The Academic Support Unit (ASU) is the college’s in-house resource that reaches out to students who encounter academic challenges: such as academic transition, time management, study skills, resource navigation and much more. The aim is to provide assistance to underperforming students to progress and successfully complete their respective courses.
In practice, academic support encompasses a broad array of educational strategies, which include the following: peer-tutoring sessions, consultative mentoring from fellows and affiliates, and other alternative options of more specific counseling, such as course deferrals withdrawal, or possibly behavioral problems.
College Associate Master will meet students individually during office hours, through meaningful conversations, each case will be profiled and assessed to which resource referral, and other peer-tutoring options will be tailored to specific student’s needs.
Collaboration with English Language Centre (ELC) facilitates addressing specific cases concerning underperforming students with insufficient linguistic capabilities
In addition to the various support settings and delivery methods described above, academic support may also cover other specific educational areas:
- Mentorship support: College Fellows and Affiliates act as mentors to build stronger and better understanding relationships between professors and students. This results in more effective coaching, especially when professors know students well, and understand their distinctive learning needs, interests, and aspirations.
- Technology-assisted strategies: ASC incorporates blended learning through digital and online learning applications, such as visual simulations or gamed-based learning, to help students grasp difficult concepts, or more appropriate course-management programs that facilitates self-study and reviewing at their own pace.
- Needs-based support: the ASC aims to provide supplemental or intensive instruction, practice, and guidance to students who are struggling academically or who have specialized needs: for example, international students who recently arrive in Macau SAR and cannot speak English.