Academic Support Resources

The Center for Student Success programs are designed to support students as they develop their academic, personal, and leadership skills. The following programs develop, enhance, and enrich the undergraduate experience and while doing so, positively impact student retention and persistence to graduation.

Academic Advising

Texas A&M University-Kingsville places a strong emphasis on developing a one-to-one individual academic advisory relationship between each student and advisor. Academic advising is a process of information exchange that empowers students to realize their maximum educational potential. The advising process is student-centered and will result in the student gaining a clearer understanding of himself/herself and the experience of higher education. Center for Student Success personnel evaluate the academic background of incoming freshmen and assess student readiness for college course work. Advisors work with all undergraduate students to define and develop realistic goals, help students recognize their abilities and interests, identify any special needs, and/or match students to available resources that may be required to aid them in their journey to success. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisors on a regular basis to monitor their progress toward their educational and career goals. Advising provides a linkage between academic preparation and career goals and provides the foundation for students to pursue their educational and career goals.

Student Success Mentoring Center

Success Peer Mentors, located in the Jernigan Library Room 210, support students by sharing success strategies, guiding students to resources and opportunities, and promoting positive decision-making. Mentors empower students with skills that foster success, such as healthy habits, time management, organization, studying and test-taking skills. Mentors support students by providing individual or group sessions, either in person or online, to facilitate the skills necessary for students to succeed in and out of the classroom. 

Pathways Academic Assistance Center

The Pathways Academic Assistance Center's (PAAC) mission is to help students become successful and confident academically by:

  • modeling the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Socratic Tutorial strategies by providing the tools and resources necessary to assume responsibility for their own learning
  • asking higher-level questions to gain deeper understanding of their rigorous content through critical thinking and inquiry process
  • utilizing focused note-taking as a method for mastering information, stressing Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading (WICOR)
  • The PAAC, located in Jernigan Library, Room 220, houses centralized academic support for students:
    • Academic Tutoring – Tutors understand that students encounter the learning process with different degrees of strength and comfort; therefore, a collaborative approach guides our practice. Tutors and students engage in one-on-one and/or peer conversations about the subject area while sharing knowledge and granting authority to both the tutor and student. We recognize that differences in proficiency, linguistic and cultural background need to be taken into consideration when helping students to become efficient learners.
    • The PAAC also provides Peer Assisted Learning “PAL”, formally known as Supplemental Instruction (SI), which provides an embedded tutor in historically challenging classes.  The PAL offers a series of weekly review sessions that offer guided course review, as well as provide note-taking, study skills, and test-taking strategies.
    • Academic Career Literacy -- Students have the opportunity to meet with professional career experts and peer educators as often as needed. During these appointments, the student can expect to explore their strengths and passions in connection to the world of work. The exploration process begins with a questionnaire and a computer assessment. Students also have the opportunity to interview university professions and peer educators pursing their field of interest. In addition, they may participate in campus events, complete online research, or attend a class lecture in a prospective major to help narrow down their choice of study. After self-assessment, students explore options and decide on a major, identify resources that will help reach educational career goals, and are connected with information about scholarships and professional development opportunities.

University Writing Center

The University Writing Center, located in Jernigan Library 217, collaboratively assists students in all stages of the writing process, from generating ideas to editing and proofreading.  Tutors provide services either in person or online by appointment.  Students can make multiple appointments as they work through the various stages of preparing a paper from start to finish. Tutors are trained to assist students with discipline-specific requirements, such as citation styles.