Personal Student Advisors: Here to Serve You!
Did you know that if you enroll at Charter College, you’ll have your own personal student advisor? Our student advisement team is made up of caring professionals who are available to answer your questions and connect you to campus resources. They are academic advisors and so much more. They can help you find success in and out of the classroom.
“We try to help students overcome obstacles by connecting them to resources,” said Student Advisor Mike Adragna, “whether those resources are here at Charter or out in the community.”
Student Advisor Jill Ashlock says that all students are contacted by the advisement team upon enrollment, but that students who begin to struggle are given some extra attention. Once a week, the team is provided a report of students who are not actively participating, missing class or falling behind.
“A lot of them think that they’re so far behind that there’s nothing we can do to help them,” said Jill, “but as long as we can get in touch with them, nine times out of ten we have a solution.”
Mike points out that those solutions really depend on the individual.
“It’s far from a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Mike. “and no two days are alike.”
He gives as examples students he’s guided to tutoring services and to those he just says: “hey, you’re doing a good job.” But he also had a student who couldn’t make it to class because his car was crushed by a falling tree. Some stories are much more unique than others and require a bit of creative thinking.
“We never know what we’re going to encounter, but we’re prepared to help our students however we can.”
Grades are only one measurement of success, according to both Jill and Mike. They say that “good” is relative. For some students, coming back into a program after they had to leave is a positive first step. For others, who may have started to fail, watching their grades rebound is something to celebrate.
Members of the student advisement team contact students individually by telephone, or through, email, Skype and text. They stay in touch as long as the students need them and often follow them from enrollment to graduation, sharing in their successes.
“It’s great when they give me a call after they’ve graduated to say, ‘I got a new job and I just wanted to let you know,’” said Jill. Since Jill says that the whole purpose of the program is to remind students how capable they are and “that they can do it,” and it’s great when students reach back to let her know that they have.
Charter College offers career-focused programs in business, health care, information technology, veterinary assistant and some trades. And we offer student success resources to help you overcome obstacles and meet your goals. Ready to change your life? Start here.