Academic Resource Center Home Page

Director: Kim Thomas

Mission Statement

The Academic Resource Center aims to enhance, coordinate, and promote the academic support services available to students, faculty, and staff at the Birmingham-Southern College. The centers and labs that form the Academic Resource Center have a cross-curricular emphasis, providing services that complement one another and share, philosophically and practically, in the goal of advancing student academic success and faculty and staff development. ARC offers training, tutoring, and general assistance in a wide range of concepts, skills and practices relevant to academic achievement, with a special emphasis on information fluency.

Implementation

ARC plays a central role in the Foundations curriculum, from the innovative 1-Y courses to the capstone Senior Conference, reinforcing the key principles and skills emphasized in this curriculum throughout the student's college career: writing, public speaking, critical thinking, data analysis, technology, and research. Through the use of peer tutors and one-on-one assistance, the Academic Resource Center also promotes the Foundations' general goal of collaborative learning and peer-teaching. The centralization of the centers and labs at key locations on campus underscores the importance that ARC places on access and availability of the services it offers. Comprehensive promotion and coordination of the services among the respective directors of the centers and labs advance the goal of ARC to provide an effective referral system for students, faculty, and staff seeking assistance. This promotion and coordination also aid the ARC program in maximizing the use of the College's academic resources while also achieving the greatest efficiency.