Student Enrichment Center
Institutional Studies (Student Success)
A key component of a student's transition to college-level learning is an introductory course in student success that forms part of the core curriculum all students are required to complete. Whether you are a traditional student in your first semester of college or a non-traditional or transfer student with fewer than 24 credit hours, the college offers a success course through the SEC tailored to your particular needs.
The first is Student Success (BPC 100) for traditional students, a coordinated introduction of the skills needed not only for success in the classroom, but also in interpersonal relations, community engagement, and in key aspects of adult life, including health and fitness, diet, personal finances, and spiritual formation.
Similar in design, but different in perspective, the college also offers Success for Non-Traditional and Transfer Students (BPC 105), designed for adult learners and students with prior college credit who must balance their pursuit of educational goals with outside responsibilities such as family, career, and other demands.
The SEC staff, together with faculty in the humanities, the sciences, and other disciplines, as well as with subject experts in the community, endeavor to provide an engaging sequence of topics intended to enhance learning for all students and to broaden their horizons.
Academic Advisement & Career Counseling
Upon admission to Brewton-Parker, first-year students are enrolled in freshman learning communities of approximately 25 students each categorized by a common meta-major (a cluster of similar or related majors and programs).
Two academic advising and career specialists, together with a student success coach, staff a central advising office within the SEC to provide all freshman and sophomore students with close monitoring of progress, academic coaching and follow-up as needed, and timely intervention when necessary to help students address challenges and remain on track to degree completion.
Our career specialists also serve as counselors to help identify and connect students’ professional goals with appropriate pathways and majors, as well as to offer career workshops, facilitate career inventories, and assist students with searches for part-time jobs and internships.
Tutoring and Study Groups
With a professional tutor on staff and a corps of 10-15 peer tutors the SEC provides no-cost tutoring for all Brewton-Parker students, available either in-person or virtually on the Mount Vernon campus, and either one-on-one or in small-group study sessions. The SEC offers tutoring in mathematics, the natural and behavioral sciences, the humanities, Christian studies, business, student success, and more. The college also has a partnership with TutorMe.com, which provides live face-to-face tutoring 24/7 on a virtual platform so that students can receive the assistance needed after office hours or when available. The tutoring service also includes review of college papers or other assignments presented reasonably in advance of submission for evaluation by the instructor.
Writing Studio and Lab
First-year students needing additional help in completing the initial course in the required freshman writing sequence – Writing and Rhetoric (ENG 101) – may be referred for placement in the Developmental Writing Lab (ENG 101L), a one-hour practicum that provides individualized instruction in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and other components of basic writing skills.
In addition, after completing the freshman writing sequence in the core curriculum, all students are required for graduation to complete two "Writing Intensive" (WI) courses and a discipline-specific capstone course in their major field of study. WI courses require a minimum of 3,000 words of original composition valued at 20% or more of the final course grade, together with a required one-on-one tutoring session and a writing workshop.
Through its Writing Studio and professional staff the SEC provides both the venue and the academic coaching necessary to complete these requirements.
Mental Health Counseling
Brewton-Parker's commitment to whole-student development as part of its institutional mission encompasses mental health as a key component of the college experience for all students. To satisfy that commitment the SEC includes a dedicated Counseling Center located in Room 118 of the Parker Building (next door to Cook), as well as two counseling annexes: one in the Cadle Building (through the college's partnership with Road to Success) and also in Room 221 of the Holliman-Fountain Education Center (through a supplemental agreement with psychology faculty member Jessica H. Stovall). Students may schedule appointments confidentially through the "Counselling" tab on this web page.
Proctored & Accommodated Testing
For students qualified as "individuals with a disability” under a Section 504 Plan issued by the Office of Disability Services, the SEC provides proctored, extended-time, or other forms of accommodated testing in an isolated or small-group setting as suggested by the specified disabilities. Students or their course instructors may schedule such testing through the "Testing" tab on this web page.
Academic Integrity Training
Students adjudged to have violated the college's Academic Integrity policy may be required to complete one or more academic integrity training modules as part of their sanctions. The SEC staff administers and monitors these modules through the Brightspace learning management system (LMS) and certifies to the Provost when students have successfully completed all requirements of the assigned module(s). Both students and system administrators may schedule such training through the "Training" tab on this web page.