Helping Your Student Be Their Best: Student Services at CMU
Your student will have a lot of people ready to help them when they arrive at CMU. I was recently talking to a CMU alum who works at another college. The conversation went something like this:
Employee at other college: I wish our students had the support available to them that I had while I was a student.
Me: Really? Like what?
Employee at other college: On our campus we don’t have enough advisors so it’s almost impossible to talk to one before you’re ready to apply for graduation, and that’s probably our best office.
Yikes! So, what were the services they were raving about when talking about their time at CMU?
The list is long, but we know the importance of supporting every student from new student orientation to graduation.
CMU's student service offices are ready to help your student from start to finish.
Academic Advising
CMU offers personalized advising starting at your student’s orientation date, meaning they’ll never have to guess what courses they should be taking. They’ll be assigned a professional advisor based on their planned major before they set foot on campus. What if they’re undecided on a major? Planning on medical school? Changing a major? Your student’s advisor will have it covered!
Tutoring, and other course help
Tutoring is a free service available to students in need of assistance in 100-300 level courses. Students can meet one-on-one with a tutor to get the extra help they need in a class. Supplemental Instruction is another service provided in classes that are historically challenging. Taught by upperclassmen who have been successful in the course, this is a group review of each lesson taught by the instructor typically offered in the evening. In addition, CMU offers the Mathematics Assistance Center as well as the Writing Center to help students with their math and writing projects across all courses.
Student Disability Services
This office is committed to providing students with disabilities with the accommodations necessary to access all university services, programs and activities. If your student has a documented disability, had an IEP in high school, received accommodations at another college, or is a client of Vocational Rehabilitation, Commission for the Blind or other related agency, we would encourage them to register with Student Disability Services as soon as possible to explore the accommodations available to them.
Want to learn more about how to access the support available to students with disabilities? View the parent/family webinar hosted by CMU Admissions and Student Disability Services.
Career Development Center
Just about every student I know goes to college with the idea of improving their career opportunities. At CMU, we don’t shy away from that challenge, we welcome it. Whether it’s finding a career path, practicing interviews, building and perfecting a resume, or negotiating salaries, our Career Development programming has your student covered. Check out our webinar from November to learn more about how 93.7% of CMU graduates found work, graduate school, or other successful options within 6 months of graduation.
Help Desk
If you’ve read other blog posts, you’ve probably already seen me mention the Help Desk. They’re the IT professionals on-campus and they can help your student with most of their technology questions (trust me, because they help me regularly!). Computer/laptop questions? Help Desk. How to download Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Cloud? Help Desk. Problems with printing or internet on campus? Help Desk. You get the point!
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
CMU students come from 45 states, 29 countries, and their own individual or shared experiences throughout their lives. Offices like Multicultural Academic Services, LGBTQ Services and Gender Equity Programs, the Office of Indigenous Affairs and the programs and groups that they support allow students to build community, and share those experiences with others.
Counseling Center
College life is rewarding and fun, but it can be challenging too. Currently enrolled students who are feeling stressed, anxious, or are having trouble navigating the changes that they’re experiencing can use the free and confidential Counseling Center at CMU.
And the list goes on!
This could be a really long blog post, but in the interest of time here’s a quick list of other offices that can help your student with their academic, personal and social needs.
- Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center—connection to volunteer resources in Mount Pleasant and across the country…a great resume builder, and growth opportunity
- OneCentral—CMU’s one-stop-shop for billing, financial aid, and registration
- Resident Assistants and Hall Directors—students and professionals who live in the residence halls and provide support and programming to the students who live there, and who are great at connecting your student to the right people when they don’t know where to go to get help
- Study Abroad—over 150 programs across 50 countries and 6 continents
- Veterans Resource Center—helping active military, veterans, and their spouses and dependents access their educational benefits and get the most of their time at CMU
- Adobe Digital Lounge, CMU Dining staff, CMU Honors staff, Library Staff, Sarah R. Opperman Leadership Institute, Student Activities & Involvement, Student Employment, Student Health Services, University Recreation…and more!
Your student might only work with a few of these offices over their time on campus, or they might get to know most of them. What we want you to know is that a helping hand is here, from orientation to graduation.
If you have any questions, feel free to send them to admissionsblog@cmich.edu.
Have a great day, and…
Fire Up Chips!
Bob