Academic Support

Mission

Academic Support is a collaborative team providing a systematic and comprehensive approach to addressing student academic needs and partnering with faculty to enhance the academic experience. The Office of Academic Support offers professional advising and academic support to create a “one-stop shop” for students. Our professional staff partner with students and faculty to enhance their academic experience at Mercyhurst University. The Office is committed to collaborative engagement within the campus community in an effort to improve student success, persistence, and retention. Academic Counselors play a significant role at Mercyhurst by working individually with students to help them achieve their academic goals. Academic Counselors also partner with faculty to provide a dual-advising experience to all students at Mercyhurst.

Services

The Office of Academic Support is the “go to” office for students at Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst has a unique dual advising system. Each student is assigned an Academic Counselor as well as a Faculty Advisor. Academic Counselors provide students with general advising guidance related to their academic career. Academic Counselors work with students, faculty, and university administrators to ensure a positive experience for all members of our community. They can assist students with most issues they may encounter, such as:

Providing general academic guidance and academic advising
Implementing academic success strategies and plans
Navigating the college environment
Exploring interest areas and majors
Finding a peer tutor
Understanding the REACH liberal arts curriculum
Addressing academic performance concerns
Making sense of academic procedures and policies
Connecting with other campus resources.

Lakers Exploring Acadmeics Program (LEAP)

Not everyone is born knowing what they want to study while in college.?In fact, many people come to college to discover that. If you’re like the tens of thousands nationwide who haven’t yet made that discovery, then LEAP may be just what you’re looking for because you and your Faculty Advisor and Student Success Coach can make it be just what you need.

LEAP is a one- or up to two-year program in which eligible students take recommended courses based on their interests or goals while also engaging in beyond the classroom experiences that will help them to:

Acquire new skills
Learn needed content and information
Develop new understandings of interests and goals
Experiment with new ways of seeing and relating

As a student in LEAP, you will work with faculty advisors and Student Success Coaches to assist you in taking full advantage of the rich and varied experiences—in and out of the classroom—that Mercyhurst has to offer. At the end of your first, or by the end of your second year, and at any point in between, you will transition out of LEAP because we know that you will have found your group of like-minded people in one of our many majors at the university.

Academic Advantage Program

The Academic Advantage Program is a structured, inclusive academic program designed to help with the transition to college while fostering skills that encourage academic success and career readiness. Students participating in the program, with assistance from a professional Academic Counselor, design an individualized academic plan.

The Academic Advantage Program is a fee-based service.