Academic Advising is the foundation of a student’s experience at Sterling.

You will work with a faculty academic advisor, who offers support and guidance around academics, goal-setting, learning support and workload management, and reflection on educational progress. You will meet with your advisor at least twice each semester; many students meet weekly. Through this advising relationship, students are able to create a truly individualized learning experience and find the support they need to thrive at Sterling.

The Advising and Learning Support Program at Sterling is:

Individualized

With small numbers of advisees, faculty advisors are able to meet as frequently as students’ needs warrant to craft a learning plan that enhances opportunities, supports student learning needs, builds on students’ personal goals, and capitalizes on their strengths to support success throughout a student’s tenure at Sterling.

Responsive

In their work together, advisors and students are empowered to identify and set goals, identify learning outcomes and learning strategies that can help adapt to meet students’ changing needs. As a team, course faculty, Deans, the Coordinator of Learning Support, and faculty advisors help to shape a student’s learning experiences.

Multidimensional

Advisors address concerns ranging from course registration, to a student’s involvement in the community, and development of personal as well as academic goals. The advisor-advisee relationship is based on a progression of ongoing, curriculum-based, and goal oriented conversations.

Developmental

Sterling’s Advising and Learning Support Program builds student opportunities for success in a way that is appropriate for each individual student’s level of need and academic and community development.

Cooperatively Designed

Students work one-on-one with advisors to co-create individualized learning plans. Advisors, in turn, collaborate with a student’s course faculty, the three Deans, and other appropriate College staff to support the complete student learning experience.

Advisors work closely with other support resources, including Deans, Community Advisors, Work Program Supervisors, and Learning Support staff.

Learning Support

Sterling College Environmental Humanities Environmental Humanities MajorAt Sterling, we work with each student to craft an individual support strategy. Whether you sometimes experience difficulty learning in a traditional classroom setting or are looking for a more challenging rigorous academic environment, our exceptional faculty-to-student ratio allows us the flexibility to build a robust system to buttress every student’s learning.

Learning support takes many forms at Sterling College. You have the opportunity to create an individualized learning plan with your advisor, identifying goals, timeline, and supports needed. All students meet with their advisor during A Sense of Place and in the first week of Long Block, to create a learning and support plan. Plans may include enrolling in College Learning Skills, regular meetings with a faculty advisor or peer mentor, accessing private or Sterling tutors, creating a support team (Advisor, Faculty, Work Program Supervisor, Deans, Nurse, Community Advisors, etc). We will continue to encourage self-advocacy, while increasing our outreach and engagement efforts across the student body.

Students who need assistance with time management and organization may be advised to enroll in College Learning Skills. Additionally, students who need extra support in mathematics may enroll in Quantitative Skills, which prepares students for Sterling’s upper level math and science requirements. The term “learning disabilities” is a broad term referring to a variety of learning difficulties; Sterling faculty and learning support staff often choose the term “learning differences” to help alleviate the stigma that may be associated with disabilities as well as to recognize that all students have differences in their learning styles and thus can all benefit from learning support of some kind. Students with learning differences can obtain adjustments to a course or program that minimizes disability-related barriers based on individual need.

The Sterling College Academic Center is available to students during set hours and by appointment. The Center is staffed by faculty, staff, and students who have demonstrated strong academic, writing, and peer-editing skills.

 

We’re here to support you!  For more information about Academic Advising or Learning Support at Sterling College, please contact:

Want to learn more about our approach to Academic Advising & Learning Support?

We'd love to answer your questions.

Ask us anything
Dig In!

Exploring Craftivism

Oftentimes the quickest way to squelch an otherwise enjoyable impulse is to couch it in academic terms. For example, thinking about “a brisk morning walk” evokes benign images of fresh…

View more

Eight Master Lessons in Value Added Production

Offered each fall, Sterling College’s Value Added Products course is a broad introduction and overview of various techniques used to improve the market value of agricultural products. From apple products…

View more

Foraging and Wildcrafting – Week 2

Foraging and Wildcrafting week two with Pascal Baudar has been very insightful. We, as a class, have walked through the forests and gardens collecting wild edibles of the Northeast Kingdom….

View more