Academic Success Offices

The Advising Office (TAO)

The Advising Office is dedicated to helping Saint Mary’s students realize their academic potential by connecting them with faculty advisors, support offices, and campus resources they need to succeed.

First-year students are connected with a faculty advisor by enrolling in the First Year Advising Cohort (FYAC). Transfer students are paired with a faculty advisor in their discipline prior to their first semester and receive additional faculty and peer support in a transfer advising cohort (TAC). Continuing sophomores, juniors, and seniors establish ongoing individual relationships with an academic advisor, usually a professor in their major program. For more information, visit our website.

Success Coaches

Success Coaches work one on one with students to identify and utilize campus resources and to help them develop strategies to balance college, work, and family. They develop programs and workshops that help students meet their educational and personal goals; from the transition to college life, to the exploration of academic majors, and to planning for graduation and a career. Their work is vital to student academic and personal success. For more information, visit the website.

Coaches help students develop strategies to approach their coursework, manage their time, and set and achieve goals. Success Coaches also develop programs and workshops that help students meet their educational and personal goals; from the transition to college life, to the exploration of academic majors, to planning for graduation and a career.

For more information, please visit our website.

High Potential Program (HP) and TRIO Student Support Services

Saint Mary’s College has a fundamental mission to provide access to education for dedicated students from traditionally underrepresented groups in higher education. The High Potential (HP) Program is designed not only to provide that access, but to foster student success by drawing on the strengths and resiliency of first-generation and/or low-income students as they transition from high school through college. HP coaches and peer mentors work together with HP students to develop their academic and leadership skills and connect them to the College community. The initiative furnishes a continuum of support for approximately 160 students from just prior to the first year of college through baccalaureate degree completion. The HP program provides a comprehensive range of services and individualized support. For more information, visit our website.

Once accepted into Saint Mary’s, interested students may submit an application to the High Potential Program, and are selected for participation based on the information provided, and a personal statement. High Potential program students may participate in the Summer Academic Institute for Leaders and Scholars (SAILS), an intensive summer residential program that includes earning units toward graduation. In the fall and spring semesters, HP students enroll in First Year Advising Cohort courses taught by faculty to introduce students to a broad range of academic and personal support programs, designed to form a solid foundation for high academic and psychosocial achievement. Over their time at the College and through collaborative interventions with faculty, staff, peer mentors, tutorial services, and other resources of the College, the HP program staff provide students with structured academic guidance, personalized supports, and leadership development opportunities intended to prepare them for the global workplace and society.

Interested students should contact the High Potential office at (925) 631-4835 or hp@stmarys-ca.edu. For more information, please visit the High Potential Program website, visit our website.

Tutoring Center

The Tutoring Center offers a variety of support services and programs to students who are seeking to achieve greater academic success regardless of their level of academic performance. The Center offers tutorial services for all currently enrolled students. Tutoring is available in almost all courses taught at Saint Mary’s, in individual and group settings depending on the subject and demand. It also provides tutorial services in collaboration with the STEM Center. Tutoring and workshops are also available for students who wish to complement their study efforts through enhanced academic skills development such as time management, note-taking, writing skills, study techniques, and reading comprehension.

For more information, please visit our website.

Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC)

The Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC) offers guidance and resources to enhance writing throughout Saint Mary’s College of California. Pursuing the construction and expression of knowledge through shared inquiry and inspired by the Lasallian tradition of service through education, CWAC is guided by the Burkean Parlor model of collaborative dialogue to nurture writers in a supportive, inclusive, and productive space. Trained Writing Advisers guide peer students through individual or small group sessions in any genre, level, or stage of the writing process. CWAC also offers faculty development workshops to guide the sharing of ideas among peers who are teaching Writing in the Disciplines or Collegiate Seminar courses. By supporting faculty and students, the Writing Center helps all writers enter more fully into scholarly dialogue, sharpening their skills, building their confidence, and connecting writing strategies across contexts. For more information, please visit our website.

Academic Services

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Academic Services