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by Dr. Andrea Malkin-Brenner | Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

**KSU specific resources and links have been added to the bottom of this article. 

I’ve spent 25 years working on a college campus, teaching and mentoring thousands of first-year students, both as a professor and as a university administrator. Along with my faculty and staff colleagues, I’ve seen students arrive on campus unprepared for college-level academic rigor and lacking the skills they’ll need to thrive. I’ve also recognized how students’ lack of preparation adds new pressure to an already challenging transition. On top of it all, students often lack the ability to recognize when they need academic help and where they can find it.

Explore Academic Resources in Advance

Even before arriving on campus, students can begin exploring online, researching the academic support resources available at their college or university. Common academic resources, which are usually covered by tuition, include:

• Professors and teaching assistants, the first line of support for students enrolled in their classes. They are required to hold weekly office hours and will provide one-on-one guidance to students about class material and assignments.
• Academic advisors, who offer assistance in more than just planning course schedules and fulfilling curriculum requirements. They hone in on students’ academic interests, arrange for credit transfers, and even work with faculty members as advocates for students.
• College librarians, who bring extensive experience in accessing online scholarly works spanning many academic areas for students conducting research and writing papers.
• Student athlete support staff, who provide life skills coaching, academic tutoring, and time management workshops.
• Disability support counselors, who are dedicated to providing students who have documented disabilities with the reasonable accommodations they need for equal access to education.
• IT support staff, who provide students with technology support regarding course web portals, WiFi networks, and library research accounts.
• Writing Center staff, the unsung heroes of the research paper, who offer extensive one-on-one support for students in organizing information and all steps of the writing process.
• Tutors, who have been specially selected by academic departments and academic support offices. They include undergraduate peers, graduate students, faculty, and members of the larger community with expertise in a particular area. (Note that specialized tutoring programs may charge an additional fee).

Barriers for Students Who Need Academic Help

With such a plethora of academic resources on campuses, why are college students still hesitant to walk through the door to access them?

Seeking academic resources can be confusing. The names of academic resource centers vary across colleges and might even be known by several names on a particular campus. New students may not be aware which resources are available to them and which are included in their tuition. Others may simply be overwhelmed with a deluge of information they receive at the beginning of college, and even each school year.

College isn’t just a bigger high school. In high school, it’s common for teachers to reach out to students who are floundering in their classes; in college, the student is responsible for seeking help when they are struggling academically. Seeking help might also require a student to plan ahead—for instance, scheduling an appointment with their professor once they think they might need assistance.

Students may worry about the stigma of asking for help. Many young adults do not understand that asking for assistance is actually a sign of maturity. Their misconception is understandable, given how our K-12 educational structure promotes the idea that smart kids “know it all.”

What Can Families Do?

If families are already familiar with the academic resources available on their student’s campus, it’s easier for them to encourage their student to reach out to the tutoring program or make an appointment with the statistics lab or campus writing center. Families can also help their college student by reminding them about the uniqueness of a college campus: their student will never again find so many beneficial resources all in one place. Most importantly, famlies should ensure their students understand that “adulting” is not synonymous with “doing it alone.” College faculty and staff expect students to seek out academic resources as they tackle college-level learning, and that seeking help is a college-level skill. Famlies can play an important role by nudging their students over the threshold.

**To help your student become familiar with all the Academic Resources available at KSU, start by reviewing advising.kennesaw.edu. The "Tutoring and Academic Resource" section of the Advising website is a good place to make sure to review. Your student can find additional information on study sessions, etc. through OwlLife.  

Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner is the creator of the Talking College™ card decks and co-author of How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There). She brings 25 years of experience as a college professor and university administrator to her presentations with college audiences. See Dr. Brenner’s website for her articles, resources, podcast recordings, and upcoming talks and webinars.