Residential Services

Residential Services

Academic Programs

The NCIS (Network Connexions Investigative Sessions) program is a new Residential Services initiative accessible to all first year residents, predominantly, and extended to returners, if needed. The program is meant to offer mentoring to individuals and/or groups with a key focus on academic success and development and aims to address residents' varying needs throughout the academic year by remaining flexible and open to change.

The program is supported by a team of volunteer senior residents, R.A.M.s, experienced in residential lifestyle and learning. The aim is that the Resident Academic Mentors represent a broad range of university life and have completed a range of subjects within different courses and have a desire to help others.

They are well supported by a small group of Study & Career mentors ... bringing education support and career advice for returners.

They form part of the residential community and value the chance to share with residents their knowledge and experience. The R.A.M.s are present to offer advice and encouragement, motivate residents to study, identify areas of struggle, refer residents on to the Academic Skills Unit staff, lecturers etc., to help residents understand material if need be and so on...

Below are a few things that the Resident Academic Mentor program can offer …

•  subject mentoring in the form of study groups or individual

•  study lounges and the promotion of study nights

•  various study skills workshops designed to support student learning

•  access to free study skill handouts (ie. time management, overcoming procrastination, presentation skills, how to write an essay, study tips etc.)

•  put residents in contact with other residents of varying year levels doing the same course as them

•  general advice and encouragement

•  educational programming (ie. guest speakers, exam grams, etc.)

•  study tips

•  rewards

Some reasons and benefits of forming / using a study group include:

•  Learning from one another's insights and understanding.

•  Getting different perspectives on things.

•  Discussing views about your course.

•  Moral support – provides motivation to keep up and on track.

•  Discussing learning approaches and strategies.

•  An opportunity to teach and explain which helps deepen your learning.

•  Provides feedback about your understanding.

•  An opportunity to practice important teamwork skills.

•  Helps avoid procrastination.

The following are some useful websites that expose you to strategies for improving your academic performance and understanding of course material :

Study Skill development ONLINE WORKSHOPS, University of Arizona – University Learning Center : http://www.ulc.arizona.edu/workshopsonline.htm

Study Guides and Strategies : http://www.studygs.net/

Study Skills Self Help Information – Virginia Tech University: http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html

Study Tips – Division of Academic Enhancement, University of Georgia : http://www.uga.edu/dae/Academicsuccesstips.html

Sites to promote Academic Success – University of Northern Iowa : http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda7.html

Learning Skills Program, University of Victoria : http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/hndouts.html

Academic Skills – Undergraduate, Deakin University : http://www.deakin.edu.au/studentlife/academic-skills/undergraduate/index.php

Academic Success, Oregon State University : http://success.oregonstate.edu/study/

CCSF Learning Assistance Center Study Skills Websites, City College of San Francisco : http://www.ccsf.edu/Services/LAC/lernsites.shtml

Online Academic Skills Resources, The Learning Centre @ UNSW, Sydney : http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/olib.html

UC Academic Skills Online, University of Canberra : http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/contents.html

CLT Study Skills, University of Paisley – Centre for Learning and Teaching : http://www.paisley.ac.uk/clt/students/studyskills/index.asp

Learning Skills Map, BrainWareMap for creative learning : http://www.jwelford.demon.co.uk/brainwaremap/lskillsm.html

StudyStack – Table Memorization Tool : http://www.studystack.com/