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The Academic Skills Center has been located on the third floor of the Collis Student Center, it's current location, since the Fall of 1993. The ASC has enjoyed the central location on campus, and the excellent facilities provided.
During these years, the ASC has dramatically increased its services for Dartmouth students. It has (not surprisingly) seen a reciprocal interest on campus. In most areas of support it provides (e.g. personal academic skills advising, tutoring, disabilities, student-athletes, workshops, community outreach), the ASC has seen a substantial rise in programming and interest since 1993. This is largely due to the vision created by Carl Thum for the 1990's. This vision, captured in the ASC mission statement, is that "all students who wish to improve their academic skills and ability to learn" would find more than adequate assistance through workshops, tutoring, study groups, and personal advising sessions.
1993-1994
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Gail Zimmerman, Academic Counselor
Mary Elizabeth Amico, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Staci Feldman '95, Student Office Assistant (Fall)
Mark Harrison '94, Student Office Assistant (Winter)
Rebecca Shaewitz '94, Student Office Assistant (Spring)
Alison Burrell '95, Student Office Assistant (Summer)
Catherine Horner '94, Student Intern (Part-time)
- Mary Amico ably filled the administrative assistant position formerly held by Sarah Spiegel. Newly located in Collis Center in the heart of campus, the ASC enjoyed an increase in one-to-one academic skills advising and disability prescreenings. As Nancy Pompian's time was increasingly taken up by support for students with disabilities, the combined efforts of Mary Amico and Gail Zimmerman stabilized academic support for students.
- In an effort to build good relations between deans and coaches, Gail began meeting with coaches individually. She provided a series of roadshows, and met with students individually, half of whom were athletes. In addition, an Academic Enrichment Library was begun.
- Total contact fell again during the 1993-1994 year, to 2164. But both the Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Group program experienced a rise to 687 and 722, respectively.
- Disabilities services saw a dramatic increase in prescreenings (40 more than the year before). 32 language waivers were issued, and 23 physical disabilities were accommodated.
1994-1995
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Gail Zimmerman, Academic Counselor
Mary Elizabeth Amico, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Elizabeth Gross '96, Student Office Assistant (Fall)
Michael Roberts '96, Student Office Assistant (Winter)
Nicole Haig '95, Student Office Assistant (Spring)
Katharine Danzansky, Student Office Assistant (Summer)
Andrew Kim '95, Student Intern (Part-time)
- The Academic Skills Center saw great change during the 1994-1995 academic year. Although the full-time staff remained the same, all ASC programs experienced substantial rise in student use. Carl Thum, taking advantage of such a central and accessible location in the new Collis Center, continued his promotion of the ASC as available to every Dartmouth student. As a result, Learning at Dartmouth, a course designed for first-year, first-term students to learn important study and time management skills, was implemented. A new mini-course called Power Learning was offered during winter and spring terms, and two "Strategic Learning" videos—Learning and Time Management—were produced. In addition, the ASC created this website.
- The Tutor Clearinghouse, Study Groups, and one-on-one counseling sessions, as well as pre-screenings for learning disabilities, all reached a new peak in 1994-1995. Total contacts rose from 2164 to 3005. The Tutor Clearinghouse continued to provide tutors primarily for courses such as chemistry, economics, physics, engineering, psychology, math and biology. 730 students were tutored in 83 courses. Study Groups saw 783 students participate in 118 groups, a rise from 722 students the year before. Academic skills advising sessions likewise rose dramatically, from 255 to 523 contacts. Student disability counseling experienced 63 inquiries for learning disabilities, and 26 concerning physical disabilities.
- The ASC also increased its communication with the Dartmouth College Athletic Department. Gail Zimmerman worked with students, coaches and deans to build trust between them. She began to meet with first-year members of fall sports teams, continuing team workshops and increasing individual counseling sessions. The Peer Advisor program begun in 1993-1994 merged with the Upperclass Dean's program to provide student-to-student support.
1995-1996
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Gail Zimmerman, Academic Counselor
Mary Elizabeth Amico, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Karen Rice, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Alison Moll '95, Student Office Assistant (Fall), Student Intern (Part-time)
Alison May '97, Student Office Assistant (Winter), Student Intern (Part-time)
Jennifer Hill '97, Student Office Assistant (Spring)
Rain Minns '97, Student Office Assistant (Summer)
- During the 1995-1996 school year, the Academic Skills Center experienced a simultaneous improvement in programming and decrease in total student contacts. In its second year, Learning at Dartmouth received credit as a P.E. course and enrolled 40 students in the fall term. In addition, greater numbers of minorities—particularly African-Americans and Latino/Hispanic students—made use of the ASC. A third "Strategic Learning" video, Reading Improvement, was produced, and the ASC increased its collaboration with the Student Associates to the Dean program. In addition, the ASC stepped up on-campus marketing through posters and blitz bulletins.
- Total contact dropped from 3005 to 2534, but underneath this decrease were encouraging trends. Disability contacts more than doubled. In addition, the Tutor Clearinghouse, although experiencing 771 contacts as opposed to 804 the year before, matched an astounding 96% of all tutor requests with tutors, by far an all-time high. Study Groups likewise experienced a drop of 235 students, as the cost was increased from $25 to $30, but once again, attendance for each group session increased overall.
- Attention to athletes was further enhanced through the work of Gail Zimmerman and NCAA funding. During the summer and fall terms, the ASC implemented a learning styles assessment for all first-year recruited athletes. On campus, 16 workshops were provided, with 231 students attending. The Academic Enrichment Library increased in holdings and use. Most importantly, however, was the genesis of the NCAA laptop program, in which two laptops were made available on a checkout basis to varsity athletes. This program began as an effort to accommodate the traveling athlete, giving him or her the same advantages as if he or she was on campus. Full funding was provided through the NCAA.
- Important developments took place in disabilities services. Nancy Pompian worked with the Association of American Medical Colleges, teaching about disabilities. The ASC saw a substantial rise in psychiatric disabilities (a trend to continue in the future), and worked with 140 LD/ADD students and 45 with physical disabilities.
1996-1997
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Gail Zimmerman, Academic Counselor
Amanda Malone, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Karen Rice, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Stacey Sheriff, Student Office Assistant (Fall)
Ernesto Cuevas '98, Student Office Assistant (Winter)
Michael Brewer '99, Student Office Assistant (Spring)
Erica Thrall '98, Student Office Assistant (Summer)
Alison May '97, Student Intern (Part-time)
- In 1996-1997, the ASC welcomed Amanda Malone as its new, full-time administrative assistant. Mary Amico left to become Associate Director of Admissions at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York. Her position was filled briefly by Karen Rice. The year also brought a great increase in student contact and services. Learning at Dartmouth completed its third year, and received positive evaluations. The fourth video in the Strategic Learning series, "Note-taking," was completed as well. Carl Thum made a presentation about this video series to the College Reading and Learning Association, and sales of these videos then began. The ASC continued its success in attracting Latino/Hispanic students, and continued its commitment to developing peer advising and support through the Dean's Office Student Consultants (DOSC) program. Finally, in an outreach effort to the regional community, Carl Thum taught the College Learning Strategies Course for area high school students.
- Total student contact reached a record high this year at 3509, an increase of nearly 26%. Workshops and roadshows saw an increase in participation of a remarkable 46%. The ASC continued its commitment to one-on-one academic skills advising, and likewise, saw a rise in students desiring personal study skills tutoring. The Tutor Clearinghouse program saw a slight decline, from 771 to 754 contacts, and a tapering of the abnormally high matching percentage (drop from 96% to 88%) seen the year before. Study Groups saw the greatest decline, however, as total contact dropped from 548 to 437. This in large part reflects the Chemistry Department's change in programming to sponsor individual tutoring rather than study groups as it has in the past.
- The NCAA program continued providing support through the laptop checkout service. Five new laptops were purchased, making seven available. Evaluations were overwhelmingly positive, as students wrote such comments as, "Great service. If I couldn't have a laptop last week I would have had a miserable exam period." Gail continued meeting with students, mostly athletes, in personal academic skills advising sessions. She also continued work on her doctorate through the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
- Nancy Pompian relinquished direct involvement with the Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Group programs, as the demands of disabilities support had increased dramatically over the years. Amanda Malone took direct supervision, while Nancy concentrated on the 135 students with LD/ADD, 45 with a physical disability, and 18 students with a psychiatric disability. This 200% rise in psychiatric disabilities reflects both collaboration with Counseling Services as well as a growing trend in higher education. Nancy also served on the committee to develop national guidelines for documenting a learning disability, published by AHEAD.
- Student contact was inhibited during the 1996-1997 school year by the unfortunate legal conflict instigated by a Dartmouth student who claimed he was not given a language waiver he deserved. The Office of Civil Rights began an investigation to uncover possible discrimination. The ASC successfully fought the complaint in court, providing appropriate and accurate documentation. Although everyone at the office was sensitized to the necessity of accurate records and the possibility of future legal conflict, the real tragedy came at the expense of other students, who were sapped of valuable support through the ASC during this time.
1997-1998
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Gail Zimmerman, Academic Counselor
Amanda Malone, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Mary Ann Villar, Office Assistant (Fall and Winter)
Erica Wygonik '99, Student Office Assistant (Spring)
Daniel Stulac '01, Student Office Assistant (Summer)
Stephanie Feldman '98, Student Intern (Part-time)
Michelyn Pinard '98, Volunteer Intern (NCAA/academic support)
Stephanie Bartling, Volunteer Intern (disabilities)
- Throughout his time at the ASC, Carl Thum has worked with every part of the college to present the ASC as a valuable resource for any Dartmouth student. During the 1997-1998 school year, the ASC increased its promotion to both students and faculty. Films for the Humanities and Sciences (Princeton, NJ) was contracted to market the Strategic Learning video series that had been produced over the past few years. The series achieved wide-spread national recognition and placed the office in high esteem among college officials. In addition, the ASC saw an increase in the use of its website and the ASC blitzmail bulletin. A new ASC brochure describing the center's services was published as well. Learning at Dartmouth received positive evaluations once again. The Dean's Office Student Consultants likewise played a large role in extending these resources to students. The presence of Amanda Malone added increased stability to the office, as both the Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Groups were ably run.
- In addition to such major increases in marketing, Carl Thum worked in collaboration with Bruce Baker (Counseling Services) and Lisa Thum (Senior Class Dean) to develop an Academic Discussion Group, for those students in danger of academic probation. In an outreach effort to the Upper Valley community, Carl once again offered the summer course for high school students. He and Gail Zimmerman continued meeting with students in personal academic skills advising sessions. Finally, the NCAA provided the means for three new laptops, as the ASC continued its laptop program for varsity athletes.
- The ASC enjoyed a record high of 3,878 contacts this year, and increase of over 10%. Academic counseling remained stable. The Tutor Clearinghouse received 979 requests, and matched over 92%. Study Groups saw the greatest increase, however, rising from 437 in 1996-1997 to 744, an increase of 28%.
- Disabilities Services at Dartmouth was surprised in 1997-1998 to receive a donation of $5000 and a matching donation of $5000 from the donor's company. The donor was a Dartmouth alumnus with dyslexic children. The money was deposited into a fund to provide Dragon NaturallySpeaking (a voice recognition computer program) for students with dyslexia and physical disabilities. In addition, another donor gave $15,000 to increase support for students with learning disabilities.
1998-1999
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Gail Zimmerman, Academic Counselor
Corynn Gilbert, Academic Counselor
Amanda Malone, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Alexa Burneikis '98, Full-time Office Assistant (Fall)
Kevan Higgins '00, Full-time Office Assistant (Winter)
Lauren Brindel '99, Full-time Office Assistant (Spring)
Megan Daggett '00, Full-time Office Assistant (Summer)
Daniel Stulac '01, Student Intern (Part-time)
- This year, the ASC enjoyed continued success of the Strategic Learning video series. Revenue reached $4,000 and was used to produce a fifth video on stress management. Learning at Dartmouth continued to reach students early in their Dartmouth careers. Through close communication and involvement with the Dean's Office Student Consultants, the ASC again saw a record number of contacts. Carl Thum continued the summer program for high school students as well. Daniel Stulac '01 assembled The Sophomore Major Advising Guide. It was distributed to all sophomores, and received positive evaluations, though it was discontinued in years to come.
- 4206 students were contacted this year, as the ASC saw a dramatic rise (33%) in the number of students who attended ASC-sponsored programs. Personal academic skills advising sessions also rose (9%), but the Tutor Clearinghouse experienced a dramatic drop to only 555 requests. 81% were matched with a tutor. The Study Group program also experienced a drop to 546, but this number is more in line with the two years previous to 1997-1998. Minority students were well contacted this year, making up 56% of the contacts in which the optional ethnicity question is asked.
- NCAA monies allowed for an expansion of the laptop program, as two of the older computers were replaced with G3 Powerbooks.
- Nancy Pompian served 154 students with learning disabilities and ADD, 78 with physical disabilities, and a remarkable 22 with psychiatric disabilities. This statistic represents a 75% increase in psychiatric disabilities. Pompian and Thum recognized this growing trend in higher education, and so the ASC began work on a psychiatric disabilities symposium, to be held in March of 2000. In addition, students initiated a chronic disease support group. Nancy became a consultant for the Educational Testing Service. Finally, Daniel Stulac '01 researched the feasibility of purchasing a computer to run Dragon NaturallySpeaking, a location for the program, and the expense in training students. The ASC purchased a computer and found a location in the Baker Library stacks. After being professionally trained, Daniel began training students with learning and physical disabilities to use the program.
1999-2000
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Corynn Gilbert, Academic Counselor
Amy Ashcraft, Full-time Administrative Assistant
Jenifer Takeshita, Full-time Office Assistant (Fall)
Lauren Wilson '02, Full-time Office Assistant (Winter)
Ruthie Shek '02, Full-time Office Assistant (Spring)
Rachel Fleming '00, Full-time Office Assistant
Daniel Stulac '01, Student Intern
Becky Sangster '00, NCAA Intern
Erica Wygonik '99, Part-time student assistant
- The ASC saw a great deal of change and accomplishment during the 1999-2000 school year. In September, the center welcomed Amy Ashcraft as its new, full-time administrative assistant, continuing the role of Tutor Clearinghouse Coordinator, Office Manager, and Administrative Assistant. The year's highlight came in March, as the ASC hosted an invitational psychiatric disabilities symposium. Thirty-six institutions were represented (mostly COFHE schools). Kay Redfield Jamison spoke to a crowd of over 400 (comprised of students, faculty, symposium attendees, and community members) about her personal journey through bi-polar disorder. The symposium planning committee consisted of Carl Thum, Nancy Pompian, Gail Zimmerman, Amy Ashcraft, Corynn Gilbert, Erika Wygonik '99, and Daniel Stulac '01. Daniel Stulac '01 organized many of the event's logistics, as well as directing a group of student volunteers. The event placed Dartmouth at the forefront of selective schools that are dealing seriously with this growing trend in higher education. In addition, the ASC once again saw a rise in psychiatric disabilities this year.
- The ASC continued to reach first-year, first-term students through Learning at Dartmouth, which enrolled fifty students this year and received positive evaluations. "Stress Management," the fifth video in the Strategic Learning video series, was completed. By gift of a donor, the videos were digitized and made available online. Collaboration with DOSCs continued, as well as another successful year of community outreach through the high school course.
- Total contact reached a record high this year of 4886, a remarkable 2594 of these coming through roadshows and various workshops. Personal counseling sessions and the Study Group program also saw slight increases. The Tutor Clearinghouse experienced a dramatic rise to 834. The low number of 555 the year before appeared to be a fluke.
- As disabilities services experienced a great deal of recognition through the symposium, the NCAA program likewise changed and improved dramatically. Gail Zimmerman took her present position as Dean of First-Year Students, and the ASC welcomed Corynn Gilbert as a new academic counselor. Although Corynn stayed for the 1999-2000 year only, her presence revolutionized support for athletes at Dartmouth. The laptop program, then in its fourth year, replaced three old computers with I-Mac Powerbooks. In addition, Corynn's enthusiasm brought an increase in student athlete workshops, and more importantly, a great increase in communication between coaches, deans, and the ASC. Corynn established relationships by organizing a reception for deans and coaches, and began meeting with coaches individually. She also attended award ceremonies and banquets for athletes.
2000-2001
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Sue Stuebner, Academic Advisor
Amy Ashcraft, Tutor Clearinghouse & Study Group Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Meagan Verdeyen '03, Full-time Office Assistant
Lora Bolton '02, Full-time Office Assistant
Mark Kissling '02, NCAA Intern
Frank Yoshida '02, Full-time Office Assistant
Meghan Fitzgerald '04, Full-time Office Assistant
Dan Stulac '01, ASC Intern
- This year saw the addition of Sue Stuebner '93 to the ASC staff, as the new Academic Counselor. Sue focused mainly on advising student-athletes and continuing to improve relations between coaches, deans, and faculty. Sue also presented multiple workshops on study skills and time management, and worked with Amy Ashcraft in training new tutors for the Tutor Clearinghouse. She also created a training manual for tutors and study group leaders.
- Amy Ashcraft continued her work as the Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Group Coordinator, recruiting students as tutors and study group leaders and improving training techniques. Amy completely redesigned the study group handbook, and the new version received praise from study group leaders and professors.
- In July 2001, Nancy Pompian gave a national presentation "Overcoming Barriers to Collaboration" between her office and Counseling (Mark Reed, co-presenter) at AHEAD. She also consulted for Educational Testing Services on disabilities for the third year running. 273 students registered for services with Nancy: 180 learning disabled/ADHD students, 50 physically disabled students, and 43 students with psychiatric disabilities. Dartmouth was in a consortium of five highly selective colleges (Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Columbia) to get a federal grant on invisible disabilities/Universal Instruction of Design. Professors and Dick's House counselors increased referrals for psychiatric disabilities.
- All five of the Academic Success videotapes became available on the website. An alumnus donated money to market and distribute CD's of the videos.
- The Learning at Dartmouth course saw its seventh year, with an enrollment of over 52 freshmen. The course received very positive evaluations for its content and presenter, Carl Thum. Carl's Reading Improvement Miniversity course was also well-received, with an enrollment of 25 for the 4-session course. The College Learning Strategies Course, a summer course led by Carl for high school students entering college in the fall, continued its success, with an enrollment of 30. He also served as advisor and main supporter of the newly created Dartmouth chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
- Meghan Fitzgerald '04 created a new office assistant manual for her position, allowing her successors to work more efficiently with all necessary information at their fingertips.
- Total student contact decreased slightly from the previous year, with 4,742 contacts (a decrease of 3%).
2001-2002
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Assistant Director, Student Disabilities Coordinator, and Section 504 Coordinator
Sue Stuebner, Academic Advisor
Amy Ashcraft, Tutor Clearinghouse & Study Group Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Petra Halsema, ASC Intern
Suzanne Larimore '04, Full-time Office Assistant
- The new, updated ASC website was coordinated this year by Sue Stuebner '93. The website has an improved design, making it more accessible for all students and the general public. Sue also worked with the CHAMPS Life Skills Intern in the Athletic Department to initiate the CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes' Minds for Personal Success) Life Skills program at Dartmouth, an NCAA program designed to promote intellectual and personal growth among student-athletes.
- Learning at Dartmouth continued into its eighth year, with positive reviews from the 49 students who were enrolled.
- Nancy Pompian served 168 learning disabled / ADHD students, 35 physically disabled
- students, and 39 students with psychiatric disabilities this year, a slight decrease from last year's totals. Many more students are self-identified as having learning disabilities upon entering Dartmouth, but counselors, deans and faculty increasingly refer students for suspected disabilities, so pre-screenings continue to be numerous.
- Dartmouth received the five-college Department of Education Universal Instructional Design grant (other colleges were Brown, Harvard, Stanford and Columbia). With funds from the grant, Nancy coordinated a workshop in December 2001 for 27 faculty members. The workshop covered teaching techniques that reach all students, including those with disabilities, and ways in which to minimize the need for individual accommodations. Some of these techniques include providing a highly detailed syllabus, enunciating the learning goals for the course, and making course material available over the web. For more information, see the Ivy Access Initiative web site at: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/uid/html/about.shtml
- In May 2002, the ASC welcomed Holly Potter as its new full-time administrative assistant. Holly brings strong experience with student affairs after five years of work in the Upperclass Deans' Office, and is an enthusiastic and capable addition to the ASC team. Holly coordinates the Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Group programs, manages the ASC budget and oversees the office. She has already made valuable improvements to the training programs for tutors and study group leaders by expanding the training session to include experiential activities that emphasize communication and different learning styles.
- As part of an institution-wide effort towards uniformity in computer operating systems, the ASC switched from Macintosh OS to Windows XP. Petra Halsema '03, the ASC Student Intern, helped smooth the transition by sorting through the old files on all ASC computers. She also updated and improved Carl's study skills presentations using Microsoft Powerpoint.
- Fall 2001 saw the highest number of student contacts on record, with 2617 total.
- Total student contacts for 2001-02 reached 5,193, a 10% rise from last year which is mainly due to the increase in attendance at workshops, roadshows and presentations.
2002-2003
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl P. Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Student Disabilities and Section 504 Coordinator
Rob Morrissey, Academic Advisor/CHAMPS Life Skills Coordinator
Holly Potter, Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Group Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Petra Halsema '03, ASC Intern
Tim Cahill '03, Full-time Office Assistant, Summer term
David Velleman '04, Full-time Office Assistant, Fall term
Adrienne Draper '04, Full-time Office Assistant, Winter term
Christine Randazzo '03, Full-time Office Assistant, Spring term
- Carl Thum's Learning at Dartmouth course continued into its ninth year, but only 31 students enrolled this year versus last year's total of 49. The reason for the dip is unclear. Over the past few years, enrollment at ASC study skills workshops has continued to decline and the program may be discontinued.
- The Dean's Office Student Consultants (DOSC) program, a joint effort between the ASC, the Upperclass Dean's Office, and the First Year Office, has continued. DOSCs receive training in academic advising and study skills, and conduct outreach programs in residential halls.
- In August, Nancy Pompian was interviewed by Madge Kaplan of National Public Radio on the subject of college students with depression. Hear the interview at http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/aug/mentalhealth/index
- In December, Nancy oversaw a workshop covering Universal Instructional Design for Latin instruction. She also served in the Web Accessibility Group at Dartmouth, a committee that is working to make the College's web sites accessible to people of all abilities.
- The number of prescreenings has decreased this year, as more entering students were self-identified for disabilities.
- 2002 also marked the inauguration of the NCAA /CHAMPS Life Skills Program, a cooperative program run by the ASC and the Athletic Department. Carl Thum, Nancy Pompian, and representatives from the two departments conducted a nationwide search for the new Academic Counselor and sifted through over one hundred applications before settling on Rob Morrissey. Rob joined the ASC in July after two years working on compliance and event management in the Athletics Department. As the first full-time Academic Advisor/CHAMPS Life Skills Coordinator, Rob raises awareness among athletes about campus resources, through individual meetings with students, service on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and collaboration with coaches, deans and faculty. Rob also manages the ASC website and the NCAA laptop program for student-athletes.
2003-2004
Academic Skills Center Staff
Carl P. Thum, Director
Nancy Pompian, Student Disabilities and Section 504 Coordinator
Rob Morrissey, Academic Counselor/CHAMPS Life Skills Coordinator
Holly Potter, Tutor Clearinghouse and Study Group Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Janice L. Wightman, CI, American Sign Language Interpreter/Coordinator
Petra A. Halsema ’03, Student Intern, Summer and Fall Terms
Caryn Karo ’04, Student Assistant, Summer Term
J. Kyle Swingle ’05, Office Assistant, Fall Term
Hannah Gelman ’06, Office Assistant Winter Term
Rachel Halsema ’06, Student Intern, Winter Term
Joseph Rago ’05, Office Assistant, Spring Term
- The ASC saw another increase in overall student contact during the 2003-2004 school year, reaching 5,424 student contacts: the highest total ever recorded. The tutoring and study group programs continued to attract many participants with a 16% increase in the number of study groups offered. Specific emphasis was placed on improving the recruiting and training of tutors as well as marketing of services.
- Carl Thum worked in cooperation with the chemistry department to begin the development of the newest addition to the line of Learning Videos. The video will be a guide for how to succeed in general chemistry.
- Campus-wide academic skills workshops have been discontinued in order to avoid competition with similar programs offered by various other areas of the college and increase the focus placed on other ASC programs. Learning at Dartmouth was moved to a time slot in the late afternoon and saw an increase in participation as a result of this change, with the enrollment of 47 first-year students.
- In September of 2003, two deaf students and one who receives hard of hearing remote-real-time captioning services (CART) enrolled at Dartmouth. Although Dartmouth has had deaf students previously, this was the first time interpreting services had been requested. Janice was hired as the interpreter coordinator in order to coordinate and schedule contract interpreters as well as to provide interpreting services. She also put on a number of workshops to help faculty to understand the concept and process of interpreting. Several campus-wide education programs were conducted through First Friday and the OPAL office to educate the community. Additionally, the ASC was able to find a reliable remote CART provider, CaptionFirst, although finding technical assistance in the classroom has been difficult.
- Nancy announced her retirement plans and the position was changed from Student Disability Coordinator to Director of Student Disability Services At the same time, Nancy relinquished the title of Section 504 Coordinator, which she had held for 18 years, to the Office Institution of Diversity and Equity Deputy Director Kate Burke. A search for her replacement was planned for the 2004-2005 year.
- During the 03-04 school year, Nancy served 133 LD or ADHD students, 43 physically disabled and 28 students with psychiatric disabilities.
- Although faculty advising to the athletic teams had been in place at Dartmouth for some time, there was not much structure to the program. Hoping to establish parameters for the program in order to create more effective advising for student athletes, Rob and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee created the Handbook for Team Faculty Advisors. At the end of the fall term, the ASC hosted a dinner for first-year student-athletes in Collis Commonground in order to celebrate their accomplishments throughout their first year as well as to emphasize the importance of the balance between sports and academics. Invited speakers included First Year Dean Zimmerman, Professor Kang, and Professor Emeritus Daniel.
- The ’03-’04 year also saw a proliferation of prospective student-athlete workshops which attempted to depict classroom life at Dartmouth and stressed the importance of time management. The ASC acquired 8 new Dell Laptops with funds from the Ivy Opportunity Fund for the NCAA Laptop checkout program.
2004-2005
Carl P. Thum, Ph.D. Director
Nancy Pompian, M.Ed. Director of Student Disability Services
Cathy Trueba MA Director of Student Disability Services (as of July)
Michelle Smith, MS, Academic Advisor/CHAMPS Life Skills Coordinator
Janice L. Wightman, CI, American Sign Language Interpreter/Coordinator
Kate Eifler, BA, CT, CI, Staff Interpreter
Holly Potter, Tutor Clearinghouse Coordinator
Erin Hatfield ’05, Office Assistant, Summer Term
Sheila Quigley, Full-time Office Assistant, Fall/Winter Terms
Pam Cortland, '06, Full-time Office Assistant, Winter Term
Kelly Thomason ’05, Part-time Office Assistant, Winter Term
Elizabeth Swedo '06, Full-time Office Assistant, Spring Term
Lindsay Longe '06, Full-time Office Assistant, Summer Term
Yasemin Elci '07, Part-time Office Assistant, Summer Term
- In the Fall of 2004, Kate Eifler began as a full time staff interpreter, thereby significantly lessening the need for contract interpreters. In the winter, Kate took over CART services as well.
- Rob left the ASC in the Fall term to take a new position as the Assistant Director of Corporate and Venture Initiatives at Dartmouth’s Development Office. A search to fill this position culminated with the hiring of Michelle Smith joined the ASC staff at the end of the fall term.
- Nancy was able to find donor money to pay for two unique evaluations: one for a student whose native language is Mandarin which was performed by the Mandarin Learning Disability evaluator at MIT, and the other a neurological test for a student who had memory loss as a result of previous seizures. Nancy also donated an unused print enlarging machine to a medical student with low vision and assisted a group of students with manic-depressive illness in forming a discussion group regarding the social aspects of being manic-depressive at Dartmouth.
- The Learning at Dartmouth course instituted a winter session for the first time, enrolling an additional 11 students. It is hoped that with increased marketing, the winter term offering of the course will have greater participation in the future.
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