Welcome to a new academic year at Cleveland State University.  This begins our third year as a College of Health.  In the last two years, we have made great strides in bringing together our academic areas to engage in our mission of inspiring innovation and inclusivity, promoting health equity and wellness, and excellence in education.  Our faculty and staff are ready to support you in another semester of learning and hands-on experience so that you can achieve your dreams.  And there are a number of ways that you can add to your support as well, here are three of them:

1. I am consistently impressed by the enthusiasm and drive of the students that I meet, and their eagerness to make a difference in our campus community and in our Cleveland-area communities.  We have so many excellent student organizations where you will find new friends with similar goals to yours.   I encourage you to join one of our health-related student organizations and establish new friendships that will help you through your educational path and beyond.  Some are generally for health-career-oriented students and some are specific for certain majors.  Many of them are actively engaged in serving our community.  You can find a list of these health and health professions student organizations here:  Student Organizations
    
2. As you step back into the classroom, and reengage in your best study habits, let me share with you one of my personal favorite tips - don’t forget to read the syllabus – the syllabus sets the expectations for what you need to accomplish in a specific class to get the grade you want.  And a surprising number of students barely glance at it, and then are disappointed with the outcomes of the semester.  I know you will read each syllabus this semester, and make a note of assignment deadlines in your calendar.
    
3. I also want to point out that our CSU academic success and tutoring resources have come together this year under a new group – the Academic Support Hub.  This includes support for math and science courses that may be among your prerequisites for your program.  The Academic Support Hub can also help you build note-taking, planning, and study skills with Success Coaching.  You can sign up for these services through your Starfish account and they may also have some drop-in times.

I wish you all the best success in your semester this year.  You are here to achieve success in school, and even greater success in your career afterwards.  If you haven’t already engaged in the above tips to support your success, I hope you will give them a try this semester.
 

Stephanie Brooks, PhD, LCSW, LMFT (She/Her/Hers)
Dean and Professor