Hilary Bateman, Associate Dean of Academic Success

The Office of Academic Success helps students solve problems that interfere with their academic progress. We also help connect students with enrichment opportunities like funding for internships and experiential learning. Working collaboratively with Academic Advising, the Registrar, the Office of Academic Skills, Student Affairs, the Writing and Quantitative Skills Centers, and other departments at the college, this Office oversees programs, support, and interventions that help students learn and grow.

The Academic Advising Program

The goals of our faculty approved academic advising approach include:

• Enable students to take responsibility for designing their programs of study.
• Assist students in designing a program within the liberal arts framework that is clearly related to interests or career goals.
• Encourage and assist the student to explore and articulate interests or career goals.
• Encourage students to take a reasoned, contemplative approach to designing a program of study.
• Ensure students are fully informed about all available options and that the course of study is designed to meet the student’s individual goals.
• Provide advisors who meet personally with the student to support the student’s academic program and help them explore changing academic interests and career goals.
• Ensure all advisors have current and detailed course offering information and are aware of the variety of options offered to students.

The Faculty Advisor

New students are assigned to a first-year faculty advisor after they have registered for their first semester classes. First-year faculty advisors are well-prepared for this task and work with their advisees until they declare a major, even if the student does not declare a major until their second year at the College. Once the student selects one or more majors, they are assigned to a member of the department as major advisor. Students should be particularly careful when arranging their academic programs and must consult regularly with their advisor(s) to ensure compliance with all graduation requirements and fulfillment of specific upper-level course prerequisites. The final responsibility for meeting all the academic requirements rest with the individual student.

The Registrar’s Office sends major declaration information to any student who has completed at least one semester of study and is still undeclared; students who have completed at least 48 credit hours and remain undeclared will receive a final reminder of their obligation to select a major by the end of their fourth semester at the College; students who have completed at least 60 credit hours and achieved junior standing will have their first-year faculty advisor removed and will be advised by the Associate Dean of Academic Success until they successfully declare a major.

Both advisors and students have a responsibility in advising. It is essential that both take the matter seriously if students are to achieve a meaningful and successful program of study. In the dialogue between advisors and students, advisors serve in two capacities: to interpret the College and its goals for students, and to encourage students to gain understanding of their potential and how it may be developed. In a very practical way, advisors are sources of information for students. They explain campus rules and customs, clarify special programs and requirements, and collaborate with the student to help achieve their vision for postsecondary education and career pursuits.

When students have questions or problems, they should contact their faculty advisor. Although the College schedules advising sessions each semester, the real benefits of such an advising system are realized through more frequent meetings between student and advisor. The College’s advising program intends good working relationships to develop. However, students and their advisors do not always relate well, and the student is free to ask the Associate Dean of Academic Success for a change of advisor. This request should be made in writing.

Among the faculty, students find friends as well as advisors, and they are urged to foster such friendships. Herein lies the great value of a small, liberal arts college and the education it provides. The benefits of personal attention and assistance under the advising system derive from close association among students, faculty, and administrative officers—an association rarely possible at large colleges or universities. The academic advising system is under general direction of the Office of the Provost and Dean of the College. The Associate Dean of Academic Success and the student’s instructors are also on hand to help with advising.

Office of Academic Skills (OAS)

Amy Cawood, Director

The Office of Academic Skills, located on the second floor of Miller Library, is available to all students who wish to acquire learning strategies and receive support as they progress through the Washington College academic program. Through individualized guidance, the OAS Specialist for Academic Support and Peer Tutors partner with students as they learn and practice the skills needed to become active and independent learners in a collegiate environment. Examples of these skills include discipline-specific study strategies, strategies for time management, test-taking, and managing test anxiety, and reading skills for comprehension and retention. Additionally, Peer Tutors are available to provide assistances in a variety of subjects including natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities based content.

Disability Access

Alex Yates, Assistant Director

Disability Services, a part of the Office of Academic Skills, provides information, support, and accessibility accommodations for individuals with disabilities on campus. Our mission is to ensure that all students, employees, and visitors have equal access to programs and services available at Washington College.

Quantitative Skills Center

Jesse Andrews, Director

The Quantitative Skills Center is located on the main floor of Miller Library. Students who desire assistance with quantitative skills in math, computer science, physics, business, economics, and other disciplines will find friendly, well-trained peer tutors available to help them. The Quantitative Skills Center holds evening drop-in hours Monday through Thursday and offers one-on-one appointments  every day except Saturday. The Quantitative Skills Center posts tutoring hours and other helpful information.

Writing Center

Rachel Rodriguez, Director

The ability to write clearly and persuasively is essential to professional success—for businesspeople writing reports, teachers creating curricula, or scientists drafting grant proposals. Thus, Washington College is deeply committed to cultivating students’ writing skills. To this end, in addition to offering a curriculum rich in opportunities to write, the College requires that students enroll in several writing-intensive courses.

The Writing Center, located on the first floor of Goldstein Hall, provides resources for students who wish to sharpen their writing skills, generate new ideas through discussion, or review their work with a trained peer writing consultant in a supportive, non-evaluative atmosphere. Peer writing consultants train in a semester-long credit course.

In addition to one-on-one consultations, peer writing consultants also visit classrooms to deliver presentations on writing-related topics and assist in classroom peer review. Writing groups and events throughout the year support the ongoing writing lives of students and faculty. Faculty are invited to reach out to the director for review of pedagogical materials and publications in process.