Student Support

Academic Advising 

Every Centre student works closely with a faculty advisor to explore academic and career interests. We pair students with a faculty member in a field related to their interests to give students the best advice.  

All faculty members (plus selected administrators) serve as academic advisors to students. Students have general advisors—usually matched by interests—during their first and second years. After selecting a major or majors toward the end of the sophomore year, students then choose an advisor in a specific academic discipline or pre-profession program. 

Major Advising and Declaration  

The second phase of advising begins when sophomore students declare a major in March of the student’s sophomore year. During the first week of March sophomores receive a “Major Declaration” form through campus mail (also available in the Dean’s Office or Registrar’s Office). The form asks students to list the chosen major(s), minor(s), and to request a faculty member from the major program(s) to serve as their advisor until graduation. Students are not assigned an advisor for minors. The due date for completed forms is usually before spring break. 

Major advising assignments are made by the program chair of the stated major. The program chair usually bases major advising assignments on the student requests, programmatic workload of each faculty member in the program, leave rotations, and  individual faculty preferences within the program. 

Students may request to have the same advisor for their major as they had during the first two years. While this is acceptable, there are many benefits for the student to have a different faculty member serve as their major advisor, including getting to know another faculty member very well and getting advice from another perspective. Students should be encouraged to maintain a close association with their former advisor even though that person may not continue to be the advisor of record. 

Pre-Professional Advising 

Our team of pre-professional advisors have specialized knowledge about how to make your professional goals a reality. They help you explore your professional track, choose the right courses, and secure relevant internships and research opportunities to ensure you’re well positioned to embark on your career.

Learn More About Our Pre-Professional Programs

Academic Affairs 

The Academic Affairs Office also works in a targeted way with students who experience academic difficulty, particularly in the first two years at Centre, and with students with disabilities. Special group and individual counseling sessions are offered and students are directed to targeted help sessions in particular subjects, to the Writing Center, and to the Center for Career & Professional Development. The office also works with students wishing to design their own major.

 Centre Learning Commons

The Centre Learning Commons, located on the main floor of the Grace Doherty Library in Crounse Hall, is open during the library’s hours of operation. The space includes office suites, innovative and tech-savvy spaces for individual and group study, seminar rooms, and an information kiosk. CLC programming and resources include, but are not limited to, comprehensive and inclusive academic peer tutoring and mentoring, assistance with time management and organization strategies, academic support services (e.g. the Writing Center, the Proctoring Center, ESL services, academic accommodations, etc.), study skills and college preparedness workshops, summer programming focused on high-school-to-college transitions and skill building (e.g. math, writing skills, etc.), and extensive web-based and other digital resources.

The Writing Center

Trained peer consultants meet individually with students to discuss any writing project. They offer consultations at every stage of the writing process—from finding a topic to revising a draft. The goal of each consultation is to foster in students a greater consciousness of their thinking and writing, not to produce a flawless text. 

Students benefit most from sessions that occur at the planning, drafting, and revising stages, when there is still enough time for the writer to rethink ideas, arguments, and evidence in creative and constructive ways. Consultants will ask writers lots of questions and encourage students to recognize their own weaknesses and identify strategies for making changes and enhancing strengths. Ideally, this conversational exploration will prompt writers to refine both the argument and the prose for clarity and power. 

Located on the lower level of  Crounse Hall below the library, the Writing Center helps students with just about any written assignment. No appointment necessary! Most consultations last between 20-40 minutes and the last consultation is usually taken about 20 or 30 minutes before closing.

The Writing Center is closed during finals and Sundays of Fall Break and after Thanksgiving.

Assistive Technologies

We work closely with students on a case-by-case basis in coordination with Academic Affairs to assist them in finding the proper technology to make their learning experience less challenging.

Accessibility Services

Student classroom accommodations and accessibility services are arranged through the Centre Learning Commons.

Proctoring

The Proctoring Center is located on the 1st floor (lower level) of Crounse Hall. Proctoring services are available to all Centre students and coordinated through the Centre Learning Commons, but use of the Proctoring Center is available by reservation only, as requested by an instructor.

Visit the Proctoring Center Website

Reserve Proctoring Services

Peer Tutoring

Tutoring services are available in a variety of subjects to assist students with specific academic challenges. Contact the CLC for more information.

Student Wellness

Learn More About Wellness Services

Finding Your Centre

All first-year students are enrolled in a one-credit course called Finding Your Centre (FYC). This course provides students with information about how to succeed academically at Centre. FYC includes peer mentors comprised of returning students who help incoming first-year students adapt to the challenges that their first year of college might bring.

Learn More About the Course