Student Success Center

Through CU Connect, every first-year student has the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with a Clarkson University administrative and/or staff member. Our goal is to provide students with guidance and support early on in the semester to help them with their transition to college.

Students and staff meet several times throughout the first semester and some continue contact into the second semester. Our semi-structured and flexible outline of contacts helped students feel comfortable seeking necessary information about academic and non-academic aspects of college. 

Discussion, team activities, leadership opportunities, and fall-semester interaction with upper-class peer educators form the foundation of this course that all first-year students take.

This course is beneficial to first-year students in that it:

• Introduces the mission and expectations of the learning process at Clarkson
• Builds communication and teamwork skills
• Provides some fundamental content relating to wellness and relationships during the college experience. 

This seminar-style course is an intentional and integrated effort to provide Clarkson University students with best-in-class career guidance, academic support, wellness monitoring, and curricular advisement where students can make meaningful decisions regarding curricular and co-curricular experiences in a health manner.  This is a collaborative effort across multiple Clarkson University departments designed to help students become well-rounded and better prepared for their professional job search, make confident academic major choices, have a better understanding of post-graduate career options, and learn about managing a work-life balance as their academic career becomes more rigorous.  The course aims to provide a supportive mechanism in addition to academic advising for further soft-skill development, resilient behaviors, and exploration (major, career, personal, etc.). 

Throughout the course students will engage in activities designed to develop professional competencies, to prepare practical career-related documents, develop appropriate course schedules, and learn how to maximize  academic advisor appointments. Students will also participate in multiple engagement opportunities with Alumni to encourage job shadowing, career research, and professional connections. All students will leave the course with customized job-search documents including a cover letter, sample networking notes, and a professional LinkedIn profile.

The Clarkson University Tutoring Program, for which there is no fee, is for on-going, long-term assistance, and is offered in small group, as well as “drop-in” formats. The tutoring staff consists of qualified undergraduates within the University who are overseen by staff members.

Clarkson has two drop-in tutoring centers which are open up to five days a week in the evenings, helping primarily with courses from math, physics, chemistry and engineering.

We also offer small group tutoring throughout the semester. These groups meet weekly for 1.25 hours, scheduled around individual schedules and students join them by registering online. 

These services are very popular with our students, with many seeking out one or both methods of tutoring assistance. 

Regardless of your area of study, written communication skills are important in career settings, and therefore, important at Clarkson. Our Writing Center is here to help you improve your written communication skills, providing one-on-one consultations in a collaborative environment.

Staff at the Writing Center assist with academic papers such as lab reports, essays, research papers, Honors theses, presentations and conference posters, as well as post-grad and professional projects like graduate school essays, resumes, cover letters, professional websites and even LinkedIn content.

They also offer custom workshops, opportunities for student employment and writing resources. 

Clarkson students can schedule an appointment or drop in during open hours. 

Learn more about The Writing Center 

Sometimes the study skills brought from high school differ from the skills required at the college level, or sometimes our students are simply looking for unique and personalized ways of improving their study habits. The Student Success Center staff provides academic support on various topics including:

• Time Management
• Effective Study Skills
• Test Preparation and Taking Strategies
• Textbook Reading
• Note Taking