Student Success
At Saint Mary's University, we are invested your success. Student Affairs and Services in collaboration with various university departments presents Student Success Workshops and Resources to support your student success. We understand that navigating university can be challenging, so it is always helpful to have resources!
Learning Skills and Strategies Coaching
Meet one-on-one with Learning Skills Strategist, Emma Sylvester, to discuss learning approaches that will work best for you and boost your academic performance. These sessions provide you with personalized advice and coaching for your specific academic needs. Emma can support you in a variety of topics, including general study skills, exam preparation, reading comprehension, time management, listening, note-taking, organization, procrastination, motivation, test anxiety, and concentration.
Appointments are offered both in-person in 301 Student Centre and online through Microsoft Teams. Book a 1:1 appointment now or email student.success@smu.ca.
Workshops for Students
Student Success Workshops
Student Success Workshops are free virtual sessions available to all Saint Mary's students. These workshops cover topics that provide support and guidance to students in achieving their university, professional development and life goals during their time as a student.
Learning Skills and Strategies Workshops
Become a more effective learner, build your self-management skills, and develop new strategies to help optimize your academic performance. Each term, we offer free academic skills workshops designed to support your success in your university studies. Everyone is welcome! Workshop registration opens three weeks prior to the workshop date.
Workshop Topics
Start the term off strong! Join this workshop to learn our best tips and suggestions for academic success. Learn and apply strategies in planning, prioritizing, staying organized, and improving healthy and productive habits. At the end of this workshop, you will have a clear schedule and study plan to help you stay on track in your studies and a guide to improve your work habits. Make this your best term ever!
Does it feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to achieve everything you want to accomplish? As a student, you balance many commitments and tasks as a part of, and in addition to, your coursework. Time to level up! Join this workshop to learn effective time management strategies, ensure you are prioritizing efficiently, help you stay on top of your studies, and reduce stress!
In this session, we discuss concrete ways to assess your current approach to studying and develop strategies to enhance your study sessions. Learn new organizational and hands-on approaches to engage with course material in a way that will keep you energized, interested, and improve your performance in exams.
Now that you’ve had the chance to apply some study strategies and concepts, this session offers the opportunity to evaluate your new approaches and further hone your study skills to meet your academic goals.
Taking notes during lectures, from readings, or from other inputs is a key strategy for academic success. The best way to engage with the complex process of notetaking will vary depending on how you work best. In this session, learn skills and strategies for notetaking that will work best for you to improve your memory and develop helpful study resources.
Being able to focus on a specific task is imperative to accomplishing our academic goals. This skill can be developed with self-knowledge and by making small, practical changes to your learning and studying approach. Join this workshop to understand the factors that impact your ability to work effectively and strategies to help you improve your focus.
In this workshop, you will learn strategies to get 'unstuck' through planning and prioritizing, getting and staying motivated, and overcoming the barriers that may be keeping you from working and achieving to your full potential.
Join this workshop to learn strategies to help you ace your exams. Plan a specific study schedule, explore and review study strategies that work best for you, and discuss exam writing strategies to ease anxiety and use your time effectively.
Upcoming Workshops
Information for Faculty
Invite a Learning Skills Strategist to your class!
A Learning Skills Strategist is available for tailored in-class workshops on various topics related to academic performance including, but not limited to, general study skills, exam preparation, exam writing, time management, note-taking, listening, organization, procrastination, motivation, and concentration. We can also provide a brief overview of how the academic supports available through the Student Success Centre and across campus can help your students.
Workshops can be modified in length depending on the needs of your class and should be requested a minimum of 2-3 weeks in advance.
