One of the most underutilized services we have on the Cleveland University-Kansas City campus is the Academic Support and Testing Center. This center is operated by Megan Kissel, learning specialist, and provides a number of useful services to students on campus:
• The first service is the quiet study rooms that the department provides. On campus, there can never be enough designated quiet places to be used for studying. Private study areas are invaluable during the times around midterms and finals where most other places in the school will be full of people studying. These rooms are exceptional whenever they are available to be utilized.
• Another useful service the center provides are special accommodations for students with a documented disability. This allows for students with various testing needs to have either increased time, or increased privacy to take their exams. This is very beneficial because it ensures an optimal environment for the student to perform to the best of their abilities. All teachers and classes accept this accommodation. To anyone that feels they would benefit from this, I would recommend meeting with Megan to inquire further about how this service could benefit you.
• The last service, that I strongly recommend all students to employ, is a test that helps determine the learning style of each student. What this boils down to is that everyone learns a little different, and it makes sense to optimize how you study so that you retain the most information in the most efficient way. These learning styles range from auditory learning to visual learning (to name a few), and each student can identify theirs in a short amount of time! This test not only identifies the best way for each student to study/retain information, but it also helps to provide study options to utilize their new learning style.
For example, one of my classmates used to spend hours and hours re-listening to lectures, and then haphazardly studying thereafter. However, after meeting with Megan, she found out that that manner of study was not conducive for how her brain worked. She then switched to only making flash cards on her computer, and not only did her grades go up, but the time in which she studied to perform well went down! This is just one of many successful stories students have from taking this test and adapting their learning style.
To sum it all up, we have a wonderful department within our University that can help each and every student learn better and more efficiently. I recommend to anyone who reads this, look into identifying how your brain learns the best. I then challenge you to implement these changes to affect how you learn from then on.
