR students with a firm understanding of how to write successfully write all academic majors.

Academic Support Services
SUBR students receive further academic support by participating in one-on-one peer tutoring, group tutoring, and success skills workshops. Through the CUSA Tutoring Center, tutoring is provided for high DFW freshman and sophomore level core courses in
Math, Biology, and Chemistry. The Keys to Success Workshop series provides an opportunity for students to enhance their learning and understanding of the skills necessary to be successful in the classroom. Workshop topics include time management, learning
styles, note-taking skills, study-skills, test-taking skills, critical thinking, stress management, and financial literacy. The workshop series also includes an in-depth experience on how to enhance reading comprehension. Support services promote student learning and enhance development by providing supplemental assistance to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of core course material and academic performance by improving literacy, mathematical, and analytical skills. Support services supports the mission by offering the supplemental assistances needed for diverse students to achieve a high-quality, global education experience and engage in scholarly, research, and creative activities.

The Writing Center
The Writing Center at SUBR empowers the Southern University student body to become more effective and independent communicators. In order to accomplish this goal, the professional liaisons and peer tutors provide one-on-one tutoring sessions and group workshops in relation to the stages of the writing process, organization, sentence structure, grammar and usage, and mechanics. The Writing Center promotes student learning by placing emphasis on the student’s individual present writing skill ability and their progression into becoming a more self-sufficient writer. The Writing Center enhances student development because it serves as a catalyst to foster an academic atmosphere and community of strong, confident writers who not only excel in academia, but in every facet of life. SUBR provides writing assistance to its community because in order for the students to be able to demonstrate the strong communication skills are essential to effective lifelong engagements and writing proficiency.


Computer Labs
Student Computer Labs at SUBR are a distributed network of computer facilities across the university campus, serving general academic computing needs of students. Each lab, strategically placed in two locations, is operated and supported by the Division of
Information Technology. In addition to meeting the general academic needs of university students, each lab provides discipline-specific software and resources to fulfill the unique academic requirements of the students within the supporting College and classroom. The
Computer Labs promote student learning and enhance development by providing innovative technologies and services that attract, inspire and support current and future Southern University students as they pursue their academic and personal goals. It is the
mission of the Student Computer Labs to support the University's mission by providing: open access to high quality, technologically-advanced environments in which students may future; and, technology that promotes the university's commitment to academics, research, community engagement, and creative activities.


Online Academic Program Support
Online tutoring, provided through Smarthinking, Inc. and accessible through Blackboard allows the online, degree-seeking students to access academic support. Online tutoring supports the following courses: all Math courses, Accounting I and II, Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Biology I and II, Spanish I and II, Organic Chemistry, Finance, and Nursing and Allied Health Courses. This program includes separate peer tutors for content assistance and constructive supports such as study tips and time-on-task strategies.
An “Online Writing Center” is also available to support nonresidential students develop and improve their writing skills, provide feedback on submitted assignments, and to answer composition questions. Just as peer tutoring, the online tutoring program promotes student learning and enhances student development by strengthening the knowledge and understanding of course material and academic performance. The mission of the University is supported through this initiative by providing the diverse online student population with access to engage the academic enhancement supports necessary to achieve a high-quality, educational experience, thus being able to engage in scholarly research activities.

Supporting Documentation
Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Office of Enrollment Management
Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement
New Student Orientation
General Student Computer Labs