杏吧性世界

There is no one universally agreed upon definition of what student coaching is. Broadly, we like to describe it as helping students discover their individual definition of success and then building an action plan to develop the skills and resources needed to reach their academic or personal goals. The student will serve as the expert and the Success Coach is there to guide the process.

Students get to set their own goals with our Success Coaches, so the reasons are widespread, however, the most common reasons that we work with students are academic challenges. This could range from exploring majors and careers as a freshman to alternative major planning if the first major choice doesn鈥檛 work out.

Academic Advisors for specific majors are only trained to advise students for their specific major. This is great if the student already knows what they want to do, but if they are currently exploring or looking at alternative majors we can help! Our Success Coaches are trained advising generalists which have baseline knowledge of all the majors at USF. This makes us well suited to helping students explore a variety of different majors and careers to find the best fit. Once we do find the right fit, the Success Coach will refer the student to that specific major鈥檚 Academic Advisor.

One of the best benefits of working with a Success Coach is their ability to meet with students multiple times a semester! At the first appointment, the student and the Success Coach will discuss what topics the student wants to work on and help create goals and an action plan. The number of follow-up appointments will vary from student to student based on their needs. Our Success Coaches want to serve as an accountability buddy, so, we encourage students to utilize our services until their goals are met!

An Academic Advocate from OAA will normally work with students who have multiple compounding barriers that are preventing them from progressing to graduation. They specialize in navigating university policies and procedures and advocating on behalf of students to get them through difficult hurdles. During these interactions, the Academic Advocate is serving as the role of expert. In contrast, when students work with a Success Coach the student themselves is considered the content expert. Each student will dictate their own goals, create their own action plans, and work toward those goals on their own. Our Success Coaches will be there to guide the student through the process and then serve as their accountability buddy until the goals are met! Depending on the situation, students may work with both a Success Coach and an Academic Advocate to make progress on goals. 

Students can meet with us through in-person appointments, Microsoft Teams video appointments, or phone appointments. Oftentimes our Success Coaches will use visual aids during their meetings, so we encourage in-person or MS Teams video appointments (especially for the first meeting). The OARS office is located in the Student Services Building, SVC 2002. Students can book their appointments through our Intake Form .

Peer mentors at USF are valuable resources and we believe that every student should be connected to a peer mentor! Depending on the peer mentor, they may be able to help with study strategies, navigating resources on campus, connecting students to social opportunities, and serving as a listening ear when students need help. Our Success Coaches are trained professionals who are knowledgeable about coaching strategies and university policies, procedures, academics, and student support resources. We are well-informed in all the topics that a peer mentor can address, however, sometimes it鈥檚 best for students to connect with students. Oftentimes, our Success Coaches will encourage students to find a peer mentor along their journey for additional support.

Yes, your Success Coach will remove the NP hold after your first meeting with them.

The USF Counseling Center is a valuable resource at USF. They are trained, licensed, mental health professionals that work with students when personal or emotional problems are impacting academic success and their usual ways of coping aren't working well. They are also a confidential resource on campus. In contrast, our Success Coaches are not trained in these specific areas and are not a confidential resource on campus. Success Coaches will often recommend that students connect with the Counseling Center if personal or emotional worries are creating barriers to their goal attainment.

No, our services are included in your undergraduate tuition and fees! 

Students can meet with us at any point in their college journey from freshman year to senior year! Most students come to us when they begin to experience moments of change and need help navigating that transition. However, many students may want to come in because they just need an accountability buddy to help them accomplish their goals!