2023-2024 Catalog

Academic Services

Academic Resource Hub

The Academic Resource Hub, part of the Office of the Advising & Co-Curricular Programs, provides academic support services to enhance student success. Peer tutoring, academic counseling, accessibility services, academic support for student athletes and supplemental instruction are among the programs provided by the Hub and are available to all students.

Peer Tutoring Program

The Academic Resource Hub is committed to providing high quality peer tutoring services to our students. Our peer program follows the College Reading and Learning Association's International Tutor Training Program Certification guidelines and standards for tutor development. Peer Tutors can obtain Peer Tutor Level 1 Certification through the Academic Resource Hub. Peer tutoring is available in a wide variety of courses and students may request a tutor using the recently-adopted application StudyTree, which connects students to Peer Tutors as well as other resources.

Academic Counseling

Our coordinators are available to meet individually with students or conduct small-group workshops. Students can be assisted in any of the following areas: study habits, note taking, reading strategies, test preparation, test taking, time management, etc.

Academic Support for Student Athletes

Lafayette offers a range of services to student-athletes who face the dual challenge of performing well in the classroom while maintaining a commitment to varsity athletics. First-year student-athletes are assigned a peer mentor to help with the transition to Lafayette. In addition, academic enhancement workshops, structured study sessions, and access to specific educational technologies are all part of the program to assist students in meeting their academic obligations. A full-time Student-Athlete Academic Support Coordinator monitors student-athlete academic progress and coordinates with both faculty and coaches to provide specific resources to enhance success of struggling student-athletes.

Supplemental Instruction

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an internationally known academic support program designed to aid students enrolled in historically difficult courses. These courses frequently are introductory or "gatekeeper courses" such as general chemistry, general biology, economics and calculus. SI sessions are student-facilitated, regularly scheduled, informal review sessions in which students compare notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools, solve practice problems, and predict test items. Students learn how to integrate course content and study skills while working together. Students serving in the role of Supplemental Instruction Leader have the opportunity to work closely with the faculty of the supported course and the Hub staff, developing leadership and group facilitation skills.

Peer Advising

The Peer Advising Program is supported by the Office of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs and is dedicated to assisting students throughout their important first year of college by establishing one-on-one peer-mentoring relationships between first year and 'PARDners' who are upperclass students and have been selected for this important role on the basis of their ability to assist new students navigate their first year at Lafayette College.

Accessibility Services

Lafayette College is committed to ensuring reasonable accommodations to students who are substantially limited by a documented disability. Lafayette students with physical, psychological, and/or learning disabilities have met the same competitive requirements for admission as all other Lafayette students. Once admitted, students may request support services in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). All accommodations requests should be forwarded to the Academic Resource Hub.

Due to the confidential nature of disability issues, each semester students must provide a request for accommodation letters that inform faculty members of a student's eligibility for accommodations and provide an overview of approved accommodations. Students in need of disability accommodations should make an appointment to discuss the accommodations with their professors during the first two weeks of classes. Students requesting accommodations for the first time should allow 10 business days for review of documentation and supporting material. Students wishing to take an exam or other evaluation with verified accommodations should provide 7 days' notice of their intent to utilize their accommodation. Notice is required for each evaluation in which the student wishes to utilize their accommodation.