The enhanced advising and tutoring programs at Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center aim to provide more tailored support for students across academic fields.

“I think that we’re meeting students where they are now in a much better way,” said Laura Auricchio, FCLC dean. “Students have different needs now than they might have had a generation or two ago.”

More Advisors

FCRH and FCLC unveiled their new advising system for first-year students at the start of the 2022-2023 school year, called the Fordham College Advising Center. This year, they added more advisors for all first-year and sophomore students, and all the advisors have office space together on both campuses, allowing students to walk in if they have a question.

“This way students always have access to someone; there’s a place you could just walk in and ask your question,” said Rachel Annunziato, professor of psychology and associate dean for strategic initiatives at FCRH

Auricchio said that the current slate of advisors have skills that will support students beyond academics.

“A lot of [our current advisors]have background experience in career development, some in mental health counseling—they bring a wide variety of expertise and they really work as a team,” she said.

One key addition, Auricchio noted, was hiring a director of transfer students to specifically work with that population.

“Transfer students have historically had a really tough time—systems were set up around the four-year experience, and that’s something that’s changed,” she said.

The next step for the program is hiring the next set of advisors for juniors and seniors, Annunziato said.

“When you are a junior, you’ll switch to a new advisor and have that person for two years, and those folks will come in with more experience on helping you transition to the next place after Fordham,” she said.

Both Annunziato and Auricchio said that by having advisors take on responsibilities like making sure students meet their core requirements, faculty will be freed up for deeper mentorship opportunities.

“I’ve been able to prepare seniors in psychology for graduate school applications and take more students into my research lab than I have been because my advising load has lessened,” Annunziato said.

A ‘Knack’ for Tutoring

In addition to academic advising support, both colleges also have expanded tutoring options through Knack, a company that helps connect students who need tutoring with Fordham student-tutors. Students can access the platform online at fordham.joinknack.com.

Annunziato said that the experience is a win-win for both the students who need tutoring, since they can be matched based on schedule and subject, and the student tutors who get paid for their efforts.

Auricchio also said that paying the tutors allows for more students to work on campus which helps with “getting them engaged and also building their own self-confidence, self-esteem, and skill sets.”

“My dream is that we have this culture of wellness here, where we have all the resources that you could possibly need to thrive and we make them accessible,” said Annunziato, professor of psychology and associate dean for strategic initiatives. “We thought by tying it all together, maybe it makes it easier and normalizes it, so there’s no stigma attached to needing help with something.”

So far this initiative has included launching academic coaching services, creating a centralized page featuring resources from the dean’s office and from across campus, and hosting events on skills like time management and studying.

Academic coaching services provide support to students looking to improve their organizational skills, learn time management strategies, and create study plans. Students can either be referred directly by an instructor or they can ask the dean’s office or their advisor for a referral if they think one-on-one coaching could help them.

Kristina Stevanovic, FCRH ’22, who worked with Annunziato on this initiative before she graduated, said that she appreciated the dean’s office’s willingness to add student services that go beyond academics.

“For people coming out of high school, you’re all of a sudden so free, and you don’t have a structure,” she said. “That newfound freedom can be exciting and overwhelming especially if you don’t have the best sense of time management.”

Wellness Wednesdays, a new Instagram campaign, has included advice such as how not to study and tips for managing stress.

Annunziato said that the office is also continuing to add resources to its website, based on student feedback, particularly for students feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

“We’re asking students what they would like—we want to be informed and driven by their voices in all of these things,” she said.

Dean’s office events and workshops are helping to raise awareness of some of these resources. In the fall, they hosted two sessions on “How to NOT Study for Midterms” and also organized tabling events in the campus center to let students know about tutoring and other programming offered.

Students can visit the academic wellness page on the dean’s site or follow @fordhamfcrh on Instagram to stay up to date.