Center for Teaching and Learning

WHAT IS ACADEMIC ALERT?

Academic Alert is an “early alert” student retention initiative at Georgia Military College. Instructors will be able to raise concerns, offer praise, or refer students to academic support resources by raising “flags” if there is a concern or send “kudos” to students who are performing well in their courses.

Flags and kudos can be manually raised at any point during the term and/or through Progress Surveys during weeks two and four of the quarter.

Once a flag is raised, the student receives an email explaining the flag and includes the instructor’s comments. An Academic Success Coach also receives an email notification about the flag and then reaches out to the student in order to offer support services.

WHAT IS STARFISH?

The Starfish Enterprise Success Platform is a suite of academic advising tools that will integrate with Colleague, our Student Information System (SIS), that manages student data for admissions, billing, financial aid, course scheduling, and transcripts and Moodle, our Learning Management System, that manages course grade books.

Students, Instructors, Advisors, Success Coaches, Tutors, and support staff will all use Starfish to plan, monitor, communicate, refer, and encourage successful progress toward degree completion.

Starfish has additional features, such as online appointment calendaring and a communication networking system to connect students with the support they need.

WHY IS GMC USING STARFISH?

In an effort to standardize its Academic Success services, GMC has selected Starfish as its early alert and intervention software system. Starfish is expected to:

• Enhance communication between Instructors, Advisors, Success Coaches, Tutors, and other support staff
• Ensure students receive the help they need in a timely manner
• Make campus resources more accessible to students
• Allow instructors to quickly provide feedback to students and help connect them with services
• Increase course completion rates
• Increase graduation rates

STARFISH RESOURCES

STUDENT GETTING STARTED GUIDE (PDF)
FACULTY/STAFF GETTING STARTED GUIDE (PDF)
STARFISH FLAG DESCRIPTIONS (PDF)
STARFISH FAQs (PDF)

Getting Started with Starfish – Student Profile Setup (VIDEO)

Getting Started with Starfish – Faculty/Staff Profile Setup (VIDEO)

How to Complete a Progress Survey

How to Manually Raise and Clear Flags

GMC Instructors can meet with you one-on-one to discuss your academic progress and offer suggestions for success, but sometimes, you may need more assistance. In that case, we are here to help!

Academic Success Coaches can provide information on study strategies, reducing stress or overcoming test anxiety.

• Assignment Check List
• Daily Activity Schedule
• To Do List

• Time Management  
• Reading Strategies
• Learning Styles
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Study Cycle

Mission

The mission of the GMC Tutoring Center is to serve as a center for learning assistance, providing a support structure that allows students to gain self-confidence and independence in their academic work. The ultimate purpose of tutoring is to create independent learners.

GMC offers FREE tutoring to all students. Contact your campus tutoring center to inquire about the types of tutoring available for you.

Hours

Tutor schedules vary each quarter; please contact your campus to determine the tutoring schedule for the current term.

Augusta: 

• Library hours are from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Monday through Thursday and from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Fridays.
• Most tutors are full time faculty members and can assist students in a variety of subjects.
• Students can sign up for tutoring session at the library.

Columbus:

• Students can receive tutoring in the Columbus Campus Student Learning Center – Room 203
• Tutoring is available for English and math.  English tutors can also assist with editing writing assignments for other disciplines.
• The tutoring schedule changes quarterly and is available at multiple locations on campus.

Dublin: 

• Students may ask the front desk for more information about the tutoring schedule.
• Contact

Eastman:

• Tutoring is available through Zoom with the Warner Robins campus tutors.  Appointments can be made through Starfish.
• Instructors also offer tutoring during their office hours.

Fairburn: 

• Tutoring hours are from 10:30 AM to 1:30PM and 2:30 PM to 6:00 PM.
• The Math Lab provides tutoring for all LSS math courses and college algebra.
• The Learnign/Writing Lab provides tutoring for courses such as English, history, political science, Spanish. writing, and biology.
• Students also have access to computer for research, word processing, and printing in the Learning/Writing Lab.

Fayetteville:

• Scheduling for tutoring sessions will be updated and posted to the webpage each quarter.
• Click here for schedule.

Milledgeville: 

• Tutoring is available daily.
• Please check the schedule here or outside the tutoring lab for the times you can see tutors by subject
• Tutoring center is located in Zell-Miller Hall Room 122.
• Hours of operation: Monday through Thursday 8 AM to 9PM, Friday 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Sunday evening 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
• Direct all tutoring questions to miltutoring@gmc.edu or 478-387-7373.
• Tutoring is free and no appointment is necessary.
• Check for a specific tutor by subject here. 2021 QTR II Schedule.

Online:

• Students can access free tutoring services anytime through their Moodle account.
• If students have question they may ask through Smarthinking.

Valdosta: 

• Students can recieve help from many tutors who have years of experience in teaching and helping students
• Students may contact their academic advisor for question regarding tutoring and can set up their own tutoring hours accordingly
• Click here for Tutoring Schedule

Warner Robins:

• Click here for Tutoring Schedule

Madison:

• Students are encouraged to utilize GMC’s free tutoring services when needed.

Sandersville:

• Students are encouraged to utilize GMC’s free tutoring services when needed.

Stone Mountain:

• Students are encouraged to utilize GMC’s free tutoring services when needed.

At the Tutoring Center, you have access to computers with internet acces and Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Each student processes information different ways and are encouraged to discover which learning styles best suits them.

Khan Academy is an online tutoring website that offers practice problems, instructional video, and a personalized learning dashboard that allows students to learn and study at their own pace.

Students who visit the GMC library have access to the faculty as well as a variety of academic text in order to better prepare them for their classes and studies.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is an essential part of students being able to see what is required in order to achieve a higher level of thinking so they may improve their studying methods.

Students can also pick up helpful tips on how to work with a tutor since not every student is accustomed to working with a tutor.

Due to the challenges many students are facing with the coronavirus pandemic, for the Summer and Fall I 2020 terms, GMC is waiving placement placemnt testing requirements. 

The ACCUPLACER Test is an adavptive, untimed online test that evaluates a student’s skills in three subject areas: reading, writing, and mathematics.   ACCUPLACER is designed to help place students into specific courses at the appropriate academic level according to their individual needs and basic knowledge. GMC currently uses the following Next Generation Accuplacer tests for placement:

• Reading
  Next-Generation Reading assesses the test-taker’s ability to derive meaning from a range of texts and to determine the meaning of words and phrases in short and extended contexts. Passages on the test cover a range of content areas, writing modes, and complexities. Both single and paired passages are included. Four broad knowledge and skills categories are assessed:Information and Ideas
  Rhetoric
  Synthesis
  Vocabulary
• WritePlacer
  Students taking WritePlacer are presented with a prompt and asked to write an essay of 300 to 600 words. A prompt consists of a short passage. Following the passage is an assignment that requires the student to focus on the issue addressed in the passage.

• Mathematics
  Next-Generation Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS) assesses the following knowledge and skills:Rational numbers
  Ratio and Proportional Relationships
  Exponents
  Algebraic Expressions
  Linear Equations
  Linear Applications and Graphs
  Probability Sets
  Descriptive Statistics
  Geometry Concepts

How Do I Know If I Need to Take an ACCUPLACER test?

If a student has previously completed a college-level Math and English class receiving a grade of “C” or higher or has the required SAT or ACT scores, then they are not required to take the placement test.  The methods of establishing a student’s academic level are further outlined in the GMC Academic Catalog.

Georgia Military College strongly encourages students to prepare for testing prior to arrival for the placement test.  

Resources for test preparation:

Testing Taking Tips

Free Web-based Study App

Next Generation Sample Reading Questions

WritePlacer Guide with Sample Essays

Next Generation Quantative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS) Sample Questions

Additional Information

Any incoming student needing an accommodation based on a disability should make their request known prior to scheduling the examination by contacting the Manager of Disability Services at (478)-387-4902 or cwells@gmc.edu.

For additional information, please visit the Office of Student Disability Services’ Webpage.

The Division of Learning Support Services (LSS) provides instruction for students who need to improve their basic academic skills before attempting college-level courses. These students will hold Conditional Admission status. Courses include Reading, English, and Mathematics.

More Placement Exam Information

These courses:

1. do not apply towards degree requirements.
2. have no influence on grade point average (GPA), and
3. may not be transferred. Students entering degree or non-degree programs who wish to register for any course which has a Learning Support Services prerequisite in an area must meet LSS requirements in that area.

LSS Procedures

GMC will honor learning support courses taught at Board of Regents schools. Test scores and course completion records will be considered valid for two years. Students who have not successfully completed LSS courses at a previous college must enroll in equivalent courses at GMC. Students must complete all Learning Support Services courses in the first sixty (60) quarter hours attempted at GMC, excluding MSD, PED, and PER 101 courses. All required LSS English and reading courses should be completed within the first thirty (30) quarter hours attempted at GMC.

LSS students will enroll in at least one LSS course per term until they have completed this requirement. Failure to complete the required LSS course work in 60 hours will require that in subsequent terms the student enroll only in LSS courses until the requirements are met.