career connection student resources
Stay on track for Success
Being a new college student can be intimidating — especially when the student is also still in high school ! UA Early College makes sure its students have the tools they need to be successful .
UA Early College is The University of Alabama ’ s dual enrollment program . The program lets high school sophomores , juniors , and seniors earn college credit by taking courses in person or online .
Available Tools and Resources
“ We have a lot of different resources built into the program ,” said Epiphany Wells- Kelly , UA Early College ’ s student success coordinator . Wells-Kelly helps all UA Early College students navigate higher education , and she connects students to the resources they need to do their best in class . “ Academic support is my job ,” Wells-Kelly said .
One of the biggest resources offered to students is the UAEC 200 College Readiness course . Every student is required to take this free course , which gives an introduction to college academics and earns them 2 college credit hours . Students learn how to use the library , study , write , research , communicate , and other important college-level skills .
“ It ’ s College 101 ,” Wells-Kelly said . “ You get exposed to Blackboard ( an online course delivery system ), writing a research paper and utilizing University resources .”
Students aren ’ t expected to be experts after this class . Academic resources are available for students throughout their UA Early College journey if they need to brush up on these skills or would like some extra support . Wells-Kelly said UA Early College students have access to all the same resources as other UA students , plus more .
Links to these resources can be found in the Early College Student Resources section on Blackboard , which is accessible to all UA Early College students .
• The Capstone Center for Student Success offers online and on-campus tutoring .
• Smarthinking is a 24 / 7 online tutoring service available to all UA students .
• The Writing Center can help with research and writing papers .
• UA Libraries offer books , publications , databases , and several other resources that can be beneficial to a student ’ s work .
• The Career Center can guide students as they start to look ahead to selecting a major and planning a career .
Reach Out to Your Instructors
Wells-Kelly has seen several students feel hesitant about reaching out to their class instructors , but she said instructors are there to help and happy to answer questions . “ Their instructor is the number one resource ,” Wells-Kelly said .
In her position , Wells-Kelly supports students the entire time they are enrolled . From beginning to end , she said someone will be there to check in with the students and hold them accountable for their grades .
“ It ’ s important because it sets us apart from other dual credit or dual enrollment programs ,” Wells-Kelly said . “ We want to make sure you do well . If we see the grades start to slip or you miss assignments , someone is going to call you .”
She wants students to proactively reach out to her if they feel like they may be getting behind or if they ’ ve identified an area for improvement . Her goal is to communicate with students and give them all the tools available so they never get off track .
“ You don ’ t have to struggle alone . If you feel like you need a little more hands-on attention , or if you want to get a jump-start on how to study or how to be successful , you can definitely reach out ,” Wells-Kelly said . “ You don ’ t have to be in a bad situation to get help .”
For additional information , please contact UA Early College at 205-348-7083 or earlycollege @ ua . edu .
www . potentialmagazine . com Winter 2022 | 11