Helpful Hints for Academic Success

The University of Memphis and the Center for Academic Retention and Enrichment Services (CARES) want to see you succeed in reaching your educational goals. For this reason, we offer the following suggestions and resources that may help you obtain academic success:

• Use your advisor. The advisor is an excellent source of information for your academic questions. The advisor will also serve as a referral source if there are barriers in your life outside of academics that impact your ability to succeed.
• Attend class regularly, and when problems arise that prevent your attendance, consult with your instructor about the possibility of making up missed work. Class attendance can make the difference of a letter grade in a course and sometimes in passing/failing a course.
• Evaluate your life and responsibilities that it holds. Are there obstacles to your educational experience that adversely affect your ability to be successful in college?
• Is the number of hours you work interfering with your ability to be successful?
• Are you possibly taking more hours than you should in an attempt to attain your degree in the shortest amount of time?
• Are your financial obligations putting pressure on you to work more hours, and therefore, affecting your time and self-management?
• Is your interest level in your chosen major enough to encourage commitment to earning the degree?
• Have you considered whether or not you would benefit from academic, career, or psychological counseling and/or testing?
• Is there a need for assistance from the writing or tutoring centers?
• Please feel free to contact these offices for assistance: