The Camner Center for Academic Resources at the University of Miami has been on a mission to provide students, faculty, staff, and administration with innovative programming and quality services to support learning and academic success.
The center offers campus-wide support that ensures academic continuity for students. It also works to offer students an array of services that address issues related to the transition to college, assist with disabilities, and provide tutoring services.
During the past challenging year dealing with the pandemic, the Camner Center—located on the second floor of the University’s Student Services Building—has seen an increase in student requests and a change in the nature of those needs. For the Spring 2021 semester, all services were offered virtually to ensure health protocols, and students were afforded full support.
Because of the pandemic, students may have experienced new or added stressors while pursuing their education this past year. The Camner Center began offering daily drop-in hours to assist students in navigating the new and challenging environment, to answer questions, and to help with access to appropriate services.
“As probably happened in other departments, the Camner Center response was sort of a triage style,” said Mariel Cruz, a member of the Learning Support staff. “We collaborated with faculty, advisors, and the student affairs team in an attempt to provide the support and handle each referral with personal care and attention.”
In addition, Cruz noted that “the Office of Disability Services worked with faculty by providing technical advice on how to adjust their teaching methodology and provide academic accommodations in the virtual environment. The tutoring program was more flexible with their booking policy, reducing the required amount of time to book in advance from 24 hours to 12 hours. They also made group appointments available to serve more students at once and offered drop-in hours for some of the most popular subjects.”
The Learning Support Program staff also supported undergraduate students experiencing academic issues.
“Our learning specialists worked with students who were having trouble succeeding in the remote learning [environment], whether it was related to their transition from high school to college, a disability, mental health needs, or simply time management and accountability challenges,” said Cruz.
Students can reach out to the Camner Center to schedule a one-on-one consultation. For those students who want additional help throughout their college experience, the center also offers the Independent Learning Initiative (ILI). ILI is fee based, with start dates in August and January and lasts for a full semester.
“In this program, students are assigned to a particular learning specialist who meets with them individually on a weekly basis,” said Cruz. “ILI goes above and beyond conventional services and gives students who are struggling or need guidance a more individualized support system.”
Cruz’s background is in special education and she is skilled in identifying a student’s strengths and areas that may need growth.
“It is a mix of helping them stay on track and coaching them, and then helping them develop appropriate study habits,” said Cruz.
Professionals in the Camner Center are dedicated to providing resources to help manage success, help to facilitate campus-wide education, and encourage dialogue on issues related to academic growth and learning. Often students have shared with Cruz that the Camner Center has become their home away from home during their academic careers.
Jeremy Griff, a junior studying history, has received services from the Camner Center, specifically the ILI, since his first year at the University. He highly recommends the services.
“It's been a big support and big boost for me. Basically, what we work on is just staying on top of all my academics, making sure that I’m involved in extracurriculars, as well, and making sure I’m doing well socially,” said Griff.
“I would say if you're interested, I would definitely recommend it as I've gotten so much out of it,” Griff added. “It's just a great support system. And it keeps you on track.”
