|Freshmen Dean Greeting
|Academic Survival
|Resources & Services
Freshmen Dean Greeting
Congratulations on your acceptance to Providence College. This year will be an exciting time! New friends. New places. New experiences. Please take some time to look through the information we have compiled. I encourage you to explore this site thoroughly. Much of the information you will want to know about the College, including academic schedules and courses, details about academic concentrations, and information pertaining to student life and student organizations, can be found by searching through the Freshmen pages. Our office door is always open. Please feel free to seek us out with any questions or concerns you may have. I wish you a successful and prosperous first year at Providence College.
Dr. Wanda S. Ingram
Freshman Dean
Academic Survival
To be academically successful in your course work, you must develop a plan of action for each of your courses. According to Elwood N. Chapman, author of "College Survival", college courses generally fall into three categories: the constant-discipline, the delayed-action, and the self-involving courses.
Constant-discipline courses
Mathematics, foreign languages, English composition, accounting, economics, and many of the sciences.
Description
Subject matter taught in building block sequence.
Learn today's lesson to understand tomorrow's.
Usually requires daily outside study or reading.
Preventive Measures
Don't miss class/assignments.
Allocate more time than needed.
Do homework immediately.
Be alert in classroom.
Talk to professor about all mistakes.
Stick to assignment schedule.
Find out early, if not doing well.
Delayed-action courses
Business law, marketing, literature, history, sociology, psychology, and social science courses.
Description
Lectures, outside reading, few exams.
Trouble if not supported with well executed plan.
Easy to put off reading until test time.
By time first test given, semester usually close to over.
Discipline left up to you.
Takes time to get used to professors' different styles of lectures and tests.
Grades may only be based on two or three tests only.
Preventive Measures
Take good notes.
Recopy notes in organized manner.
Review for exams.
Do reading on regular basis, underlining/taking notes as you go.
Get involved in class discussions.
Go over and analyze first test when returned to adjust study strategy.
Be cool, deliberate, and objective on exam day and study each question carefully
Self-involving courses
Art, music, drama, other creative art classes, nursing, lab work
Description
Courses that require separate analysis.
Usually have different learning climates, odd schedules, unusual standards, special demands.
Few examinations if any.
Minimum supervision.
Be careful not to de-emphasize, putting less time into work.
Can you handle the freedom?
Preventive Measures
Make appointments with professor to learn what is expected of you.
Avoid becoming over-involved if favorite course, or if low interest....vice versa.
Try to get involved in course work- it will be a welcome relief to more disciplined courses.
In addition to good time management techniques, you should develop a good course strategy, knowledge on how to prepare for tests and papers, good note taking skills, and a good working relationship with your professors to be academically successful in your freshman year.
Go to the Office of Academic Services (Library 102A) for note taking, study skills, test taking strategies, and writing term papers.
Go to the Personal Counseling Services (Lower Bedford Hall) for test anxiety, developing relationships, time management, and communication skills.
Go to the Dean's Office (Harkins 213) if you're not sure where to go, who to see, or you are in need of academic counseling.
Adapted from: "College Survival", Elwood N. Chapman
RESOURCES & SERVICES
Office Of Academic Services
The Office of Academic Services (OAS) serves all Providence College students through a combination of academic and personal development programming, including individualized and group academic assistance, tutoring, and specialized workshops and outreach. The OAS offers unique attention and support to students with documented disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations and by advocating for equal access to all services and programs offered to members of the campus at large. The OAS also provides specialized support to student-athletes in light of the unique time demands, responsibilities, and rules governing participation in intercollegiate athletics.
Personal Counseling Center
Students face a number of challenges in their years at Providence College, and the Personal Counseling Center is here to help them meet these opportunities to integrate their personal, social, intellectual, and moral development. The center provides a safety net to help students deal with the stress and concerns which may be interfering with their ability to function in a healthy manner.Individual counseling is provided to students who present a wide scope of conflicts such as developmental issues, situational crises, or long-standing interpersonal problems. The center also assists students in integrating their psychological development with their academic development. In addition, there are a range of resources available including: self-help literature, workshop presentations, counseling/support groups, as well as crisis intervention and substance abuse assistance. All services are confidential within the limits of the law and ethics. If the student's counseling needs are long term or for any other reason it is deemed appropriate, referrals are made to individual professionals and agencies outside the College community.For more information, call 865-2343 and ask to speak to a member of the Personal Counseling Center staff. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 8:00 p.m.
Health Center
The College maintains a Student Health Center staffed by three part-time physicians and five registered nurses. The Edwin B. O'Reilly Complex, located on the ground level of Bedford Hall, is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the academic year. It is closed weekends, holidays, and College recesses. Emergency medical services are provided by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) when the center is closed. Physicians are available to examine students during scheduled office hours. Gynecological examinations for female students are available on Tuesdays by appointment only.. Laboratory services are available weekdays at 3:30 p.m. Please consult the current Student Handbook for specific office hours. The center does not provide X-rays, surgical procedures, treatment for major illnesses, or allergy shots. The center, however, will refer students who need those services to either a local hospital or physician. Such students must assume financial responsibility for the full cost of those services.
Note: Incoming students must submit a complete medical record on forms supplied by the College and signed by their physicians. Included in the record are a medical history, tuberculin test results, and evidence of immunization against tetanus, rubella, and measles as required by R.I. state law. Every student must supply insurance information on the health record including mailing address and phone number of the company. It is the responsibility of each student to update his/her own health record whenever changes in health status, insurance, change of address, etc. occur.
Sail Office - Getting Involved
One of the advantages of a small college is the rich campus life with many undergraduate interests. The size of Providence College permits and engenders a warm, friendly relationship among students, faculty, and administrators. Life as a student is much more than just a classroom and textbook experience. Learning and growing are part of a total process. Therefore, the cocurricular activities at Providence College provide the opportunities for students to develop and mature as whole persons. By participating in these activities, students are able to apply in a practical way what they learn in a theoretical environment. One of the advantages of a small college is the rich campus life with many undergraduate interests. The size of Providence College permits and engenders a warm, friendly relationship among students, faculty, and administrators.
Life as a student is much more than just a classroom and textbook experience. Learning and growing are part of a total process. Therefore, the cocurricular activities at Providence College provide the opportunities for students to develop and mature as whole persons. By participating in these activities, students are able to apply in a practical way what they learn in a theoretical environment.