Academic Advising and Support

Quick Links Academic Advising Academic Recovery Process Academic Testing Services Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center Marsha Sharp Center for Student Athletes Office of Community College and Transfer Relations PEGASUS Program for First Generation College Students Study Abroad Program Support Operations for Academic Retention (SOAR) TECHniques Center TTU Discovery! Program for Exploring Students University Writing Center

Academic Advising

Texas Tech University believes in the potential of each student to succeed and values the pursuit of excellence. Therefore, Texas Tech provides academic advisors and advising programs to inform, guide, empower, and encourage students from the time of their orientation until graduation. While students are responsible for their academic progress, academic advisors assist with educational planning that leads to timely matriculation and graduation. Students’ success requires their commitment to and investment in an action-oriented decision-making process. This fosters intellectual and personal development that results in informed and invested educational choices.

Students’ Responsibilities

The academic advising process is designed to educate students to be learners, leaders, and decision-makers. To that end, students are responsible for being active and invested participants by following these actions:

• Investing the time and energy necessary to meet and exceed the highest standards of academic excellence. This can be done, as a general rule, by completing two hours outside the classroom for every hour of time spent in class.
• Engaging in a mutually respectful working relationship with their academic advisor(s).
• Making and keeping a minimum of one appointment per semester with the appropriate academic advisor(s). Review and approval of a student’s course selections for subsequent semesters is best done early in each semester, well before the student’s first opportunity to register.
• Creating a class schedule based on deliberate examination of educational, career, and life goals.
• Maintaining current contact information (address, local/cell, and permanent phone numbers) in the Raiderlink Student Information System.
• Cooperating and communicating with the university by reading and responding to all official
• Reading and acting in accordance with official university documents related to institutional procedures, degree program requirements, standards of academic progress, and the code of student conduct.
• Completing required paperwork and adhering to university deadlines.
• Discussing the Graduate-On-Time (GOT) contract program with an academic advisor to determine its merits to their educational plan and, when deemed appropriate, signing a contract in the academic advisor’s office before the university-stipulated deadline.
• Conferring with advisor(s) on the impact of circumstances that could influence academic performance (e.g., illness, family situations, work schedules).
• Monitoring their academic performance throughout each semester.
• Notifying advisors immediately when receiving a course grade of D or F, when dropping a course, or when withdrawing from the university.
• Exploring and, as appropriate, utilizing available student resources.
• Investigating opportunities to study abroad, conduct undergraduate research, complete an internship, and participate in service learning.
• Documenting and maintaining records of all university interactions.

Advisors’ Responsibilities

Advising is a process through which students examine themselves, explore their opportunities, determine their best-fit educational paths, and develop action plans for achieving their university degrees. Academic advisors facilitate this process. Additionally, advisors advocate for students in the university system, serve as resource brokers for the university community, and help students thrive in a large university setting. Academic advising programs identify relevant and desirable student learning and development outcomes and provide programs and services that encourage the achievement of those outcomes. The most important outcome of academic advising is self-discovery: each student’s educational goals are matched with offerings of the university. To that end, advisors are responsible for the following activities:

Student Growth and Development

• Reinforcing student self-direction and self-sufficiency.
• Assisting students in assessing their interests and abilities, making decisions, and developing short-term and long-term plans to meet their objectives.
• Discussing and clarifying educational, career, and life goals to assist in the development of a meaningful educational plan
• Assisting students in understanding the educational context within which they are enrolled.
• Assisting students in making the best academic decisions possible by encouraging identification and assessment of alternatives and consideration of the consequences of their decisions.
• Instructing students in the use of degree audits, tools for course selection and schedule building, and registration systems.

Accuracy and Availability

• Interpreting university policies, procedures, and standards.
• Clarifying requirements for both general education and the student’s chosen academic major.
• Providing current, accurate, and timely information, especially for the selection of appropriate courses and other educational experiences.
• Making advising conferences available to students each academic term in a format that is convenient to the student (i.e., in person, by telephone, or online, individually or in groups).
• Allowing an appropriate amount of time for students to discuss plans, programs, courses, academic progress, and other subjects related to their educational programs.
• Having invested in appropriate training and professional development activities that improve the value of academic advising to the student and the institution.

Assessment, Referral, and Confidentiality

• Directing students with educational, career or personal concerns, or skill/learning deficiencies to resources and programs on the campus when necessary.
• Making students aware of and referring to educational, institutional, and community resources and services (e.g., internship, study abroad, honors, service-learning, research opportunities).
• Identifying environmental conditions that may positively or negatively influence student academic achievement and proposing interventions that may neutralize negative conditions.
• Evaluating and monitoring student academic progress and the impact on achievement of goals.
• Collecting and distributing relevant data about student needs, preferences, aspirations, and performance for use in institutional decisions and policy.
• Maintaining confidentiality in accordance with the Operating Policies of Texas Tech University and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

Texas Tech values students who have yet to choose an academic major or who are uncertain of their educational direction. Texas Tech University Advising serves these students through retention-based academic advising and conducts university-wide transition programs to facilitate the persistence and success of all students. For students who have chosen a major, departments in each academic college provide academic advisors who specialize in specific majors.
When faced with a difficult question or challenging situation, University Advising is always a good place to begin. From here, it’s possible.

Contact information: Texas Tech University Advising, 79 Holden Hall, T 806.742.2189, F 806.742.2200, www.advising.ttu.edu, advising@ttu.edu

Significant portions of this content paraphrased and used with permission. Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2006); CAS professional standards for higher education (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Back to Top

 

Academic Recovery Process

All students admitted to Texas Tech have the potential to be academically successful. Texas Tech recognizes that many factors can undermine a student’s academic performance. The Office of the Provost provides dedicated academic advisors and the Academic Recovery Process to individually engage, equip, empower, and encourage motivated students who, for whatever reason, have found themselves on academic probation or academic suspension.

Through intensive academic advising, students will develop a personalized Academic Recovery Plan that will investigate the causes of past underperformance, anticipate future challenges, identify and implement strategies for addressing these issues, and construct short- and long-term course selections to speed and support recovery.

This generalized Academic Recovery Process is required for all Undecided/Exploratory students, all Pre-Engineering students, and declared students in some academic colleges. Students who are not in academic good standing should review the policy on academic status and check with their college’s academic associate dean to determine the best route back to academic success. Students who are denied when applying to return to any specific academic college from academic suspension may be eligible to return to the university after successfully completing an approved Academic Recovery Plan.

Contact information: Texas Tech University Advising, 79 Holden Hall, 806.742.2189, advising@ttu.edu, www.advising.ttu.edu/recover

Academic Testing Services

Academic Testing Services provides a wide variety of standardized exams integral to the admissions, enrollment, matriculation, and graduation/certification/licensure requirements of Texas Tech, the state, and specific employers recruiting Texas Tech graduates. These standardized exams meet specific requirement needs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional career path programs at Texas Tech. Exams administered include, but are not limited to, the following: Accuplacer, ACT, GRE, LSAT, MAT, MCAT, MPRE, NICET, PRAXIS, Quick THEA, SAT, TEAS, Texas Educator Certification (TExES), and TOEFL.

ADA Testing Accommodations are available to students registered through Student Disability Services. This program provides an optimal test environment for students needing extended test time, reduced distractions and assigned readers or scribes. Testing protocol is based on the student’s approved Letter of Accommodation issued by Student Disability Services.

Additional programs include computer-administered GSP, classroom make-up exams, CLEP and other credit-by-exam options, and proctoring for distance-learning exams. All exams are administered by expert staff in an appropriate proctored test environment.

Note: Students may choose to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) rather than the TOEFL. However, IELTS is not administered on the Texas Tech campus. A full list of test centers is available on the IELTS website at www.ielts.org. Information regarding scores accepted at Texas Tech for both the TOEFL and the IELTS can be found in the Admissions section of this catalog and the Graduate School section.

Contact information: Pat McConnel, Director; 214 West Hall; 806.742.3671; testing@ttu.edu; www.depts.ttu.edu/testing
Back to Top

Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center

The Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center (CCAAC) is dedicated to creating a learning environment that fosters mutual respect for people of all backgrounds, cultures, and identities. CCAAC coordinates and partners to deliver programs and services that not only promote cultural awareness but also facilitate academic success and retention. The programs and services include but are not limited to cultural events, guest speakers and performers, leadership initiatives, curricular enhancement, research, and creative scholarship.

Programs

• Cultural Celebrations: Holi, Day of the Dead, Lunar New Year, etc.
• Multicultural Student Organizations
• Texas Tech University Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar Chapter
• Diversity Speaker and Performance Series
• Teaching, Learning and Connecting (TLC) to Diversity Academic Series
• Native American Summer Bridge Institute

Services

• Computer Lab
• Scholarship Database
• Comfortable Environment Great for Relaxing and Studying
• Spanish Red Raider Welcomes

Contact information: Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center, 806.742.8681, www.depts.ttu.edu/diversity/ccaac/
Back to Top

 

Marsha Sharp Center for Student Athletes

The Marsha Sharp Center for Student Athletes is a facility to support the academic success of student athletes at Texas Tech. The 15,500-square-foot facility has a hall of honor to recognize the academic performance of student athletes, two classrooms, two computer labs, tutoring rooms, a study lounge, and administrative offices.

In addition to enhancing academic performance of student athletes, the center also serves as the primary facility to administer the Life Skills program for student athletes at the university. It is also a meeting facility for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and for other athletic and campus meetings and events.
Back to Top

 

Office of Community College and Transfer Relations

The Office of Community College and Transfer Relations (CCTR) serves a dual purpose targeting increased growth, diversity, and success of our transfer student population. CCTR provides academic advising services to prospective transfer students during the one to two years they attend a partner institution. The services provided by CCTR assist potential transfer students to be better prepared by providing academic guidance allowing students to make informed educational decisions impacting the sequencing of their coursework and assisting them to graduate in a timelier manner.

The academic advising services available to pre-transfer students include review of courses/credits transferred, application of transfer courses to degree checklist(s), course sequence planning, course recommendations, understanding the role of and making plans for participating in undergraduate research and/or study abroad opportunities, graduation timeline strategies, and campus networking. These services are designed to work in conjunction with advising services provided by the students’ sending institution to promote strategic degree planning. Students will explore and set educational goals, engage in degree and major decision-making, and research good fit transfer institutions. Students will become knowledgeable of admission and degree requirements and begin researching potential and optimal career opportunities. CCTR provides guidance in starting various processes for transferring to Texas Tech, including admission and application, financial aid, scholarships, orientation, and connecting with appropriate faculty and staff for the student’s chosen degree at the university.

The second purpose CCTR serves is to advocate, coordinate, facilitate, and maintain initiatives to improve and create partnerships with other institutions of higher education to foster outreach and engagement. CCTR works with all of the Texas Tech colleges, schools, offices and departments to facilitate partnership agreements between Texas Tech and other institutions of higher education, primarily community colleges. CCTR promotes collaborations between faculty to enhance transfer students’ active learning experiences and engagement in undergraduate research, service learning, and study abroad programs. The agreements CCTR facilitates are designed to enrich students’ quality of life and maximize their educational dollars to make the best use of their transfer credits toward a Texas Tech degree.

Contact information: Office of Community College and Transfer Relations; Office of the Provost-Undergraduate Education; 234 West Hall; Box 41076; Lubbock, TX 79409-1076;T 806.742.0876;
F 806.742.0884; danay.phelps@ttu.edu

PEGASUS Program for First Generation College Students

PEGASUS is designed to assist first generation college students as they manage the variety of challenges unique to students without a family background in higher education. As a PEGASUS member, the student will have access to professional staf who work specifically with First Generation College (FGC) students and an upper-class mentor. PEGASUS offers many opportunities for community building with events such as FGC socials, study sessions, and community service opportunities. POWER sessions are offered for achievement in scholarship and unprecedented success in the following areas:

• Transitioning to the university environment
• Securing financial aid
• Improving study skills
• Creating appropriate management skills
• Overcoming personal struggles

FGC PEGASUS Mentors are successful upper-class FGC students who are available for one-to-one relationships with PEGASUS members. Mentors have navigated the challenges of being an FGC student, and their friendship and experiences provide meaningful help and real-world advice on how FGC students can be successful during their first year of college.

PEGASUS is built around giving back to others. Members are proof of access to higher education for FGC families, foster children, and other historically underrepresented populations. From conducting outreach events to building ongoing relationships, PEGASUS students inspire, inform, and nurture pre-college FGC students to prepare for and enroll in college.

Beyond the PEGASUS activities, workshops, and service opportunities described above, there are two additional opportunities that further encourage the success of Texas Tech FGC students:

1. FGC students who are unsure about course selection during their freshman year are encouraged to enroll with other FGC students as part of the PEGASUS Freshman Interest Group (FIG).
2. FGC students who want to live, learn, and grow within a community are encouraged to register for the PEGASUS Learning Community, two residence hall floors designated specifically for entering FGC students. Your peers, programming, and additional access to academic advisors will help you transition to a large university environment that offers many opportunities

FGC advisors, FGC Mentors, and PEGASUS members engage in accomplishing common goals selected to encourage and complement academic efforts.

Contact information: 108 Doak Hall, 806.742.7060, www.fgc.ttu.edu, pegasus@ttu.edu
Back to Top

 

Support Operations for Academic Retention (SOAR)

Learning Center

The Learning Center’s mission is to empower and encourage students in their pursuit of achieving academic success in a welcoming environment..

The Learning Center works to enhance the academic success of all enrolled Texas Tech students by offering a variety of free services:

• Online tutoring available Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. (www.lc.soar.ttu.edu)
• Drop-in peer tutoring for math, physics, chemistry, biology, accounting, engineering ,and Spanish.
• Peer academic coaching designed to provide students with a trained peer coach for ongoing advice on how to prepare academically for TexasTech courses. Common topics include memory techniques and strategies, time management, note taking, goal setting, test-taking tips, and test anxiety.
• An onsite licensed professional counselor to assist students struggling with personal issues that may impair their chances of obtaining academic success.
• A study lounge to accommodate individual and group studying.
  

The Learning Center is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Contact Information: 80 Holden Hall, , www.lc.soar.ttu.edu, 806.742.3664

Programs for Academic Development and Retention

The Programs for Academic Development and Retention are open to all students at Texas Tech and include several courses. Each course is designed to provide opportunities for students to acquire and build skills beneficial for college and career application. Classes meet two to four times a week and average 25-28 students each. To learn more about how to take advantage of these opportunities, see the All-University Programs section of this catalog.

Programs for Academic Development and Retention offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Contact information: 56 Holden Hall, 806.742.3928

Supplemental Instruction (SI)

Supplemental Instruction (SI) targets historically difficult entry-level courses and offers students weekly peer-led review sessions. SI sessions are provided free for all students who want to improve their understanding of course material and improve their grades.

Research shows that students who attend SI sessions regularly achieve an average grade level one-half to one full letter grade higher than students who do not attend.

SI sessions are led by professor-recommended students who have shown excellent competency in the subject area. The SI Leaders are trained to use their experience in the course to help students study more effectively. The SI leaders attend every lecture and create activities and worksheets for each session based on the material presented in the most recent lecture. Please refer to www.si.soar.ttu.edu for the current schedule of SI sessions.

Contact information: 80 Holden Hall, www.si.soar.ttu.edu, 806.742.3664

Tech Transfer Acceleration Program (TTAP)

The Tech Transfer Acceleration Program (TTAP) is a partnership between Texas Tech University and South Plains College (SPC). To qualify for the program, students must have applied and been denied admittance to Texas Tech. After subsequently applying and being accepted into TTAP, each student must co-enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours at SPC and one credit hour at Texas Tech during each semester.

TTAP students live on the Texas Tech campus and can attend classes on the Texas Tech or SPC Reese Center campus. The goal is for each student to complete a minimum of 12 credit h

urs and achieve a 2.5 GPA by the end of the semester to transfer successfully to Texas Tech.
All TTAP students must attend mandatory orientation prior to the first class day, adhere to the program requirements, and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA.

For detailed information contact TTAP Office, 08 Holden Hall, www.ttap.ttu.edu, 806.742.3645.

Texas Success Initiative (TSI)

Under the direction of SOAR, the TSI Developmental Education Office offers students academic advising and determines a plan for academic success in accordance with the Texas Education Code Title 19, Part 1 Chapter 4 Subchapter C. Students who have tested but not attained the minimum scores in one or more sections of the college readiness test are required to obtain TSI advising before registration and enroll continuously in formal developmental education through the TSI Developmental Education Program, 78 Holden Hall, 806.742.3242.

The TSI Development Education Program seeks to improve student readiness for successful completion of college-level work. Students must complete their prescribed developmental sequence successfully before being declared “college ready” in any sequence. To be cleared from TSI requirements in reading, writing, and/or mathematics, students must complete their prescribed developmental reading, writing, or mathematics courses with a grade of C or better in each course. If passing scores are obtained on a retake of the THEA, Accuplacer, Compass, or Asset test, TSI requirements have been satisfied. Otherwise, the student is not declared “college ready” until developmental courses are complete with a grade of C or better. Developmental courses offered by the TSI program are listed below.

• Click here for Texas Success Initiative (TSI) course descriptions.

Study Abroad Program

In today’s globalized job market, students who participate in a study abroad program or international internship are more marketable and competitive in almost every field. An overseas educational experience equips students with an international perspective that helps them to function objectively and comfortably in the global marketplace while earning credit towards their degree.

The Study Abroad division of the Office of International Affairs coordinates all study abroad programs for Texas Tech University. Two international Texas Tech centers – one in Seville, Spain and another in Quedlinburg, Germany – offer students the opportunity to take Texas Tech catalog classes and receive direct TTU credit since the centers serve as satellite campuses. Students may elect a concentrated language program (equivalent to four semesters of Spanish or German) or, at the Seville Center, take other courses that meet general education requirements. Students live with host families and are immersed in the language and culture through excursions and day-to-day experiences.

Other study abroad programs available to Texas Tech students range from two weeks to a full academic year. Many academic departments offer their own faculty-led programs during the summer. Study Abroad advisors assist students with choosing a program that best fits their individual needs and provide guidance during the application and orientation process. All Texas Tech students planning to participate in a study abroad program to earn Texas Tech credit need to consult the Office of International Affairs.

Students participating in any Texas Tech study abroad program are eligible to apply for the Study Abroad Competitive Scholarship, funded by the International Education Fee paid by all Texas Tech students. Students also remain eligible for Texas Tech financial aid to help finance their program.

Contact information: Sandra Crosier, Study Abroad Director, International Cultural Center, 806.742.3667, www.studyabroad.ttu.edu.
Back to Top

 

TECHniques Center

The TECHniques Center, a program of Student Disability Services, is a fee-for-service academic enhancement program that is the only one of its kind in Texas. The program provides supplemental academic support services to meet the needs and promote the retention of undergraduate students with documented evidence of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.

Student participants are undergraduates majoring in degree programs that they have chosen. They are expected to meet the same academic requirements and have the same curricula as other students. Qualified staff members work closely with students enrolled in this program to provide support, assistance, and guidance. Certified tutors provide interactive study skills and content tutoring and are trained to work with each student’s individual learning style.

Contact information: 242 West Hall, 806.742.1822, www.techniques.ttu.edu, techniques.center@ttu.edu
Back to Top

 

TTU Discovery! Program for Exploring Students

Choosing a major is a big decision, but the decision doesn’t have to be difficult. Exploring students have access to academic advisors who are trained to work with them through the Discovery! process. These advisors help students find their direction to an amazing university experience, an on-time graduation, and a future career field that will be fulfilling and rewarding.

The process begins with the Discovery! Major Map workshop. It helps students find their direction by identifying their values, interests, skills, and abilities. Building on the results of helpful career assessments and other tools, each student works individually with an advisor to identify a personalized Discovery! Action Plan that will guide student exploration over the weeks that follow. With valuable experiences that inform their thinking, students are better equipped and more appropriately motivated to be successful in their chosen fields of study.

Contact Information: Texas Tech University Advising, 79 Holden Hall, 806.742.2189, discovery@ttu.edu, www.discovery.ttu.edu

 

University Writing Center

The University Writing Center assists writers during the various stages of their writing projects without regard to their status as either a student (undergraduate or graduate) or faculty member, their level of proficiency, or their particular college.

The center strives to create a supportive environment in which writers and their tutors can work effectively one-to-one either in person or on-screen and online. In addition, the center trains writing tutors to become knowledgeable, effective readers of and responders to texts from various disciplines. Tutors read and respond to texts at any stage of the writing process and address sentence-level issues as well as global issues involving focus, organization, and development. They do not proofread or edit documents for clients but help clients learn to proofread and edit for themselves.

The University Writing Center is located in Room 175 of the English/Philosophy Complex and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday. Writers may call the center to make appointments for 30-minute sessions. They also may bring their writing projects as either a hard copy or texts on discs. To submit texts electronically, writers may access the University Writing Center through the website http://.uwc.ttu.edu.
Back to Top