With the arrival of midterm season, Beth Oakley, the director of the Student Success Centre, would like to remind students and faculty that it offers workshops geared towards helping students develop the skills that they need to achieve academic success in university.

STEPS

The Skills to Enhance Personal Success (STEPS) program offers a wide variety of workshops aimed at providing students with practical methods for improving learning and study skills. Topics include:

• Effective Reading Strategies
• Strategic Note Taking
• Multiple Choice Tests and Exams
• Effective Memory Strategies
• Study Smarter, Not Harder
• Taming the Chaos (Time Management)
• Exam Preparation
• Exam Strategies
• Test Anxiety

One-hour workshops are held throughout the fall semester in room 267, Dillon Hall, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. Workshops are $5 each, or $15 memberships provide students with unlimited access to workshops through to April 2016, and access to online learning assessments and resources. No advance sign-up is required for workshops; sessions or memberships can be purchased at the door.

Quick STEPS

For students who would like to “test drive” STEPS before purchasing a session or a membership, or for anyone who isn’t able to make it to the full sessions, the Student Success Centre also offers free half-hour sessions every Monday at 2 p.m. at different locations throughout campus. These Quick STEPS sessions are shortened versions of  STEPS workshops, and the fall semester will feature: Taming the Chaos (Time Management), Study Smarter Not Harder, Multiple Choice Strategies, Effective Memory Strategies, and Exam Strategies. No sign up is required and sessions are always free.

Find a complete schedule of STEPS and Quick STEPS workshops for the Fall 2015 semester with descriptions and locations at www.uwindsor.ca/steps.

Campus Lifeline

For additional online support around navigating university life, students can check out Campus Lifeline at www.uwindsor.ca/lifeline. The website provides resources on a wide variety of academic, personal, and practical topics—including improving presentation skills and essay writing, tips for success in online courses, dealing with a breakup, coping with stress, getting involved on campus, and searching for a summer job.

Social Media

STEPS and Campus Lifeline are social media savvy:

• Facebook for daily STEPS workshop reminders as well as additional tips and tricks for success in university.
• Pinterest for a growing collection of important information to help you improve your learning and studying.
• YouTube for Campus Lifeline workshops on additional topics, such as decoding your professors, exercising, mental health, the writing process, and many more.
• 8tracks for a great collection of study playlists for you to enjoy if you like listening to music while you work.

For more information, contact steps@uwindsor.ca.

Even service areas that students must interact with seldom in their university careers are valuable, says Billy Chandler, president of the drama student society Club SODA. He led a delegation Thursday presenting complimentary theatre tickets to the staff of the UwinCARD office.

“It is easier to show appreciation for those we constantly deal with, but it is important to thank those who make our lives run smoothly, even if we are only lucky enough to see them two or three times in our student careers,” he said. “Their impact on our experience is just as profound as those who we pass every day in other positions.”

The staffers received free admission to the current University Players production, Blithe Spirit. The play’s run continues through November 8 in the Hatch Studio Theatre, Jackman Dramatic Art Centre. Find tickets at www.UniversityPlayers.com or by calling the box office at 519-253-3000, ext. 2808.

Provost Douglas Kneale announced several appointments of academic administrators Thursday.

Katherine Quinsey will take on the position of acting dean of the Faculty of Education, from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017. A professor of English, she has served three terms as head of the Department of English Language, Literature and Creative Writing, and shorter stints as associate dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and acting assistant provost for inter-faculty programs.

Political science professor Lydia Miljan has begun a term as assistant provost for inter-faculty programs, and will continue in the role through June 2017. She will continue to serve as chair of the Arts and Sciences program, which she has since 2008.

Charles Macdonald will hold the position of acting dean of the Faculty of Science through June 2016. Dr. Macdonald had been associate dean of science for graduate studies before accepting the current appointment September 1.

Dr. Kneale expressed thanks to all three for taking on these responsibilities, and called on colleagues across campus to lend them support in their new leadership roles.

DailyNews reminds readers that they can gain an extra hour of sleep this weekend, as Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 1. Turn your clocks back one hour.

Of course, if you set your alarm to wake you up at 2 a.m. to reset your clocks, you may have wasted that hour of sleep!