Hello Retrievers! I hope everyone is still keeping calm and carrying on. Just to remind you—all of the Academic Success Center resources are online, including SI PASS!

SI PASS sessions can help you improve your understanding of concepts, develop study strategies, and practice and prepare for exams.

Sessions will be offered at their previously scheduled times through the Blackboard section of your course. You can access it by going into your Blackboard section and clicking the link for the online collaborate session.

SI PASS is a great resource for helping you extend beyond the classroom and a great way to work with others to achieve academic success.

#UMBCtogether

BIOL 141, or Foundations of Biology: Cells, Energy, and Organisms, is another large class at UMBC. Considered to be "Bio for Majors," this class is designed to be a rigorous preparation for upper level Biology courses. However, BIOL majors should not be the only ones on the look out for this class--it's recommended for CHEM education and it can be a prerequisite for BIOL 302, which is required for most med schools and dental schools. So whether you're a future researcher on the Human Genome Project, or you're the next medical prodigy, BIOL 141 is a class you want to succeed in. Thankfully, there's tons of academic support on our campus to help you do well!

SI-PASS: If you're in BIOL 141 and you don't know what SI-PASS is, now is a good time to find out! Supplemental Instruction at UMBC are Peer Assisted Study Sessions where an SI PASS leader guides students through study sessions. SI PASS leaders also conduct exam reviews before tests. There are SI PASS sessions for BIOL 141 every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!! You can find out times for SI PASS on the ASC website. 

Biology Learning Center: Having problems in BIOL 141? Not a problem! The Biology department runs its own Biology Learning Center! Led by one of the senior lecturers in the Biology department, the Biology Learning Center has its own peer tutors that can help students in any core biology course. Tutoring is one-on-one and very flexible--students can contact the tutors directly and make arrangements to meet with them on their own and as often as they'd like. The Biology Learning Center is located in the Biological Sciences Building, Room 011! Stop by and get help today.

LRC Appointment Tutoring: Students who want help in BIOL 141 can sign up for weekly, small group tutoring with a certified peer tutor! This is recommended for students who could benefit from consistent support in the course. You can sign up for weekly appointment tutoring on our website, or you can click the sign up button on our Facebook page!

BIOL 141 TAs: Teaching Assistants are great resources! Make sure you ask them for help--that's what they're there for?

Yes, the dreaded ‘M’ word! The most recent marker of your achievement in your courses! Everything that you've learned this semester has been leading up to this moment! Are you prepared?

We’re sure some of you have already signed up for weekly appointment tutoring (you can now do so through our Facebook page! Just click the sign up button). We know some of you have been regularly visiting our Math Lab and Writing Center (now in one convenient location).

But for those of you who have the option, have you tried S.I.?

Supplemental Instruction, or S.I. for short, are peer assisted study sessions conducted by S.I. leaders. S.I. are trained students who have taken the class before and passed with a high grade. At an S.I. session, leaders will guide students through core concepts of the course and will share the strategies they used to be successful in the course.  The study sessions are informal seminars where students review notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools and prepare for examinations.

 

S.I. is designed for courses that have been considered historically difficulty. Currently, S.I. if offered for the following courses:

If you are currently in any of those courses, check out the S.I. schedule to find the best session for you!

Happy studying!