By: James Lipsett
Exam season is approaching and inevitably students are stressing out. “This is always a tough time of year with everything starting to come down to the wire, I worry about keeping up sometimes.” says music production student Jake Winsor. There are deadlines to meet and finals to study for. With all of this pressure, there is a tendency for people to feel stuck with nowhere to turn. That’s what Dan Cuddy and the Student Success Service is for.
Cuddy’s main concern is that many students have no idea about the service or where it is located when they first attend Algonquin. “Accepted applicants to Algonquin, or to any school for that matter, get these huge information bundles mailed to them with too much info to process all at once, one small piece about the Student Success Service has a very low chance of getting noticed.”
Even with a school as large in size as Algonquin, it is rare to find a problem that cannot be handled by Cuddy and the service’s team of section specialists. Students are encouraged to contact the main Student Success Service desk by phone, email or personal visit. From there they can either speak with someone on-site, or they will be directed to one of the service’s many specialists such as councilors, nurses or section-specific staff that deals with schoolwork related issues.
What can one expect when seeking guidance from the Student Success Service? At the start of an appointment, you will be asked about the problem or problems that you are experiencing. From there, Cuddy will work with you to come up with a list of possible solutions, suggest courses of action and recommend people that would be worth talking to.
“I’m kind of like a GPS, guiding you on your journey.” “Everyone is bound to run into road blocks and construction on their journey, it’s my job to direct you around them and find the best possible route.” Said Cuddy.
If you have an issue that you need an answer for right away, there is a very helpful live chat located in the Student Success Service section of the Algonquin website. It operates from 7 a.m to 7 p.m every weekday, as well as a few hours on Saturdays by volunteer students, and is designed to answer basic questions quickly and directly.
Hours for the Student Success Service desk are 9:45 a.m to 6:00 p.m on Monday to Thursday and 8:30 a.m to 4:45 p.m on Fridays. The main desk is located in room E343 in the Student Commons building, can be reached by phone at 613-727-4723 ext. 5152 and by email at studentsuccess@algonquincollege.com.