finding help

Choose What Matters

Welcome to UAMS, especially to students in the College of Nursing! You are the reason I’m here! I am the Student Success Center faculty member who specifically works with College of Nursing students. I’m excited to be a part of what we get to offer to students: Academic Coaching, Peer Tutoring, and many other resources!

When I was invited to write this welcome post, I started thinking about what I would say to my past self. It would be this: Choose what matters most to you, and make time for those things.

As you go through your program, you’ll have multiple things vying for your attention: classes, career, family, yourself. All of these are good things, but by being picky and creating margin in your life, you can make time for the things that matter the most to you.

Choose to Be Picky

When you are choosing where to spend your time and energy, be picky.

It’s easy to think that the more things you do, the better your experience will be. That’s not always the case. In the 1991 comedy City Slickers, the cowboy Curly tells Billy Crystal’s character that in life only “one thing” matters, but that he’ll have to figure out for himself what that “one thing” is.

For some of you, the “one thing” may be forming a study group that works hard together and supports each other; it may be seeking out Peer Tutoring (or being a Peer Tutor) so that you can get the most out of your educational experience. For others, the “one thing” may be deciding with your family how to plan ahead for study time while also leaving space for family time.

Choose the Margin

As you choose to make time for the things that matter the most to you, you will have to say no to some things in order to say yes to others. This is the idea of “margin”.

Margin in life is just like a margin around a page – it’s a planned space that allows for life to be imperfect. I used to try to say yes to everything I possibly could: spending time with friends, volunteering at every event that came my way, reading every book that I thought would help me accomplish my goals. What I finally realized was that spending time doing everything left very little time for the things that actually mattered to me.

I started creating margin in my life. I volunteered at one place I really cared about. I stopped scheduling events on top of each other & hoping that I somehow could magically create more hours in the day. For you this may look like leaving 10-15 minutes earlier so that you can arrive refreshed for class or work even if traffic is bad. Or it may be saying no to a night out 3 days before a test so that you can say yes to doing well on the test and yes to a celebratory night out when the test is over.

Choose the One Thing

When you think ahead to this semester, and your next few years here at UAMS, choose what matters most to you, and make time for these things. Be picky about where you spend your time and energy, and give yourself margin for life to be messy. Your “one thing” may look different from someone else’s, and that’s okay.

As you work through decide what matters most to you, and make time for these things, I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.

Traditions from Babylon: Resolutions for Success

Are you part of the nearly 45 percent of Americans who say they make New Year’s Resolutions? The tradition dates back to the ancient Babylonians who made promises to the gods in an effort to gain their favor. While we’ve been keeping the tradition ever since, today our resolutions focus on self-improvement.

Reflection to Resolutions

January 1st is a great opportunity to make resolutions to change academic habits that aren’t working for you. Think back over the last semester.

How successful were you?
Did you meet your goals?
Were your goals attainable?
How well did you balance your academic requirements with the other areas of your life?
Did you manage your time as effectively as you could?
Did you work hard enough to achieve your goals?
If you worked hard, do you need to find ways to work smarter so you can maximize your study time?

Potential academic resolutions lie in your answers to these questions. If everything is running smoothly, that’s great! But if it isn’t, what do you want or need to change? If Plan A isn’t working, then it’s time to move to Plan B or even Plan C. No plan is ever perfect. You should always be updating and changing your plan based on your needs. What worked for you in the past may not work in your current situation. So, make a new plan and meet your goals for academic success.

Resolutions to a New Plan

If you want some help creating a new plan, the Student Success Center has a wide range of resources to help you find what you need. Visit our On Demand Support page to find materials that provide support and guidance. And if you don’t see what you need, tell us what you are looking for. Use the Academic Coaching Request form to make an appointment with a Learning Specialist for personalized guidance and advice. We will work with you to find what you need.

Learn from the traditions of ancient Babylon. Make your resolutions for the new academic year. The Student Success Center is here to help if you. We want you to have a very successful New Year.

Start Strong

School has now officially started and you are probably already busy with your classes. It is much easier to finish strong in your classes if you take the time to start strong, so take the time now to set yourself up for success.

Set Goals

If goal setting isn’t part of your academic preparation, it should be. Goals provide structure in your academic life. Setting and prioritizing goals helps you to focus on what is most important and ignore other distractions. Without specific and realistic goals, you’ll find yourself making random decisions you may regret. Start strong by setting realistic goals. You can find more information about setting your academic goals here.

Manage your Time

Success at UAMS is dependent on time management. You have multiple courses, projects, exams, study groups, and deadlines, and keeping up with them can seem like a part-time job. To help you manage it all, get a calendar and combine it with a To Do list. I prefer to use an online calendar and to-do app that will sync across all my devices, but if you prefer a hard-copy calendar and to-do list, that’s fine too.

As soon as you can, download the schedules for all your courses and put all your assignments, projects, tests, and deadlines for all your courses on your calendar. This will show you when you are going to be the busiest. Break down your big projects into manageable chunks and work on them a little at a time so you aren’t overwhelmed when the deadline is upon you. Keep tasks on a To Do list and check them off when complete. Having a good system for your calendar and tasks will keep you organized and make your academic life much easier. It is a good way to start strong for success.

You can find more information, tips and tools for effectively managing and organizing your time here.

Identify Help

At some point during your time at UAMS, you may need help. Become familiar with all the services that the Student Success Center has to offer. You might find yourself falling behind in your courses or struggling to pass a class. Don’t wait to seek help. Go get the support you need right away. Check out the Student Success Center on the 3rd floor of the library or browse through our website to discover all the ways we are here to help you achieve academic excellence.

Find Help When You Need It

At some point during your time at UAMS you may need to find help. You might find yourself falling behind in your courses, experiencing financial struggles, developing health problems, or experiencing technical issues with your computer. Students often need help and there are a variety of services in place just for you. Learn about the services that UAMS has to offer. You will be more confident knowing that there are organizations waiting to provide the support you need, when you need it.

Finding Help

Below, you will find links to some of the organizations that provide services to UAMS students. Take time to browse through the list to become familiar with what the UAMS campus has to offer.

The Student Success Center

The mission of the Student Success Center (SSC) is to provide all UAMS students with educational services, programs, tools, and resources to improve their performance and achieve academic success. You can learn more about our services by clicking on the tags in the image below.

Here are a few additional resources at UAMS that are available to assist all UAMS students.

College/Program Faculty and Staff

The Colleges and Programs at UAMS often have staff available to help you with a wide variety of issues. For more information, contact your college.

College of Health Professions

College of Medicine

College of Nursing

College of Pharmacy

College of Public Health

Graduate School

Campus Life and Student Support Services

Campus Life and Student Support Services provides campus housing, plans and organizes intercollegiate activities, and oversees the student government association, intramural sports program, and student insurance. Visit the website to find out how to connect to activities on campus.

Center for Diversity Affairs

The Center for Diversity Affairs works to advance diversity, inclusiveness, equity, and cultural competency in all aspects of the UAMS mission. They are responsible for recruitment and advocacy for the admission and graduation of candidates from underrepresented minority groups. In addition, they support UAMS students from all protected and affected minority and disadvantaged groups to help them be academically successful.

Office of the University Registrar

Duties of the Office of the University Registrar include student records and enrollment for all colleges and academic programs at UAMS.

Student Financial Services

Student Financial Services is divided into two divisions to help serve the students at UAMS. The Financial Aid Office provides information and services to help students searching for different types of financial aid. The Bursar’s Office coordinates the disbursements of loans and financial aid and processes tuition payments.

Student Health Clinic

The Student Health Clinic (SHC) provides UAMS students with treatment of acute illnesses, wellness and health promotion services, and continual health education.

Student Wellness Program

The Student Wellness Program is a preventative service created to provide short term, confidential assistance for UAMS students and to find the necessary tools for students to achieve their fullest potential. Students can find help for depression, anxiety, grief, relationship conflicts, academic difficulties and numerous other issues. The service is confidential and short-term care is provided at no cost. For more information visit the website.

UAMS Library

The UAMS Library is committed to meeting the information needs of our users with responsiveness, professionalism, and effectiveness. The Library provides an attractive and secure environment that is conducive to study, work, research, and learning.

Don’t wait to find help. Learn about the services that UAMS offers to students. All of these organizations want to help you have a successful and fulfilling academic career at UAMS.