‘We’re here to help’: ͷ guides students on road to success
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.— From the first time they step on campus to the moment they walk across the commencement stage at Humphrey Coliseum, Mississippi State students can find the support they need to achieve success at the state’s leading university.
“Our main goal is to help students get their degree; it’s the most important thing we do,” said ͷ Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Young Hyatt. “Having a degree changes people’s lives because they can enter the workforce at a different place and better help themselves, their families and communities.”
Promoting a positive academic experience is a major student success goal, and the university’s Center for Student Success plays an important role in achieving this mission, Hyatt said. Located at 126 Magruder St. on the Starkville campus, the center is staffed by Executive Director Rodney Pearson, Assistant Director Laura Dunn and Coordinator Nick Hyer.
“The center has grown consistently over the past three and a half years, and we are continually finding new ways to help students get better connected with the university,” Pearson said. “We certainly would work with any student, but we mostly interact with freshmen.”
Pearson said the supplemental instruction program is one that has made a significant impact on student performance in historically difficult courses.
A joint effort between the Center for Student Success and The Learning Center, the free academic program teaches students how to integrate course content and study skills with help from fellow students known as SI leaders.
“The SI leaders we hire are students who have done well in particular courses,” Pearson said. “They actually go back to class, take notes and hold sessions with students who are having trouble.”
Pearson said more than 4,000 students received supplemental instruction during the fall 2016 semester, and students interested in taking a course with the SI designation can do so when they register for classes.
“We have found if a student voluntarily goes once a week to SI, there is a one- to two-letter grade difference. I’ve even seen students go from an F to an A,” Pearson said. “It’s a great experience for the students, but also for the SI leaders who can help them turn their life around.”
Along with the supplemental instruction program, Pearson said the Freshman Year Navigators program and First Year Experience courses are among other university initiatives that help the center establish relationships with students, especially those in need of support.
“A lot of students need really good advising. Most problems can be overcome just by talking with somebody who is compassionate and willing to listen to what you have to say,” Pearson emphasized. “We are a big university with a lot of resources, and we want to help our students in any way we can.”
On-campus involvement is another important aspect of student success, Hyatt said. Taking the initiative to join one or multiple of the university’s more than 400 clubs or organizations is one way students can forge lifelong relationships, find support and make the most of their ͷ experience.
“Mississippi State is a good place to be because there are literally thousands of people who are rooting for you and would do anything they could to help you,” she said. “Students can reach out in any direction and people will be there to assist, but there are also things that students can do to help themselves.
“We present students with a gigantic menu of things to do, but they will go hungry if they don’t order anything,” Hyatt added with a smile. “If you don’t know anyone else on campus, try putting yourself in a place to meet people and make connections.”
Ranging from cultural and recreational to faith-based and service-oriented, student organizations are featured in an online directory at .
For complete details about programs offered by ͷ’s Division of Student Affairs, visit ; the Center for Student Success, .
ͷ is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .