Don’t drop that GPA! Services to keep grades up
For students who are in their first years to those who have senior statuses, Oakland University offers a variety of student services designed to help them thrive academically and stay on track to graduate.
Scattered throughout campus, students may be unaware of the helpful tools that the university offers.
The First Year Advising Center is an on-campus student service available to help students fresh from high school decide their futures.
In person, FYAC offers one-on-one advising sessions that help students with any questions or concerns about their educations. Staff members also point students in the right direction when it comes to other campus resources.
Online, FYAC offers services to help undecided students pick their majors based on a series of questions regarding the students’ interests, skills and values.
The FYAC office is located in 121 North Foundation Hall, and can be reached via email at [email protected]. Students can also visit the office to make an appointment.
The Second Year Experience is a branch of Academic Advising that helps keep second-year students and transfer students on track to graduate.
SYE assists students in prepping their resume early by suggesting opportunities on and off campus that will help them be more employable.
To help keep students on the path to graduate, SYE suggests a simple five-step process: fall academic advising, engagement, winter academic advising, registering for classes and third-year academic advising.
SYE can be reached via email at [email protected] or in 157 North Foundation Hall.
On Oakland’s website, the OU Help Desk lists its top priority as keeping the university operating efficiently.
Crammed inside tiny room 202 of Kresge Library, the Help Desk is available for any tech issues faculty and students have both on and off campus.
Although students can go to the Help Desk in-person for any of their troubleshooting needs, staff can be reached via phone at (248) 370-4357 or email at [email protected].
Technology Help
Although there is no formal website for Technology Help at Kresge Library, staff can assist with any computer problems a student may have while at the library.
“We are here to help students deal with tech issues, viruses, Microsoft Word issues, wi-fi and most commonly, printing,” desk employee Stavros Kashat said.
Located on the second floor of Kresge Library, it offers a quick response time for students’ simple tech problems.
Also located in Kresge Library, the Research Help Desk is a service run by librarians who assist students with research at OU.
“We help suggest books valuable for research, background information not easily accessible to the public, government documents and scholarly sources,” Social Science Librarian Anne Switzer said.
Located on the second floor of the Kresge Library, the Research Help Desk is also accessible online through Kresge’s chat with a librarian feature.
Another service for students on the second floor of the Kresge Library is the Writing Center, which offers writing assistance during the semester with tips and editing for papers.
Whether someone is a nursing or journalism student, the Writing Center can help at any level of experience, any style of writing and through all steps of the writing process.
Appointments can be scheduled Sunday through Friday. Staff can be reached via phone at (248) 370-3120 or emailed at [email protected].
Headquartered in room 44 of the Oakland Center, the Student Technology Center’s purpose is to teach students how to use new technologies and help them become comfortable with programs like Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Office.
“We have Macs and PCs full of all the latest programs that the university offers,” Lead Mentor Lauren Corneliussen said. “We help mentor students with the newest software and rent out equipment like GoPros for students that need cameras for their classes.”
The Tutoring Center
Offering study assistance to students at OU, The Tutoring Center staff in 103 North Foundation Hall, and offers both one-on-one and group tutoring.
“We tutor most 000-299-level courses with CLRA-certified tutors who are Oakland students themselves,” said Pam Meyer, office assistant.
Offering unique resources like extra-large monitors and previous exams from low-level classes, The Tutoring Center can help prepare students for upcoming exams.
