Learning Specialists
Upon your enrollment, you’ll be assigned a learning specialist who will offer individualized support unique to your needs and academic level. Working in a 2 x 2 model, you will stay with your first learning specialist for your freshman and sophomore years and then move to the junior/senior learning specialist team. Freshman students meet with their learning specialist for 60 minutes per week, either one meeting or two 30-minute sessions. Sophomore students meet with their learning specialist for 30 to 60 minutes per week depending on the need; junior/senior students meet with their learning specialist for 30 minutes each week.
As Educational/Developmental Mentor, Learning Specialists:
- Monitor your academic progress, review it with you, and create meaningful interventions in the areas of need.
- Identify, recommend, and assist in the development of skills, compensatory strategies, and positive habits needed to sustain the five behaviors for college success: improved attendance, participation, assignment completion, submission, use of resources, and communication.
- Help you recognize and take advantage of available accommodations as well as identify and apply for additional accommodations.
- Coach you on how to monitor performance independently and act strategically to solve problems and complete tasks.
- Collaborate with faculty to help you improve.
As Academic and Life Advisors, Learning Specialists:
- Help you select a course of study in line with your interests, ability, and career goals, including the selection of developmental classes for specific academic skills.
- Assist you in developing a balanced academic plan and register you for classes.
- Engage in planning for your future.
- Help you learn more about your learning differences and increase your self-awareness and social and emotional intelligence, especially as it relates to social norms and conventions when interacting with the faculty, staff, and fellow students.
- Provide tools for effective self-advocacy.
- Help you resolve and manage conflicts, personal concerns, and life challenges with the cooperation of other departments on campus.
Scaffolding and Feedback
Throughout your academic career, what do we expect from you? Effort and accountability! You need to make yourself available for learning and take full responsibility for your actions for us to be able to best support you through the scaffolding and feedback processes.
Scaffolding is the temporary and appropriate assistance that we provide to help you achieve a learning goal or complete a task by:
- Breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps
- Modeling and demonstrating the skills
- Offering hints and prompts
- Encouraging self-assessment and self-reflection
Feedback is our constructive, timely comments to help you improve your performance or understanding.
Open Learning
In addition to weekly meetings with learning specialists, you can take advantage of Open Learning opportunities that provide additional mentoring time. During Open Learning, you can work independently in a dedicated study space or interact with peers, peer tutors, or learning specialists. No matter how much time, effort, or resources are needed, Open Learning assures that you have the necessary infrastructure to engage with the course material and practice constructive communication with academic staff and peers.
Open Learning is available in the Center for Student Success and the Beacon College Library. Juniors and seniors also have Open Learning available in the newly redesigned Navigator Lounge.
Communication with Parents
Each semester, the Center for Student Success sends regular parent communications covering the major areas of academic engagement: attendance, class participation, homework completion/submission, use of supports/resources, and communication. Learning specialists do not report grades to parents as it is the student’s responsibility to keep their parents apprised of academic progress; however, midterm and final grades are available in the myBeacon Parent portal.
If parents have any specific academic questions their collegian cannot answer, these issues can be sent to the Dean of the Center for Student Success at centerforstudentsuccess@beaconcollege.edu. All communication from parents to learning specialists or faculty will be forwarded to the Dean, and parents should expect a response within 24–48 hours. Please note if your student has granted consent through the FERPA waiver; otherwise, the communication will be forwarded to the student for follow-up.
Parent Communication Schedule
Pre-mid-term | Post-mid-term | Post-final | |
---|---|---|---|
First semester freshmen and transfer students | All | All | All |
Other freshmen | All | All | All |
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors | Students on academic warning and with past semester GPA below 2.0 | Previous group plus students with at least one D or below for midterms | All |
Graduates, students who transfer out, take a leave of absence, or leave College for other reasons | Students on academic warning and with past semester GPA below 2.0 | Previous group plus students with at least one D or below for midterms | None |
Triadic Model
The Center for Student Success is part of Beacon’s Triadic Model that brings learning specialists into a larger network with transition counselors and resident directors, who all work together to build better student academic, peer, and campus engagement. The communication systems that are maintained through this holistic approach are known to improve student outcomes and foster a sense of belonging.
Meet the Learning Specialists
Dr. Oksana Hagerty
Dean of the Center for Student Success
352-638-9780ohagerty@beaconcollege.eduDr. Melissa Boduch
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9786mboduch@beaconcollege.eduDerick Bugg
Learning Specialist (Junior/Senior)
352-787-6306dbugg@beaconcollege.eduJulie Dunlap
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9810jdunlap@beaconcollege.eduTanya Harris-Rocker
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-787-7249tharrisrocker@beaconcollege.eduDanielle Heider
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-787-2193dheider@beaconcollege.eduRashad Joiner
Office Coordinator
352-638-9757rjoiner@beaconcollege.eduMaria Marcano-Ramirez
Learning Specialist (Junior/Senior)
352-638-9752mmarcanoramirez@beaconcollege.eduLisa Mauro
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9755lmauro@beaconcollege.eduMelissa Mayor
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9722mmayor@beaconcollege.eduDr. Barbara Munoz
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9771bmunoz@beaconcollege.eduShauna Nandkissore
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-787-0164snandkissore@beaconcollege.eduSamantha Owens
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-787-7924sowens@beaconcollege.eduMichele Patestides
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9716mpatestides@beaconcollege.eduRoger Prigge
Learning Specialist (Junior/Senior)
352-787-1207rprigge@beaconcollege.eduTresha Stevens
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-638-9779tstevens@beaconcollege.eduMelissa Packwood
Learning Specialist (Freshman/Sophomore)
352-787-7755mwalleypackwood@beaconcollege.edu