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By Marc Friesen
The Bethel College Center for Academic Development is here for students.
As the new semester grinds away, students easily start feeling the erosion of their brand-new semester's resolutions. Or perhaps, the frustration of that persistent "C-" feeling in calculus starts getting them down.
Anyone can say, "the only solution is hard work." But what if the hard work just isn't paying off?
A short visit to the office of the Center for Academic Development (CAD), located in the basement of the Mantz Library, will be instanteous contact with a team of 15 dedicated students. These students, recommended by their various professors, are in the CAD to help any student excel.
"The Center for Academic Development has the facilities to help you with almost anything." said Sandee Zerger, director of the CAD.
An estimated 60 percent of students at Bethel College use the services of the CAD throughout the year.
One of Zerger's goals as the CAD moved into a new office space, was to make the ambience more appealing by maintaining a comfortable workroom.
"We're trying to make homework something to look forward to. It should equal time spent in a comfy chair with a good cup of coffee." said Zerger.
Available at the CAD are academic tools designed specifically to help students. The CAD can set students up in study clusters, provide individual tutoring or proofread papers. There are resources availble that assist in writing impressive resumes and developing good study skills. The CAD also gives practice proficiency exams.
"Even though I've never been there myself, I know that the CAD has helped a lot of my friends" said Jeff Weber, senior from Newton.
Sarah Kratzer, senior from Kidron, Ohio, said "I considered majoring in Spanish, but soon realized that I just wasn't any good at it. I went down to the CAD for just about every major assignment and got a native Spanish speaker to help me. That kind of one-on-one tutoring was priceless."
The CAD is also equipped to handle any special helps with classes due to disabilities.
Zerger said "The CAD can provide help by taping classes or serving as a liaison to proctors or scribes for tests. Probably few people know this, but we have things like a phone for the deaf if that would be needed. Our job and desire is to assist with any special needs that arise."
The computer resources in the CAD are considerable. Most of the programs that can be found in the computer labs are also avalilible in the CAD, as well as, a slew of specialized practice programs for under-graduate and graduate level exams, such as GRE, G-MAT, and TOEFL.
The CAD is open during normal business hours, as well as, some evening hours and by appointment. For more information call Sandee Zerger at 284-5214 or ext. 214 on campus.
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