PAC (Peer Academic Coach) Program

What is Peer Academic Coaching (PAC) at the CSL?

 

It is not uncommon for a student to experience academic difficulty at some point during their college career. While most students are able to recover quickly from a setback, and get back on track to graduation, at times a student’s GPA (Grade Point Average) will fall below the College’s minimum scholastic attainment requirements; at that time, the student will be on academic probation. 

While no student wants to find themselves in that situation, the bright side is that the College of Charleston is committed to helping each student find the path to get off probation and on toward graduation! 

The CAPP (Center for Academic Performance and Persistence) creates a personalized contract for each student on probation. The components of the contract include, but are not limited to: an attainable target GPA, limited job and/or class hours, and utilizing academic support services such as the Center for Student Learning. 

A typical component of the academic contract is a weekly meeting with a Peer Academic Coach (PAC). A PAC is a CSL student employee who has expressed a genuine desire to assist other students in reaching their academic goals. In addition, they are faculty/staff-recommended and are highly trained, both by the CEPE‘s (Center for Excellence in Peer Education) TEDU 205 ‘Exploring Peer Education’ course and by professional staff at the Center for Student Learning. A CSL PAC Coach who is matched with a student on academic probation: 

  • Assists the student in naming their goal; 
  • Helps the student identify the challenges that kept them from being successful in the past; 
  • Guides the student toward productive, positive strategies and practices, such as: 
  • Creating a detailed, written time management plan 
  • Adopting active study strategies to replace passive ones 
  • Assessing progress frequently, pausing to celebrate successes and correct missteps 
  • Contacts the student at least 3 times/week (1 in-person meeting, 2 text/phone/email check-ins) to help them assess progress and stay on track. 

Questions about CSL PACs?  Contact Lindy Coleman at colemanm@cofc.edu or call 843-953-5635.  

PAC coaching is part of the Academic Coaching program at the Center for Student Learning